Face making guide - By Andy222c
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andy222c |
Posted on 14-08-2011 11:44
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Sprinter
Posts: 1537
Joined: 23-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Hi Guys
This is a guide which tells you how to make faces for Pro Cycling Manager 2011. I'll guide you through different basic techniques when making a face. So if you want to be able to make a face, then take a deep breath and go on reading
In this guide I will try to make the face of Robert Gesink. I'll be using Gimp as my image manipulator (I haven't used Photoshop, but I assume the main points is the same in both image manipulators)
Therefore it's very good to have the basic knowlegde of using gimp (using layers, skaling, cutting and stuff like that...), but only the basic, cause i'm gonna explain as accurately as possible what you are going to do.
CHOOSING YOUR RIDER
Okay lets start from the bottom.
First of all you have to find out who you want to make. It sounds easy enough, but if you're going to make a good looking and reconizible face, then you'll have to be realistic.
There's no need of setting unrealistic goals as making a completely unknown rider which you can't find a high resultion picture of.
So starting out with famous riders like Robert Gesink would be perfect.
CHOOSE YOUR PICTURE
Okay on we go. You'll need to find a picture of your rider, in this case Gesink.
This part is very essential and proporbly the most difficult.
It's so important that you'll get the right picture, because the picture is going to be the foundation of making a reconizible rider.
1. First of all it's very important to get a high resulution picture, because if the face is too small and you need to scale the picture higher, then you'll get a bluring face which downcreases the recognizability.
Therefore always try to search for pictures in high resolution (Check the left sidebar in google images), but if there ain't pictures in the highest resulution, then just try searching for medium size and then all sizes.
I would say that the most optimal face (only the face, no body) would be in resulution 200 X 200 or higher.
2. Not only the size of the picture matters, it also have to be an image which is taking from the very front (or at least as possible as it gets).
The more the picture is taking from the front, the more easier it's going to be, editting the face.
Judge yourself whether it's a good or bad picture, and be fair enough for yourself, cause it will only bring you trouble if it ain't good enough
I found this picture, and I think it's good enough to be editting and base my face on:
CHOOSING A BACKGROUND AND INTEGRATING YOUR FACE
Now we have found our picture. So start up gimp.
First of all, open your picture. Then cut out the face roughly, and don't get too close to the actual face (This part is only to get rid of the rest of the body).
Copy the face which you've just cut out, by right clicking at your marking and then go to -> edit -> copy.
Now you have to open a new window with a default face which is going to be the background of your picture.
Before picking a random background, try to look trough the default ones, and pick the background which is most similar to your picture.
In this case I would recommend the type5 face, because it have very bright skin, quite similar to Robert Gesink.
You can also use other faces which are made. You just have to think: "Is this one going to fit my picture's skin"
When you've chosen your background, paste the picture you've cut out earlier, by right clicking at your background -> edit -> paste.
Now a new "floating marking" will show up in your layers. Add it as a new layer by right clicking at the new "floating marking" -> New layer.
ADAPT AND SCALE YOUR FACE
Okay now we are taking a step further and are going to use some tools.
You've now got your face which is roughly cut out, above the background you've chosen.
1. First of all you'll need to rotate your face in order to know that it is straight.
When you think you've got it straight, then try using the "rectangular marking" tool. make a line from the one pupil to the other pupil. If the face is completely straight, you can do this. If not, you can't.
So try rotating a couple of times, and then the face will get straight.
2. Next step is to resize and fine cut your face.
I've made a little template which makes it a lot easier to make the face fit the 3D model. I'll explain
Go to this website, right click the smiley and save.
https://img853.imageshack.us/img853/64...mplate.png
When you've saved the image then add it as a layer like you did with the picture before and place it above the 2 others.
You'll now see a red smiley above your face...
The smiley actually have a good reason. Cause the highest placed dots is where the eyes should be, and further down the nose, and last the mouth.
When you have this template, it makes it a lot more easier to scale your picture to the right size.
So choose your Gesink face in the layers and use the scale tool by right clicking the layer and then press scale layer. Try experimenting with the size of the layer by adjusting the numbers.
Try if you can hit the picture's eyes where the template's ones is. Same goes with the nose and mouth.
