Contents 1 Coming Up with a Design 2 Photoshop vs. GIMP 3 Size and Aliasing 4 File Type 5 Creating a Sail in Photoshop 5.1 Creating Stripes on a Sail 5.2 Drawing a Carrot on a Sail 5.3 Adjusting the Opacity on a Sail 5.4 Reducing the Size and Saving as a PNG file for a Sail 6 Creating a Flag in Photoshop 6.1 Creating Stripes on a Flag 6.2 Creating a Carrot on a Flag 6.3 Adding Textures to a Flag 6.4 Adding Tattering to a Flag 6.5 Reducing the Size and Saving as a PNG file for a Flag 7 Related Pages

To most new players, creating user content is generally the most daunting aspect of the entire User Content process. While artistically inclined players will have an easier time creating their own Flags and Sails, even the artistically challenged can create some impressive content. This section will describe how to come up with a design and then how to implement it.

Creating User Content is part of the guide: Participating in User Content. This guide contains the following topics:

• Creating User Content
• Submitting User Content
• Using User Content

Coming Up with a Design

When starting a design, you may be starting from a variety of stages. For instance, you might have no idea what kind of design you want. For example, you might simply be bored with all current designs, so you want something new. On the other hand, you might have a very specific design in mind, but you may have trouble implementing it.

No matter what stage of design you're in, we suggest you take a look at the list of Approved Content.

If you're having trouble viewing the Approved Content, follow these steps:

1. Go to burningsea.com.
2. In the upper-right corner, click on the Login button. You will be directed to a login page.

   

   Note: use your Station Account to login.

3. Once you have logged in, on the sidebar under Community, click User Content. You will now see several options under User Content.
4. Click on Approved Content to see a list of all user content that has been approved.

Seeing approved designs that other players have developed can help you develop your own ideas. Players often create designs to mimic in-game or historic themes. Perhaps you might design a Flag or Sail to represent your society or your character's personality. The ideas are endless, and we have already approved thousands of Flags and Sails.

Of course, if you do have a general design in mind, you might be unsure about how to make it fit with our design style. The list of Approved Content might also be helpful for you in this way. Keep in mind that we only accept designs that fit within our Design Guidelines.

You may even want to turn an illustration or photograph into a Flag or Sail. This idea is fine, as long as you don't violate any copyright laws, and as long as the end design fits within our Design Guidelines.

One source for images released into the public domain (images without a copyright) is Wikimedia Commons. While not all of the images you find on Wikimedia Commons will be released into the public domain, many will. Just carefully read and comply with the Licensing information of any image you plan to use.

If you're not sure whether we would approve your design idea, or if you just want some general advice, then we suggest you ask the experts in the Flags and Sails section of our forums. We will talk more about these folks on the Submitting User Content page.

Once you have your design in mind, you can begin creating it. When it comes to creating Flags and Sails the two most common methods involve using Photoshop or GIMP.

Photoshop vs. GIMP

There are many different image-editing programs available. In this guide we will cover creating the designs using Photoshop, but GIMP is also a popular free option.

• Photoshop—Adobe Photoshop is a powerful image editing and creation program. While it is certainly much more powerful a program than GIMP, it might also be too expensive for someone casually creating Flags and Sails. If you can afford the price, you will probably find Photoshop to be worth it.
  For this guide, we will be using a recent version (though not the latest version) of Photoshop. The version we will use is Adobe Photoshop CS3. The differences between this version and previous or newer versions are minor differences that shouldn't affect your design too much.
• GIMP—this is also a powerful image editing and creation program, and GIMP will do everything that we need for this guide. GIMP is also open-source and free, unlike Photoshop.

You should use whichever program you feel most comfortable using. If you're really not sure which to use, then I would recommend downloading GIMP and trying it out. As GIMP is available for free, the only cost to you is time and hard-drive space. If you don't feel comfortable with GIMP, then I would suggest giving Photoshop a try—often Adobe offers free trials of their latest version.

Some Flag & Sail details will be the same no matter which image-editing program you use.

