Sail Design for the Highland Confederacy

In the big picture, I’ve settled into just messing around with guild development and artwork related to the Highland Confederacy at the moment. A few of us think it might be best to have some simple lettering as a sail insignia and so I’ve tossed together a few examples.

These are pretty simple but I do think they would look nice. They are obviously designed to be single icons and not tiled.

We will see what people think and go from there.

Design Notes:

These were pretty simple to create. These are “Book Antiqua” font scaled up really big with a default Simple Inner style applied and then a single texture to add a bit more wear and inconsistencies. I think they could use a bit of hand touching here and there, but not sure that I will be successful. For the H into C, I did have to break out an eraser and manually remove sections of the H but it was a real quick job.

Flag Development for PotBS :: What I’ve Learned

Today, I’m going to share my thoughts and what I have learned about making flags for Pirates of the Burning Sea. A few notes of fair warning first: I’m not an artist and really don’t have that much experience within Photoshop. I do use Photoshop and I’ve messed around with it enough to know about layers and opacity but that is about it.

(If you don’t have Photoshop, there are several other options. I think almost all programs can do the stuff I talk about in this tutorial. I think they all do things a bit differently but I’ve gotten pretty one-sided in only using Photoshop so that is where all the references come from.)

With that background, I do think if you go through the site, you can see clear improvement. My goal here is to help other relative newbies figure how to get up to a pretty good level quickly.

First things first, the official forum has great references around:

Read the Stickies Here

I’m going to walk you through my learning curve. First things first, I started a few months back trying to make something. I pretty much failed. I tried to take big art and simply scale it down. That doesn’t work. I tried weathering the flag by hand, altering colors here and there and making parts darker and others lighter. If you aren’t an artist, that doesn’t work.

I’m not going to say that my flags are great. But I think they are acceptable and you can get to an acceptable level very quickly and very easily using a few rules and never trying or attempting to have an artistic flair.

First things first, expect it to take a bit of time to play around and figure out how stuff works. Even though the images are small, most of the betters ones are pretty tough to duplicate. Small doesn’t mean that a lot of work didn’t go into them. So I will walk you through making a decent appearing flag using a simple flag of a nation. *Runs off to Wikipedia and grabs the Scottish flag*

Ok, rule one. Work a bit bigger than the 128×85 dimensions. I work on something 3 times that size and then shrink it down for the final picture. It simply works much better to do the work on a bigger canvas. Zooming does NOT cut it. So that is my base image at 3 times the final product size.

Easy enough thus far. Now months ago, I would start trying to mess with the flag colors and “age” the flag and “desaturate” the flag and alter the contrast or brightness. You may need some of that, but rather, let’s focus on textures and layering. Again, I’m not an artist and simple is better. I went around my house and took pictures of stuff with different textures. I have about 20 now that I can use. Wallpapers, book covers, carpets, shirts, jeans, marble table tops, wood grains. Everyday stuff.

So here is my “old book cover” texture image. I’ll use this base image and crop it and add it as a layer to my flag.

Note: the great thing about this particular texture layer is that is “does” several things. First it brings in a fine cloth type pattern, and secondly it has faded inconsistencies so that it looks aged – actually it is aged as it is from the early 20th century. You can get this look through combining multiple textures but this one in particular is excellent due to accomplishing multiple actions in just one layer simply due to the original texture.

Simple overlay of the layers and turning the opacity down to 50 on the texture, you get this.

The three main things to do with layers are to alter the opacity (or strength of the overlay) and the style of the overlay (how it is applied to the lower layers) and finally alter the order of the layers. Adobe has lots of options for how to overlay the various layers. Play around – I don’t think there should be any hard fast rule – just scroll through them and pick what looks good. I think you will find a handful that you like the best. Again, this is simply normal which is the default with an opacity of 50%.

It is pretty good but you can see where the blue in the texture is altering the white and I want my white more white. Let’s adjust that texture layer. (The texture layer was “causing” the blue so go to the source – if you had altered the background, you’d also be affecting the blue within the Scottish flag and it was pretty good so let’s turn that blue texture to a gray scale type image.) Rather than a blue tint, let’s just desaturate it and make it gray. Simply select that layer and alter the color by setting Saturation to ZERO. Now you have something like this.

The scary part is that is a better flag than I could make in hours of doing hand techniques. Seriously. Textures are key. I spent a couple of weeks working on various flags and couldn’t figure out this basic technique. You have to use layers and probably multiple ones. Textures are everywhere in your home and a simple picture will get that look on your concept in seconds. I think you are better off if you use multiple textures so try multiple combinations. I have 20 in a folder – took them in about an hour. So rule 2 and 3 are textures and layering are ABSOLUTELY key.

