Kitty Corp Meow Mix Forums

The guide for making CSPs in YouTube said to come here for help so here I am.

Link to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLeVyjb7AFo


Anyway, I followed everything word for word but I found a step that was rather useless. That problem lies at the 7:03 part of the video where he explains how to smooth edges via "refine edge" with the Alpha Channel.
I created the Alpha channel, refined it with the same settings shown in video (1.0 radius, 0 smooth, etc) and got the nice "small ghostly white border" around the portrait. This step did nothing to improve the image's smoothness upon saving it as a TGA... The picture looks exactly the same!!!
I followed the steps dead on more than ten times in a row, and with different pics, so I have no clue what I'm supposed to do...

My portraits look too jaggy, and even though I know of a different way of smoothing edges, it leaves that annoying magenta outline which upon being deleted leaves jagged edges once again... Making my way also useless.

PS: I do have Photoshop.

Eh, you can always index higher if you're portraits look like crap, but you'll need to recreate your portraits since like, if you index at 72, it will stay there, unless you index lower, can't go higher.

As for the magenta line, if you have GIMP, use the colormap, and replace all those pink outline colors with magenta from there.

i never have trouble with the magenta line, i dont know why other ppl do..

Here's my technique:
1. Paste a snapshot onto an original CSP.
2. Use the PENCIL (not Paintbrush) tool and outline the character in pure magenta.
3. Fill everything outside the outline with pure magenta.
4. Index to 70.
5. Save
6. ????
7. Profit

If you use the Paintbrush tool, you'll get a magenta line.
My version of Photoshop can't edit the alpha channel, and I make CSP's fine.

i need to learn how to do this in Gimp. Btw, would a pure green stage that i have seen somewhere here work for cutting around the character precisely?

STUFF2o, your method is effective but not time efficient. I'm making many CSPs and don't wanna take more than a couple of minutes for each one :/

I use Photoshop CS3 but I'm still not sure how to apply the changes in the alpha channel to the overall picture. I tested with a bunch of stuff, purposely leaving the alpha channel looking like a huge mess but the picture still didn't get affected... How am I supposed to apply the effects of the Alpha Channel to the picture?!?

Cut your picture out.

Index with transparency ON.

Convert back to RGB.

Make a layer behind every other layer and color it magenta.

Index WITHOUT transparency.

...I have got to make that CSP video for GIMP. You people... outlining the whole image in magenta with the pencil? Really?

No.

Don't add magenta before indexing. Ever.

Index with one less color than necessary. Go to the color map, add magenta as the last color, make a new layer, fill it with magenta, and move it under the CSP. Save.

Make it already. Shadow wants his GIMP tutorial. >:|

How did this turn from an Alpha channel thread into a magenta outline thread?!?
I just want someone to show me what the Alpha Channel is supposed to do to the picture because the video doesn't explain anything about it!

Like I said before, I created an Alpha Channel and made a huge mess of it with a bunch of effects and the picture was still not affected by the changes in its Alpha Channel.

The Magenta outline is not a problem for me... I just want to know how to make smooth portraits because my CSPs always come out jaggy after cutting all the background crap in the fresh snapshots.

The way I've been smoothing some of my CSPs is by using a layer mask but the video never mentions them so I thought there was a more efficient way to do this...


EDIT: I also noticed that upon indexing the CSP the edges become sharper and thus jaggier.

You said you know of a different way, but it leaves a magenta outline. We (I, really, because everyone's advice but mine and Vile's sucked) told you how to not have that magenta outline, so you can use your preferred method.

 :>.>palm:
Let me reiterate via copy and paste.




Basically I can prevent the magenta outline from EVER appearing, but it's practically impossible to prevent it while smoothing the portrait with a layer mask...

http://board.gscentral.org/showpost.php?p=143498&postcount=291

I use smashbox, and I can get away with indexing a portrait to 120 colors, and I'd never need more  than that.