Vincent Mikaru's Home on the Holonet

Part 2: Lightsabers

Overview: Lightsabers are arguably the most recognizable aspect of star wars and in regards to making Icons one of the key methods of submitting a non-star wars icon for regular use outside special events such as Christmas or Pirate Day. Making lightsabers in GIMP is actually very easy it just seems confusing and is difficult to explain correctly so please bear with me as I attempt this.

Step 1: Again, the first step in any image editing process is acquiring the proper image to edit. The image has to be clean, and clear, blurry or badly rendered images don’t tend to mix well with the lightsaber effects. In the case of this tutorial we’ll be using this image of my Half-Elf Cleric Findecáno Sindanárië. Now, a little disclaimer information. This image is the work of Wen-M of Deviant Art, specifically “Anima: Nerelas and Sylvia” and all credit goes to him for his work. This image is simply an edit done to represent a D&D character and due to it being perfectly suited for the task, I’m using it for this tutorial. So Wen, in the off chance you’re reading this, don’t sue me or anything :p

Step 2: Now we must establish the work space. Creating Lightsabers actually requires a few layers to be worked with so you will need to bring out your layer dialog box. To do this you click Dialogs>layers. Depending on the version you have windows, linux, and so on the dialog box will appear. In versions like mine you will need to then arrange the windows in a manner that is comfortable for you to work with. In my experience this is best preformed by a three column set up. Column 1 is the main GIMP window, Column 3 is your Dialog box, and Column 2 is your image window filling the space between the two. This particular lay out lets you access all the tools you need to make the lightsaber effect much more easier.

Step 3: Now that you have your works space established you’re going to need to set up the picture to make the lightsaber. First you need to go to Layers>New Layer and you’ll see a small box pop up like this. The new layer you’re going to make needs to be the same size as the original image and it needs to be black (foreground colour if default colours are selected). Once you make the layer its going to cover up the original image, so you’ll need to set the layer to ’screen’ this is done in the Layer dialog box. Select the new layer by clicking it, and then in the mode menu at the top of the box select screen. once you do that your work space should look like this.

Step 4: The next step is to make your selection. My prefered tool for this if there is a pre-existing object to which a lightsaber blade is being grafted is the Path Tool. If you are crafting a lightsaber from off screen you can use a simply rectangle selection tool. I personally prefer to use the Parth Tool because you can creat uniqe lightsaber shapes and it gives you more control on the width and tip of the blade as you work. Once you have your selection (image of mine to the right) you want to use your Fill tool to fill the area with pure white like so.

Step 5: Once you do this go to Select>none. This should remove the ‘crawling ants’ from around your selection and you’ll see a simple white block where your selection was. Now you will need to duplicate the lightsaber layer three times. This is done by clicking the duplicate button on the bottom of the dialog box three times. When you have done this you’re work space will look like this.

Step 6: Now you will need to start applying the visual effects to the lightsaber blade. First select your original new layer, the one simply title New Layer, and then go to Filters>Blur>Gaussian Blur. When you do this a window will pop up that looks like this. You will want to set the increments to both options at 5.0 with the method being RLE. Then click ok. You then need to repeat this for the first second and third copies of the layer. For each layer you will in crease the blure level, 20, 40, 60. If you choose to make additional layers continue the increase by 20 points. When you are done it should look like the image to the left. Now its just a simple task of merging the lightsaber layers into a single layer. To do this simply right click the top most layer and select “Merge Down”. once you do this you’ll notice the layer blacking out the image. You will again have to set the layer to screen. You will need to repeat the process until you only have the original and new layer remaining.

Step 7: The end result of your work should resemble the image to the right. Now you can very well leave the image as it is. Lightsabers do come in pure white/silver, however, most people prefer coloured sabers, and there is no end to the variety of colours you can get. To colour your lightsaber simply go to Colors>Colorize. From here, you can adjust the hue, and saturation of your lightsaber. While you can adjust the ‘lightness’ i don’t suggest it as it may very well result in artifacts that detract from the over all quality of your image. For the sake of reference I will be making Finde’s Lightsaber blue, blue is the colour of Erathis’ cog on her emblem. So, adjust the Hue to 215 and the Saturation to 100 then select ok. Then you simply need to merge the last layer down and save your image. And there you have it. you’ve created a lightsaber effect! The Effect is very simple, if somewhat confusing at first. And it can easily be applied to icons. Simply work to step 4 in my last tutorial, and complete the steps in this tutorial, and then pick up at step 5 of the first. If you require advice, or have questions, feel free to PM me or leave a comment! I hope you have fun and happy editing!

