Fighter Factory 3 Help

[TristasticGaming]

I'm pretty new to the whole MUGEN character creation program so I expected there to be some obstacles in the way while I was working on my first character for the game.

As you can see here in this image, is a basic character I created using MediBang.

It isn't pixely, but I didn't really expect there to be any problems as long as the background color was solid.

I was wrong.

Gonna be honest with ya, I literally looked for tutorials online to see if there was a way to fix the color transparency for the palette. I could not find a single one that was helpful. I am in need of help. If there is any way that I can fix this problem, please let me know. Even if it involves modifying the sprite.

(I've also been wanting to make it look more like a pixely sprite and not an oily outlined picture)

[DarkValentine]

You have to make sure the color of the image itself is using the 8-bit color palette instead of 16bit. I'll fix that for you.

Edited Post: Check the attachments. I cleaned up the image, because the way the image was set, was laced with artifacts. Which made getting a transparent color hard without it sticking out. I had to manually remove all artifacts, so I could make sure the color would appear solid. Magenta or "Hot Pink" (R:240, G:000, B:255) is the preferred transparent color of choice, to make life a LOT easier on you. I used Gimp to clean it up, and then dropped that color in with Gimp. And GraphicsGale to get the color palette correct in 8bpp (256 Colors Mode).

Once I saw that it was like that, I put it back in Gimp to make it a pcx file. So the image is pcx ready, you just need to switch it over to that. One thing about .png images, whatever is used in the image itself, must never have any artifacts. When you go to remove solid colors, you'll see that there are often more of them, because 16bit colors often have at least 1 million shades color types total for a color index. Those individual shades are where the artifacts come from. 8bpp has only a 256 color index.

The image on the right, is what happens when you save the .png with the correct transparent color. So I made sure to include what I did in GraphicsGale to show that Magenta is the color being used. When you go to convert it, you'll notice that very color at the beginning of the palette.

[TristasticGaming]

You have to make sure the color of the image itself is using the 8-bit color palette instead of 16bit. I'll fix that for you.

Edited Post: Check the attachments. I cleaned up the image, because the way the image was set, was laced with artifacts. Which made getting a transparent color hard without it sticking out. I had to manually remove all artifacts, so I could make sure the color would appear solid. Magenta or "Hot Pink" (R:240, G:000, B:255) is the preferred transparent color of choice, to make life a LOT easier on you. I used Gimp to clean it up, and then dropped that color in with Gimp. And GraphicsGale to get the color palette correct in 8bpp (256 Colors Mode).

Once I saw that it was like that, I put it back in Gimp to make it a pcx file. So the image is pcx ready, you just need to switch it over to that. One thing about .png images, whatever is used in the image itself, must never have any artifacts. When you go to remove solid colors, you'll see that there are often more of them, because 16bit colors often have at least 1 million shades color types total for a color index. Those individual shades are where the artifacts come from. 8bpp has only a 256 color index.

The image on the right, is what happens when you save the .png with the correct transparent color. So I made sure to include what I did in GraphicsGale to show that Magenta is the color being used. When you go to convert it, you'll notice that very color at the beginning of the palette.

Ah thank you so much! I'll be sure to try this out on the completed sprite sheet, although I'm not really sure what artifacts are.

EDIT: How do I clean up the image using GIMP?

[DarkValentine]

You don't necessarily have to use Gimp, you can use whatever image editing software on hand you have. But Gimp is a bit more versatile.

I cleaned up the image by using the Color Picker tool, and manually deleting the colors that were clashing on the image, until I ended up with solid white around the entire shot. From there, I used Magenta as the color of choice with the paint bucket tool. There was a LOT of hidden artifacts around that initial color shade that you used.

That is the only problem with drawing an image. There's a chance it may create colors that bleed into a lighter or darker shade of that color, and cause it to artifact. Like what you experienced.

[mulambo]

Yup, Gimp is extra cool, I still prefer it to Photoshop as it is simpler and less "stiffy"... if it only had a palette manager too it could be perfect ( I mean something like PaintShopPro or Photoshop with the possibility of saving/loading the palette) for sprite editing.

[DarkValentine]

Yup, Gimp is extra cool, I still prefer it to Photoshop as it is simpler and less "stiffy"... if it only had a palette manager too it could be perfect ( I mean something like PaintShopPro or Photoshop with the possibility of saving/loading the palette) for sprite editing.

It does have a palette manager, but the way to get to it is a bit out of the way.

https://i.imgur.com/J9qbtKb.png

[mulambo]

well, forgot to mention I use gimp 2.6, tried newer versions years ago but they were all buggy and slow
::edit::

nevermind, seems like there are 2 palette windows, something new learned today

[TristasticGaming]

I'm trying to edit the sprite, but it won't let me do it like you can. Could you provide more steps in cleaning up the sprite?

[DarkValentine]

Of course I can! Here's a few things you need to know, in order to make use of the tools that Gimp has available. As a heads up, I am using Gimp 2.8. The version isn't necessary, as it's just for the sake of stability, but it pays to upgrade when possible. Now, let's begin.

Whenever you're in the mood for cleaning up your image, you must first use the Toolbox bar, and it's necessary tools that are available. Such as the Pencil tool, the color picker tool, the paint bucket tool, and alternatively the "Select by Color" tool. You may also want to zoom in on the image, so you are more aware of what you're trying to do. If unsure of where it is, see the image below.
https://i.imgur.com/s6xDfe8.png

To edit stuff at the pixel level, you must select the Pencil tool, and put the setting to "Pixel", from there, you can adjust the size. As seen below. Alternatively, you can press - or = on your keyboard to adjust the zoom yourself as a shortcut.
https://i.imgur.com/D2A5DYo.png

The color picker tool (or Eye Drop tool) is used to select a foreground or background color. So you can either add it as a custom saved color. Or, make it easier to find & locate the colors you wish to change. It looks like an eye drop tool on the toolbar image. The color will change at the bottom, to indicate you have selected that color.

The "Select by Color" option will highlight all the areas on that image, where the color you want removed or highlighted is on screen. This works well if you want to change just that one color, without the risk of affecting other surrounding parts of the image. It's the cleanest way to edit the image. You have various options when doing this, such as filling in with another color using the paint bucket tool, or using the pencil tool, and increasing the size of that tool's cursor, in order to cover a wider area by hand. The select by Color option is at the upper-right corner of the Toolbox image.

The above that I put here will give you a general idea on what tools you can use inside of gimp, in order to clean it up. Sometimes it's best to open the image, then select "file, and then select "New". This will force Gimp to copy the exact width & height of the already opened image, so you can copy & paste your sprite onto a new canvas. This allows you to do a better job at changing or removing the color around your image. From there, you can make your own image transparent if you wish. As seen below.
https://i.imgur.com/vbbMje9.png

At the end of the day, it's going to take time, and a bit of patience. The pencil tool is your best friend here, of doing things at the pixel level, so you can do a proper clean-up. Otherwise, the "select by color" tool will do you lots of justice. Same for the Paint Bucket tool. Most folks say Photoshop is easier, but I never became a pro at using it. Gimp was more along my speed, because it was easier to understand and free.