How to .. Create a Template?

[Rocktroll]

I asked this before but now I have a better idea what I am looking for plus I drew pictures!!



I am making some conversions of some toy ships into terrain for this game. As I make them I make templates of everything I do so I can share it online and if any one ever wanted to give it a shot they could just print out one of my templates and cut the work in the conversion by about 40%.


Here is my question. I have access to photoshop but do not know how to use it yet. Also I was suggested to give Gimp a try.

This is what I want to be able to do.

First scan my templates to my computer. I think they will be saved in Jpeg format.

Here is an example of a template, I made this one on paint and its easy to edit as it has clean edges and flat colors so the process I used for paint might work but would take me forever if I tried it on my 40 + other templates.

I want to be able to create a layer with the template. The inside of the template I would like to either leave blank or make it transparent so I can superimpose it on a image such as a wooden deck.




I would find a wooden deck image like this one ( just longer and more detailed)





And fill out the inside of my template. Then either leave it like this or;






Superimpose on top of that Grishnakh's hex template.





Then take these edited templates, arrange them to fit as many per page as I could, then save them all up in a PDF. I would want to keep them the correct size so when they are printed out they fit the ships they are made for.

Is this something I can learn to do on GIMP or to be able to make these layers I should try this on photoshop?

[Filthy the Clown]

Originally Posted by Rocktroll

Is this something I can learn to do on GIMP or to be able to make these layers I should try this on photoshop?

Yes, definitely. You seem to have the basics down with Paint, so hopefully the below 'quick tips' will provide some general direction in order to emulate these steps in PhotoShop:

1. Use the PEN tool to trace out your deck layout image (either from scratch, or from your existing image). The following video will give a bit more knowledge on using the pen tool in this manner:
   
   Spoiler Alert!

   
   
   
2. Once you have your deck layout image, grab your deck/wood photo/background (you can find some good ones on deviantart and as existing PS textures; check any licenses as needed, though). Quick method: use CTRL + C to copy the wood image, then CTRL + V to paste it into Photoshop as a new layer over your deck shape. Right click on new layer within the layer panel in PS and choose Create Clipping Mask, which will fill the shape with the wood image. Here is a rough image of where to find the layer panel and the above interaction:
   
   Spoiler Alert!

   
   
   
3. Repeat the same steps, but with the hex template. For a quick fix to remove the hex image's background color, try using the Blending option (Right click on the new layer and choose BLENDING) to fade it into the wood image.
4. From there, it is a matter of resizing as needed and then creating a multi-image template or import directly into your PDF file via Adobe Acrobat Pro or other comparable program.

Just let me know if you need any specific screenshots of where these tools are located within the PS tool palette. I am by no means a PS expert, but I have been around it enough over the past decade to keep myself from drowning in the rough and turbulent Adobe sea.

[Rocktroll]

FILTHY THANK YOU !!

I owe you again

[Rocktroll]

I dont have any of my templates here at work, but I did have a picture of the next ship I wanted to work on so I watched the first video and then tested out photoshop.

Few hours of playing around I was able to make this.




Each sail is a different layer, I cut out the back ground on the original toy ship, removed a deck, found a background picture , and now have several layers of different sails from different ships to play round with


This thing is really fun, I didnt get any work done today but I did spend a few hours learning some basic things on photoshop.