If you want the picture brighter or darker, use an adjustment layer (small button above the layers). It is much better than actually adjusting the background. Try gradients for shadowing. Combine multiple gradients for more complex shadowing. I have a flag with well over 10 layers. For my final flag, I simply added one more texture. It is a wood grain and served to further age the flag and added a little warmth.

Ok, now you have the background. Next let’s cover some information regarding making small, low pixel count images. The best thing that I can say is find a reference image and then use a layer to create an outline of the art. Outlines shrink. Originals won’t. Pretend you’re in kindergarten and outline / trace / get an imprint of the picture you want. Then shrink that down. It is easier to edit and easier to fix something if you do it poorly. Trust me, originals won’t shrink and this step is critical to low-poly count art.

Here is an example showing the source art and the original tracing and the various layers that I used to build that really simple looking Fleur. I think it illustrates that when you see something “even simple” in these flags, they are often a bit more complex and take a bit more time than I thought when I started doing this a couple of months ago.

From this point, where the basic tracing is complete, make a new layer or layers. Use layers to add shading or add in additional details. If you mess up, it is easier to revert. I work in a DIFFERENT file for each individual piece to keep things simple. So I have a Fleur file and it has a layer for the tracing, a layer for the shadowing, a layer for highlights, and a layer for the background. Remember, changing the order of the layers and the type of overlap can have a significant effect. It is easier to play around with this approach than it is to be truly creative from a non-artist perspective.

Add the art and the flag is pretty much complete. That is a rough summary. I’d love to be able to tell you how to custom “tatter” the flag. Best I can tell, this really requires artistic talent and a lot of trial and error. It is very hard to get to a realistic appearing weathering pattern. I can get close by erasing small chunks and then smudging the texture around but I loose details in the surrounding flag and then have to clone the background and it becomes a labor intensive process and still very difficult.

I hope this helps a few or at least, saves you a few hours knowing where to spend time and where NOT to go. Good luck. Post your flags on the official forums. The members there have great eyes for looking at flags and quickly can point you in the right general direction.

To the High Seas!!

My Flag :: Final Version

FYI: I’m working on a tutorial explaining what I have learned. Not sure it is anything new, but it will be a tutorial explaining my process and with a few pointers of what not to try. Check back in the next couple of days if you are interested.

Highland Confederacy Flag Work Resumes

CREDIT: James G. Elmslie

2nd flag background and remix of original artwork by Demetrious

Intent is for James to use these rough examples for final creation and submit them to Flying Lab Software for inclusion into Pirates of the Burning Sea. Do not reproduce, use, or submit without approval from the original creator. These are works in progress and posted to help expedite getting them into a final form.

On the Treaty of Union :: Dermid Gavin

Dermid Responds to Questions regarding the Treaty of Union that was passed in his homeland some 11 years or so after he left for the Caribbean aboard The Endeavor.

*Tone moves into a clearly agitated state*

It is treaty of oppression from where I sit!

I can’t believe kin would sign such a thing. They claim our failure in New Caledonia was part of the reason, but that just shows ignorance. Hell, I was there and if not for the actions of the British scum, we would have prevailed. Sit back and do nothin and then agree to give it away. Bah!

*takes a large drink of ale, leans back and drifts into his past*

I think it was probably the 9th year before I heard rumblings of agreement. I was still young at age and had just found a home in the The Albatross where Willem McDough had taken me, at least a bit, under his wing. Twas there in that tavern I heard sailors speak of the agreement. Can’t say that a single one thought it was good for Scotland. Merging of two shouldn’t mean losing your voice, you know.

Sad thing is, I think they’re right. Word is they are no better now than before and worse off if you count the lack of say. So for the time being, I don’t see me returning. I’ve got a better chance here to make it on my own and if I can take down the Brits just one step in raising meself up, then that I’ll do!

*Browses his pockets, takes a quick look, then raises his hand and orders yet another round for the table and shouts “Let’s bring one without a hole in bottom this time round!”*

Curse the Wind! :: Tale of Dermid Gavin

The Tale of Dermid Gavin who has returned from a trip to the Antilles. He left the Albatross two weeks prior just a storm began to bring rain and wind out of the East.

*Nearly two weeks to the day, Dermid staggers back onto the shore just a few miles southwest of the Albatross. Slowly, he half-stumbles his way back to the comforts that he now wishes that he had never left.

He enters the Albatross and falls into a small cot tucked behind the old bar. At first glance there is little doubt that something has gone terribly amiss upon his journey. He has lost some 20 pounds and is but a shadow of his former self. The once relatively nice attair and polished appearance has been stripped from him and now something just before death’s doorstep lies nearly motionless behind the bar.