Step One: First and foremost you’re going to need a picture. The image you pick out needs to be at least twice as large if not larger then the end product (in my experience) though the larger you are, the more pixilated it gets as you shrink it down. For our purposes today we will be making a Revan icon from this image Pictured here on the left.

Step Two: I shouldn’t have to mention this but it is a how to post so, open GIMP (If you don’t have GIMP scroll to the bottom of this article for instructions on where to find it). If you have the source image on your hard drive open it from there if you’re loading it form an internet source (such as myself) use “Open Location”. Keep in mind that if the image you’re using is very large either in pixels or in megabytes you may find yourself lagging when you open it. Such is especially the case with older computers.

Step Three: Once you have GIMP Open you should give yourself plenty of operating room. If my knowledge serves me right GIMP on windows is all one window, if so maximize it. With cases such as myself arrange your windows how you are most comfortably working, for sake of reference however we’ll use the picture to the right.

Step Four: Now this is when we truly begin the Icon making process, and its a simple start, you pick the kind of Icon you’re going to make. For the JC there are three basic styles of icons, 50×50, 90×30, and 30×90. All operate under the same
principals of editing but for simplicity I’m going to show you the easiest one for me to make, the 50×50 icon. Once you understand what icon you’re going to make you need to select the section of the image you’re going to craft into the icon. While doing this you need to keep in mind proportions. Its easiest to go in increments of ten over your final product, 60, 70, 80, and so on. In this case I’m making a 420×420 selection of Revan’s head, by doing so I can make the scaling to 50×50 later much easier. Once we have the selection we’re going to crop the image to that selection which should look like the image on the right. To do this simply open your image menu and select the option “Crop to Selection”.

Step Five: Now step five is where the editing happens. Some Icons don’t require editing, some icons do. Sometimes an icon needs colouration changes, which can be done by going to colours and then clicking Hue-Saturation like this. Other edits you can do might be including a lightsaber blade which I will make in a later How To. For this edit however we’re going to give Revan a little border. Borders are simple additions to icons that can add just enough of a visual effect to make the icon more visually appealing. This is not to say that you should always include one. Borders should be light, and not detract form the icon, in this case, due to the size 420×420 aspect of the image we’ll be utilizing a 5px border that will scale down with the icon later. The simplest and most easy method of evenly bordering your icon is to select all of the icon that you will not be marking over and then going to Select and selecting invert. The end result should look like this.

Step Six: Now we’ll be scaling the image down which is done by going to Image then Scale Image like so this will open the image scaling window (pictured to the left). Here you’ll scale your icon down to your desired size, in this case from 420×420 to 50×50. When you do this you are essentially looking at your icon as it will appear when you post it. Take this time to examine it for errors or any changes you may want to make. I am fond of the icon as it is so I will make no changes and will save the image as Revan_How_To_Icon.png If you are making a series of icons of the same image, both a standard, wide, and tall image,  suggest you re open your source image AFTER SAVING! Then return to step four and continue the process as listed changing the size of your selection only and adjusting the numbers there for.

Step Seven: Now that you’ve made your icon most of the work is done. The next step is simply uploading it to your source of choice. Image Shack and Photobucket provide free image storage, or you may, like me have a Blog you upload images too. When you’ve finished uploading it either submit it, and others you’ve made in blog format, or directly too the Icon thread in Communications at the JC. Once you’ve done that you’ve completely entered the world of Icon making! I hope my How To guide has been helpful to you and I hope you enjoy making Icons as much as I have.

GNU Image Manipulation Program

Gimp, known as GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a freely distributed piece of software that allows users to do photo retouching, image composition, and many other functions. It is available for download here. Help documentation is available here. Many operating systems, Linux distributions like Ubuntu have GIMP pre-installed. Others have GIMP available in their package managers. Visit your distributions website for instructions on how ton install it via package managers. GIMP.org’s instillation page also carries basic instructions for installing the program.

