I've had trouble get alphas to work using .png/.tga with PSP8 and Skinstudio

figured out, if I create a .png in PSP, then open that with paint.net (free) - then paint.net would save as a .tga and skin studio would use it




it helps some to get and keep an idea going




open some skins up and see how they were done




Po' Smedley

A better way to start out ... I think you'll find many people will be helpful around here

i have photoshop elements and that is kinda suckish so yeah... lol but i can do some OK stuff with it. i havnt used gimp much because i just downloaded but can GIMP open .psd files... and do photoshop brushes work with GIMP (same question about filters)

I have never used Photoshop. I have GIMP and Microsoft Paint and Paint.NET, and everything I need gets done in GIMP.
Yes, I think GIMP can open .psd files, though I've very little luck with that feature. Your mileage might vary though

As Bichur said, open up some skins and see how they're done. The best starters learn through trial and error.
Do you have anything in particular that you want to skin? Then download a skin from that app and open it up. Make a copy and start editing it. Then when you think you've done good, try that skin and see if it's good, or if you can improve it anywhere. See if it's distorted or not.



There are many ways to do that, but I use the Color To Aplha feature the most.
In GIMP, for example if you make an icon [Just suppose] and it's color is black on a white background. If you want to remove the white background from the icon, you select the layer with the white and go to Color> Color to Alpha. From there, choose the white color [they differ a bit in shade] and click OK.
I'd like to know about other ways to do this, it'd really help me a lot in GIMP

Doh!

Nah....thats the smaller version of Paint.net! But not a bad idea Pixeleo!

Gimp is not a 3D program. You can't rotate things to see all it's sides, etc. (I think that's your line of thought) However, if you've made and image in a 3D program, and open it with GIMP you can edit the 'flat' picture of it.

Am I making sense here?  

Maybe it would help a little if you tell us what you are trying to achieve, and we can point you in the right direction.

ok i knew that you couldnt rotate in gimp/photoshop but what i mean is... lets say i created a shape and rendered it and now i upload it into photoshop. and lets say my picture is a pair of dice. is there anyway i can edit the rendering I.E. make one of the dice on the dots purple one red one blue etc. do you get what im saying.... anyways.


and i dont have photoshop CS anything (i have the sucky elements version) lol and does gimp have a gradient everlay like CS3

First of all u should have made it clear which of skins you want to make.
To don't u color the dices in 3d program itself. Use 3d brush for it.
U have to export it in some image formats to edit in 2d.
Paint.net is much easier than gimp and photoshop.
Swift3d is a cheap option but its not stable and particularly designed for flash.
The best free 3d programs are
1 blender.. its a dream if u r able to learn it. And u will if u learn tutorials
2. 3d canvas
3. 3d brush
4. Daz3d ..at least 1gb ram
..and many more

3D Freebie...> WWW Link

Truespace lacks 3d painting tool.