As he has often done over his years within the Albatross, Willem McDough is quick to offer what support and care he can for the man he often calls son. Within a short few hours, the initial exhaustion of relief at reaching familiar and stable ground begins to fade, and while still appearing to be a changed person, Dermid begins to recount his tale.*

“Curse the wind!! Curse the waves!! Curse that damned storm!! I probably wasn’t more than a few good hours from here to the south before the wind and rain turned more angry than I can ever remember. At once it seemed that the anger within the deeps rose up and purposefully lashed out at my sole with all of its might. There was little that could be done, I swear.

We attempted to turn and run from the rising beast but it was useless. Downwind the waves simply poured over the stern of boat and within minutes we would have been at the depths of the sea. We tacked into the wind and on the starboard side we held our own. I swear the men fought valiantly for seemingly hours within the darkness of that brutal evening. Certainly there was some damage to the sails and to the framework but it seemed like the worst was behind us and that we would reach safety beyond.

Then came a large bolt of lightening from the sky. Suddenly the darkness faded and a large reef was shown not more than a good throw off the bow. We were heading right towards it leaving us no option but to tack again to larboard. During the tack, the sails were ripped to small shreds wrestling aimlessly within the storm. We were left to the mercy of the sea and storm. Within just a few minutes, darkness overtook the boat as the schooner “Riverside” sunk into the darkness of the angry night sea.

Not a soul…. Not a single soul… the ship… the crew… supplies and timbers…. all taken by the sea for days.

I drifted upon little more than a few boards torn from the hull. Luckily a merchant ship came upon me on the twelfth sunset and offered to carry me back to safety. I don’t think I was more than a just over the horizon but it wasn’t a trip that I could have made without help.

It all now lies in the darkness of the great sea. It is all lost.”

*With that Dermid lays back into the cot and after a few gentle pats by the old barkeep, Dermid drifts off for a nice long nap and some long overdue rest.*

PotBS :: “if you don’t like how the game is designed… it’ll be our fault, not SOE’s”

In the last couple of days, there has been quite a bit of information come out regarding PotBS. Flying Lab Software have signed with Sony Online Entertainment as the “platform publisher” for Pirates of the Burning Sea to mixed reviews by the community.

Thankfully, I’m pretty ignorant to MMORPGs and their history and so I don’t have strong personal opinions on any of the publishers for the various MMO games. In LOTRO for example, I think, from my limited reading, that Turbine had a pretty poor reputation with initial releases and with Dungeon and Dragon in particular hanging quite heavily on their reputation. That said, I have nothing but positives based on my experience. Coming from NWN where sooo much was known, it is nice to be in the more ignorant camp and simply enjoying the game. Ok…. ok… that rambled, but the point is simply that when I saw “SOE” I had to Google the letters to figure out what / who it was. Quickly browsing the forum I saw several negatively toned posts and I tried simply not to read them. After all, what is done is done and in reality it won’t matter – either I’ll like the game or I won’t.

That said, I was very pleased to see this blog – Link to Editor Blog – talking about the state of the game by Rusty who is the head of Flying Lab Software. All in all, I think it says all the right things – so much so, I made it the title of this post.

They updated the release date to be sometime in the Fall. I’m very interested in this game from a development perspective as well as from a player perspective. I think it has a very unique opportunity to be something different that fits more into a sub-culture all-time classic rather than a mass target release project. But…. I’m sure they will feel pressures and opportunity if they can expand the focus a bit and cover a few more bases. You can see this already with the boarding combat, the hand-to-hand combat, and most recently the publisher. The good news is that I think each of those moves helps to not only broaden the player base but make the game more enjoyable for me.

So all sails up and head for the Caribbean!! Fall should be great time!!

Dermid Gavin :: Account of Recent Days

Dermid Gavin returns to “The Albatross” (tavern for the Highland Confederacy) after an unsuccessful week long search for strong timber. It seems that the lack of strong wood in this region will certainly be a sticking point for his craft.

*Dermid pulls up a chair and finds a small crowd gathered in The Albatross. As usual John More remains more to himself, nearly silent, as he slowly continues his work on ideas for flags and designs for the Highland Confederacy. Dermid peers over his shoulder and slowly peruses the detailed drawings.*

*Slowly lifting his tin from time to time to have a sip of whatever fills his cup this day, it is obvious that Dermid respects the good work being done for the company. Realizing that John is deep at work, he simply proceeds across the bar to the more crowded corner near the fireplace.*

I must say that I’m pleased with our company good friends. Although this land is harsh and I did just spend a full week without finding a single good tree, we have good talents among us and I have little doubt that we can be successful in this land.

*Dermid raises his tin towards the center of the table and gives a quick toast to Hamish, the founding member.*