Size and Aliasing

Design	Width	Height
Flag	128 pixels	85 pixels
Sail	256 pixels	256 pixels

The size of a Sail is 256 x 256 pixels and the size of a Flag is 128 x 85 pixels. While you want the finished product to be these sizes, you will often want to work with a larger sized file—generally at least twice the size (Sail: 512 x 512 px; Flag: 256 x 170 px). Simply reduce the size of the image before you submit. Working with a larger sized image helps reduce aliasing.

Think of aliasing as those jagged edges you often see when a small image is stretched too large. Starting with a larger image and resizing it to a smaller size is one simple anti-aliasing technique; in fact, we especially recommend this technique to new Flag and Sail designers.

File Type

All files must be submitted in as a PNG file. In general, whatever image-editing software you are using will have a way to save your work as a PNG file. That said, when initially creating the design, you may wish to work in another format.

If you're creating the design in Photoshop, then I recommend you create the design initially as a PSD file—if you're using GIMP, then you might want to work in an XCF file. Once you have completed your design save the design separately as a PNG file.

Creating a Sail in Photoshop

I will start with creating a Sail and then a Flag for my character "Carrot Cannon." To go along with the name, I will make my Sail and Flag carrot-themed.

First, we will create the Sail, so open Photoshop.

To open a new file, on the File menu click New (or press Ctrl+N). The finished Sail will be 256 x 256 pixels, but for now I want to work with a larger image so I set the Width and Height to 512 x 512. I also set the Background Contents to Transparent.

Creating Stripes on a Sail

As I'm going with a carrot theme, I want to create a green stripe at the top of the Sail and an orange stripe at the bottom.

To create these stripes, I first create a new layer (on the Layer menu move your mouse over New and then click Layer—or instead press Shift+Ctrl+N). If you're new to image-editing software, then using layers might be new to you. In practice, you will want to put the various elements of your design on a different layer—that way you can edit each element individually.

I'll use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (press M) to select the portion of the Sail that I want for my green stripe.

Making sure that I've selected the new layer, to fill the selection with green, on the Edit menu click Fill (or press Shift+F5). I already have green selected as my foreground color, so under the Use dropdown, I select Foreground Color; otherwise, I would select Color and then enter 2d7323 at the bottom of the Choose a Color window.

Next, I want to create a matching orange stripe at the bottom of my Sail. I use the Rectangular Marquee Tool again to drag the same selection to the bottom of the Sail where I fill this selection with orange (#f0a028).

Drawing a Carrot on a Sail

Now I have a Sail with stripes. I also want a single carrot in the center of the Sail.

As this a new element, first I will create a new layer to put the carrot on (Shift+Ctrl+N).

To draw the carrot, I'll use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (press L) to first draw a right-angle triangle. To draw the triangle, I start at the bottom—I click and hold shift to get a straight line.

Once I have completed the selection, I fill it with orange (#f0a028). This is half of the body of the carrot. To create the other half I will (1) duplicate the layer, (2) change it's alignment, and then (3) merge these two layers.

To duplicate the layer, I right-click on the layer and then click on Duplicate Layer. The Duplicate Layer window will appear. By default this layer is named something like Layer 2 copy. The name is unimportant for this project, so I'll leave the default name and click OK.

Now I want to change the alignment of this layer, so making sure that the duplicate layer is selected, on the Edit menu, under Transform, and I click Flip Horizontal.

Using the Move Tool (press V), I move the duplicate layer over a bit so the two halves of the carrot are flush. Next, with the duplicate layer still selected, I merge the two carrot layers (on the Layer menu click Merge Down or press Ctrl+E).

Now I'll put a green top on the carrot. I create a new layer for the top. I use the Polygonal Lasso Tool again to create a selection shaped like the top of a carrot, and then I fill that selection with green (#2d7323). Next, I position the carrot top with the Move Tool and then merge the two layers (press Ctrl+E).