The picture's eyes, nose and mouth don't have to be EXACTLY where the dots are, but the closer, the better
After reaching the best result you can delete the template.
You'll only have to use the most central part of your face picture, so cut your face picture close to the most reconizible parts of the face.
Take a look of the picture below, and try to do something similar. (NB! Don't get too close to the eyebrows)
COLORING BACKGROUND AND FACE
I know I said that finding your picture was the most difficult part... Maybe I lied
Cause the next step we are going through, is to coloring the background and face, so the 2 layers/skins will have the same color.
It is very individualized to every face you are making, whether this step is easy or exremely difficult, but you'll have to learn it.
Okay. We now got a face which fits the 3D model, but the backgorund and the face has quite different skin colors, even though we picked a background which had quite similar colors.
Therefore we have to color the background, so it gets the same color as our face.
As basic learning you'll need 2 tools to coloring your background.
1. The first one is called "color ballance"
- At the top in your gimp window, find the drop-down menu saying "colors".
- Press the first button which is showing up, saying "color ballance"
- A window should pop up, saying "adjust color ballance"
Just like the picture below:
If the window is covering the face, then drag it to a place where you can see your face.
Now choose your background layer which you are going to color.
In the new window there is 3 lines with a button at the center. All 3 lines is between 2 named colors.
Buy adjusting for example the first button over to the red side, the background should appear to be more red.
The more you drag the button over to red side, the more it will turn red (simple) And that is how it works for all of the 3 lines.
Try adjusting the colors and try to feel what every color adjust will do to the face.
As you make more faces, you'll be better and better, cause you'll now exactly which colors you have to adjust to make the background skin look like the face skin.
After you have fumbled around with this feature you'll proporbly notice that you can't make the background the exact same color as the face.
This is because you also have to use another tool.
2. The second tool is called "lightstrength and contrast"
- At the top in your gimp window, find the drop-down menu saying "colors"
- Press the button saying "lightstrength and contrast"
- A window should pop up, saying "adjust lightstrength and contrast"
Like the picture below:
The same goes to this wondow... Drag the the window to a place where you can see your face.
Remember to have chosen the background layer before adjusting anything.
In this window there's only 2 lines with a button in center.
The first is called lightstrength, the more you drag this to right, the more bright the picture will get.
If you drag the button to the left, the more dark the background will get.
The second is called contrast. The more the button is dragged to the right, the more contrast will show (opposition colors will get more reconizible in order to show differences)
If you drag the button to the left, the less contrast will show up.
It's quite hard to explain when english isn't my native
So try this out by yourself, and you will quickly notice what the adjustments will do with your background.
After having a good feeling with these 2 tools, your mission is to make the background the exact same color as your face.
You have to adjust with both tools more than once, to make the best result.
Try to make it look like this:
UNITE FACE AND BACKGROUND AND FINE TUNE
You are now through the hardest steps.
Next we are going to unite our layers.
- Do this by right clicking on your face (the one placed highest)
- Then press the button saying "unite down"
You now got only 1 layer. But we aren't finished yet.
What we are going to do now, is that we have to "smudge" out the edges between what before was background and face, so we are going to have a face which looks as realistic as possible.
Therefore we have to use our smudge tool:
The Smudge tool uses the brush to smudge colors in our face. It takes color in passing and uses it to mix it to the next colors it meets.
So try dragging the smudge brush around and see how it works, and then try to smudge out the edges which is between the former 2 layers.
Zoom in close, so you clearly can see the color differences.
Here's an example of how how it should work if you does it correctly.
Here's the final result of the smudge tools job:
Before
After
You may think that we are done now, but no!
We still need to do the most important thing of all... Using the cyclist viewer.
It can be that you think you have a good face by what you've done so far, but that doesn't mean that it looks good in game. Therefore it's so god damn important that you check and redo things after you have looked at your face in the cyclist viewer.
Let's take a look:
In my opinion I think it looks good, but there's just something with the eyes. But I'll tell you how to do eyes in another guide
You should now be able to to make your own faces at the basic level.