Crimson Dark is one of the most engaging and entertaining webcomics I’ve had the honor of reading. It’s self labeled as a Sci-Fi Graphic Novel, but if you want my opinion its more of a “Science Fiction Cyberpunk Drama”. More often then not Sci-Fi’s about the action, not the story, but this comic does a superb job of maintaining that delicate mix of Action, Drama, and heaping loads of character development. As the story progresses the characters become deeper personal storylines creep out along the main one and you grow more and more fond of them.

The Author, David C. Simon, has created a universe full of political intrigue, rich and exciting characters and action scenes that sometimes make you feel like you’re looking at a still photo of a movie. The universe has a rich history full of war and strife and even hope. Governmental bodies like the Republic of Daranir and the Cirin Alliance vie for supremacy in, as one of the central characters, Kari Tyrell put it, a Dirty War.

Taking place in the later half of the 27^th Century the story revolves around the crew of the Niobe a Heavily modified ship under the command of Vaegyr Ward and his wife Larissa. They, along with Kari Tyrell, former R.A.S.F. Pilot, Daniel Qian, ships doctor, Whisper, Augment and cybernetics expert, and Hal Grisdale, ships engineer try to make a living and survive in an era disrupted by war.

Despite the seemingly simple premise the story is anything but simple. Secrets big and small, personal and governmental are revealed and explored. Deceit and danger lurk within every star system. Nothing appears to be what it seems and the stakes are high for the characters. David C. Simon has taken a potentially run of the mill story and created a deep and absorbing universe that I come back to every week.

And it isn’t just the story, there’s more. A full blown database containing small bits about main and secondary characters, ship statistics, organizational information, timeline and glossary terms is available. Less a comic and more a Universe in a web page Crimson Dark is easily one of the most entertaining and addictive web comics out there. Its only short coming? Its not updated nearly enough, but you can’t really fault the man in that regard. All in all, Crimson Dark is a comic you certainly should look into, you won’t regret it.

4. Do you know DarthRamza? GM of Saga of Nameless Lands and Co-GM of Dimensions Collide? This isn’t him. This is Ramza Beoulve the main protagonist from Final Fantasy Tactics. This too is a Halloween Icon.

5. Kojo “Romeo” Agu, an ODST or Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC (United Nations Space Command). One of the characters of the new Halo: ODST game. This is a Halloween Icon.

6. Halo: ODST (or Halo 3: ODST) has recently come out and is burning up the thumbs of gamers worldwide. This Icon is of its logo, intended for Halloween usage.

7. “Usually, the good Lord works in mysterious ways. But not today! This here is 66 tons of straight-up, H.E-spewing dee-vine intervention! If God is love, then you can call me ‘Cupid’!” Sgt. Avery J. Johnson, winner of the Biggest Badass of Eternity award, and perfect 50×50 Icon for Halloween. Gift/Request for Sarge221

8. The Queen from Disney’s Snow White. Another Halloween Icon, and perhaps a Veiled advertisement for Imperial_Hammer’s Disney game. Request for Jedi Allegra.

9. Sally from the ever popular Nightmare Before Christmas. For, clearly, Halloween, and maybe Christmas. Also a Request for Jedi Allegra.

10. Jayne Cob and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Hat is the age old tale of a man and his… Oh wait, no its not. Its just Jayne and the Hat his mom made for him. He’s a simple man, he’s not payed enough to talk pretty, has a love of grenades, but an aversion to blowing up. He also makes a great Icon.

11. Another Halo: ODST Icon for Halloween and since it just came out.

12. “They must love the smell of a real man.” So, Sgt. Johnson, This time in tall format.
     
13. The Rookie, protagonist from Halo: ODST, for Halloween

14. Halloween Icon. Halo: ODST Campaign Completion Normal Achievement.

15. Halloween Icon. Halo: ODST Campaign Completion Heroic Achievement.

16. Halloween Icon. Halo: ODST Campaign Completion Legendary Achievement.

17. Halloween Icon. Halo 3 Campaign Completion Legendary Achievement.

18. Halloween Icon. Boom, Headshot Achievement from Halo: ODST.

19. Halloween Icon. Dante, protagonist of the Devil May Cry series, unleashing the Devil within.

20. Halloween Icon. Dante again, this time showing the determined eyes of a hero.

21. Halloween Icon. Dante, this time being awesome in a widescreen format.

22. Halloween Icon. Dante being awesome, this time in standard 50×50.

23. Halloween Icon. Dante pouring on the Awesomesauce in Tall format.