Now I want to center my carrot. First I select the entire canvas by pressing Ctrl+A (or on the Select menu, click All). Next with my carrot layer selected, on the Layer menu, under Align Layers to Selection, I click Vertical Centers. Then I'll repeat the process, but instead click Horizontal Centers.

Adjusting the Opacity on a Sail

Now my Sail looks complete, but there are a few more steps to get it ready for submission: I have to adjust the opacity and then resize and save my Sail as a PNG file.

First to make changing the opacity easier, I create a new group: on the Layer menu, under New, I click Group. I'm going to keep the default name, but you can name the group whatever you'd like.

Now I select each of my layers from the Layers window in the corner (press F7 if you don't see this window), and I drag them to the new group I created.

Once the layers are in the group, I can easily adjust the opacity for all of the layers at once. Using the Opacity box on the Layers window, I adjust the group's opacity to 75%.

Reducing the Size and Saving as a PNG file for a Sail

If you haven't already, save the Sail (Ctrl + S) as a Photoshop file (PSD file). Next I am going to reduce the size and save a copy of the file as a PNG file, so that I can submit the Sail—see the Submitting User Content page.

As I mentioned earlier, the finished Sail must be 256 x 256px, but I created the Sail at 512 x 512px. To reduce the size, on the Image menu, I click Image Size (or press Alt+Ctrl+I). I change the Width and Height to 256 pixels.

Now I'll save this image as a PNG. On the File menu, click Save for Web & Devices (press Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S). This window will allow me compare how the file looks in various formats. I want a PNG file, so I select PNG-24 and make sure Transparency is checked, then click Save.

Creating a Flag in Photoshop

Now that I have some experience in Photoshop from creating that Sail, I'll move onto creating a Flag.

First, I'll begin by creating a new file. On the File menu, I click New (or press Ctrl+N). I set the Width to 256 pixels and the Height to 170 pixels. Also, I set the Background Contents to Transparent.

I usually like to work on a design while zoomed in a bit. The easiest way to zoom in is to use the Navigator window (if you can't see this window, then on the Window menu, click Navigator).

Unlike Sails, Flags are not translucent, so the first thing I will do is fill the current layer with a whitish color (#ebe6dc). To fill the background, first select Layer 1. Next, on the Edit menu click Fill (or press Shift+F5). On the Fill window, under the Use dropdown, I select Color and then enter ebe6bc at the bottom of the Choose a Color window.

Creating Stripes on a Flag

Keeping the same theme as my Sail, I will create green and orange stripes on the left and right of my flag. Creating stripes on a Flag is similar to creating stripes on a sail.

First I create a new layer for the stripes. To create a new layer, on the Layer menu, under New, I click Layer—or instead press Shift+Ctrl+N.

Next, I create a selection on the far left for the green stripe using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (press M). I fill this selection with green(#2d7323). Then, I create another selection on the far right and fill that selection with orange (#f0a028).

Creating a Carrot on a Flag

Now I'll create the carrot. I'll create the carrot on the flag using pretty much the same steps that I used when I created the carrot on the Sail.

As this a new element, first I create a new layer to put the carrot on (Shift+Ctrl+N).

To draw the carrot, I use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (press L) to first draw a right-angle triangle. To draw the triangle, I start at the right—I click and hold shift to get a straight line.

Once I have completed the selection, I fill it with orange (#f0a028). This is half of the body of the carrot. To create the other half I will duplicate the layer, change it's alignment, and then merge these two layers.

To duplicate the layer, I right-click on the layer and then click on Duplicate Layer. The Duplicate Layer window will appear. By default this layer is named something like Layer 2 copy. The name is unimportant for this project, so I'll leave the default name and click OK.

Now I want to change the alignment of this layer, so making sure that the duplicate layer is selected, on the Edit menu I move my mouse over Transform and then click Flip Vertical.

Using the Move Tool (press V) I move the duplicate layer over a bit so the two halves of the carrot are flush. Next, with the duplicate layer still selected, I merge the two carrot layers (on the Layer menu click Merge Down or press Ctrl+E).