But surely there's something I haven't explained properly, so just ask if you have questions, cause I would love to help you
Thanks for reading, I hope you've found this guide helpful so make a vote in the poll
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jseadog1 |
Posted on 14-08-2011 16:10
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 9595
Joined: 18-07-2010
PCM$: 13552.00
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It helps alot!!!!!! The only flaw is Photoshop images not being in english but excellent!!!!
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roturn |
Posted on 14-08-2011 16:12
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Team Manager
Posts: 22246
Joined: 24-11-2007
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It`s a GIMP tutorial.
PS would have other possibilities but this tutorial makes it pretty easy for everyone to make good looking in game faces. |
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Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 02:17
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jseadog1 |
Posted on 14-08-2011 16:13
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 9595
Joined: 18-07-2010
PCM$: 13552.00
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roturn wrote:
It`s a GIMP tutorial.
PS would have other possibilities but this tutorial makes it pretty easy for everyone to make good looking in game faces.
My bad roturn!! Correct you are but I cant even use GIMP let alone ps!
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 14-08-2011 17:21
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Very good guide andy! Even a graphics noob like me understood this.
Great work! Thank you for writing it.
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Zanci93 |
Posted on 14-08-2011 18:50
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 276
Joined: 19-03-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Thanks for the face making guide. A short question, can I make faces with paint.net ? The problem is that I can't find the "smudge tool" or anything similar in paint.net. It's just a question because I don't want to download gimp when I can use paint.net |
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roturn |
Posted on 14-08-2011 18:59
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Team Manager
Posts: 22246
Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
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You can also use Paint.NET. But they won`t look as good as with Gimp.
Also Photoshop has other tools, where it looks even better than with Gimp imo, but no need to buy PS therefore.
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Zanci93 |
Posted on 14-08-2011 19:05
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 276
Joined: 19-03-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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But the smudge tool or anything that has a similar function doesn't exist in paint.net ? |
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andy222c |
Posted on 14-08-2011 22:31
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Sprinter
Posts: 1537
Joined: 23-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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It's nice to hear that you guys like it, I appreciate your feedback
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markene2 |
Posted on 16-08-2011 11:38
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Domestique
Posts: 419
Joined: 22-06-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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How do you view you face in cyclist viewer?
Great guide though
Edited by markene2 on 16-08-2011 11:38
Venga Vino
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andy222c |
Posted on 16-08-2011 13:12
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Sprinter
Posts: 1537
Joined: 23-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Open the cyclist viewer. Go in to files -> New
This window will open:
Choose the equip and the other things that you'll like to see the cyclist wear.
The box i've marked red is the place you need to write the name of your face.
But even though you've named the face as "Kiserlovksi_face", then only write Kiserlovski, not the "_face".
Then press OK, and then you'll see the cyclist
I'm glad that you like my guide
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markene2 |
Posted on 16-08-2011 19:45
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Domestique
Posts: 419
Joined: 22-06-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Thanks andy. You are doing very much for the PCM comunity, your work is apriciated
Venga Vino
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 18-08-2011 17:57
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Hey andy, I've got a question. What tool do you use to cut out the most central parts of the face? I've used the cutting tool, but it doesn't look that good when using that one.
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roturn |
Posted on 18-08-2011 18:02
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Team Manager
Posts: 22246
Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
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Use the "rubber" in brush modus and delete the default face. |
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 19-08-2011 06:19
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Thanks roturn. Makes it a lot easier now.
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 26-08-2011 17:35
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Sorry for doubleposting, but I have another question.
Is it possible to copy and flip one side of the face and then paste it on the other side of the face, to make both sides look exactly the same?
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andy222c |
Posted on 26-08-2011 17:40
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Sprinter
Posts: 1537
Joined: 23-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Don't sorry for that
Yes. Use the tool called "mirror" and then flip the pasted face vertical.
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 26-08-2011 17:47
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Thanks for the fast answer. I have another question.
Which tool should you use to mark half of the face?
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andy222c |
Posted on 26-08-2011 19:13
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Sprinter
Posts: 1537
Joined: 23-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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When i know the face is straight, i use the regtangular marking tool and copy paste the half face
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 26-08-2011 19:17
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Thanks for the answer. Successfully created my first face now.
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