Now I'll put a green top on the carrot. I create a new layer for the top. I use the Polygonal Lasso Tool again to create a selection, and then I'll fill that selection with green (#2d7323). Next, I position the carrot top with the Move Tool and then merge the carrot body and top layers.

Now I want to center my carrot. First I select the entire canvas by pressing Ctrl+A (or on the Select menu, click All). Next with my carrot layer selected, on the Layer menu, under Align Layers to Selection, I click Vertical Centers. Then I'll repeat the process and instead click Horizontal Centers.

Adding Textures to a Flag

While the Design Guidelines do not require textures, a textured Flag looks more realistic.

First, I need to find a good texture. Generally, players use images of cloth or other interesting objects. Instead of searching for a texture to use, I simply took a picture of my shoe (which is made of cloth) and my sweater. I cropped these images, and then I desaturated them (on the Images menu, under Adjustments, click on Desaturate).

Once I have my textures, I will place them on the Flag as the top layer. To place an image, on the File menu click Place. Next find the image file that you want to place (shoe.jpg in my case). Once you've placed the texture, you'll want to adjust its size so that covers the entire flag (I dragged my texture slightly wider than my canvas, actually).

Now that I've placed my shoe texture, I'll change how the layer interacts with other layers, and adjust the opacity. First I select the layer, and then on the Layers window (press F7 if you cannot see this window) I find drop-down box with Normal selected. I change Normal to Screen. Next, I change the opacity of the texture (using the nearby Opacity slider) to 60%—I suggest you use 50 – 65% depending on how it looks.

My flag still looks like it needs a bit of texture, so I'll also use the picture of the my sweater for texture, repeating the same steps as I used with the shoe texture.

Adding Tattering to a Flag

Tattering or weathering a Flag, refers to making the Flag look like it has been damaged from blowing around on a ship.

There are various ways you can add tattering to Flag. My preferred way is to turn my Flag into a Pattern, and then use this pattern in another file with the tattering. This method allows me to keep my original Flag intact in case I decide I don't like the tattering, or in case I want to use the flag image for something else in the future (e.g., forum avatar).

First, I'll save my flag as a Pattern. On the Edit menu, I click on Define Pattern. The Pattern Name window will appear. I use the suggested name, but you can change this name if you like. I'll click OK and now I have a new pattern.

Now I need to create a file with tattering and then I'll put the pattern onto that tattering file. First I'll create a new file (press Ctrl+N) with a Width of 256 pixels, a Height of 170 pixels, and for the Background Contents I'll select Transparent.

I'll fill this file two-thirds of the way with black (use then Rectangular Marquee to make the selection and then press Shift+F5 to fill).

Now I'll use the Smudge Tool File:Ps smudge tool.png (press R) to slowly click and drag some of the black across the other third of the image. Generally, I'll use the 10px brush size initially and then switch to a smaller size to fix up the finer points of the tattering.

Keep in mind that you want this tattering to look realistic, so the flag should all be connected and torn in a plausible way.

Once the tattering is complete, I'll add my pattern. On the Layer menu, under Layer Style, I click on Pattern Overlay. On the Layer Style window that appears, I click on the Pattern drop-down box and select my flag pattern.

Reducing the Size and Saving as a PNG file for a Flag

If you haven't already, then save the Flag (Ctrl + S) as a Photoshop file (PSD file). Next I am going to reduce the size and save a copy of the file as a PNG file, so that I can submit the Flag—see the Submitting User Content page.

As I mentioned earlier, the finished Flag must be 128w x 85h pixels, but we created the Flag at 256 x 170px. To reduce the size, on the Image menu, I click Image Size (or press Alt+Ctrl+I). I change the Width to 128 pixels and Height to 85 pixels.

Now I'll save this image as a PNG. On the File menu, I click Save for Web & Devices (press Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S). This window will allow me compare how the file looks in various formats. I want a PNG file, so I select PNG-24 and then click Save.

Related Pages

Related Pages
Participating in User Content	Creating User Content | Submitting User Content | Using User Content
Others	Creating User Content (QuickStart), 2D Tutorials and Resources