EXPANSION TEAM UNIFORM – LOGO CREATION

HOW TO

These logos will be used on the player uniforms (ie: helmet, jersey, pants). When used on helmets,

they are thick vinyl stickers. When used on jerseys and pants, they are thick decals sewn with fabric.

These logos will have extended WHITE borders with both a positive and negative version, so the

colors used on the borders will change depending on the specific color background.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

The following software is required to create the Expansion Team Uniform logos:

Adobe Illustrator Ver. CS4 or later.

Adobe Photoshop Ver. CS4 or later.

INSTALLING PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES

Load the Photoshop brushed called using the following:

HOW TO CREATE THE TEAM LOGOS

Creating logos can be done using various methods. The following are suggestions, but the final image is the

most important aspect of creation and should be based on the artist’s personal preferences.

- Start by opening one of the team logos in Adobe Illustrator.

- Change the color mode to RGB (File->Document Color Mode->RGB Color).

- Select any part of the logo that is currently 100% white and change it to 92% (see examples).

- Select any part of the logo that is currently O% black and change it to 12%.

*NOTE: Settings for the blacks and whites are very important and can affect how textures display in the game.

The dark background was added (above) to make the white outline more visible.

Logo (above) after the whites have been changed to 92%.

You will need to create TWO versions of the logo using Adobe Illustrator:

- One version will use the standard outside stroke outline that is used for the HELMET logo.

- The second version will use a larger stroke outline that is used for the FABRIC logo.

Select the outer layer in Illustrator and follow the steps below:

OBJECT – PATH – OFFSET PATH

Change the offset path to 35 pt (rounded).

(Examples above of logos with standard stroke and extended path at 35 pt.)

*NOTE: When these images are imported into Photoshop, both of the interiors of the logos (not

including the outside stroke) need to occupy the same space in both of the 512 x 512 images

(centered left/right and up/down).

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING FOR BOTH VERSIONS – HELMET AND FABRIC

- Select all of the layers/parts of the logo and copy (can also be done by exporting the paths).

- Open Photoshop, create ONE new file 512 x 512 (72 pixels/inch) at RGB 8 bit color and paste

the images.

*NOTE: It’s best to start with both versions in one Photoshop file. This helps ensure that they are both

lined up correctly before proceeding.

Once you have lined up the logos (centered left/right and up/down), two versions can be saved–

Helmet and Fabric (see FILE NAMING for instructions on how to name the files).

CREATING HELMET LOGO

CREATING BACKGROUNDS

After the logo has been imported from Illustrator, create two backgrounds – POSITIVE AND

NEGATIVE. Both backgrounds can be in the Photoshop file.

- The positive logo needs to have a white background (92%).

- The negative logo needs to have a black background (12%).

CREATE A NORMAL MAP

Select the logo or layer with the outer edge (when combining parts), contract selection one pixel and

run the NVIDIA NORMAL MAP FILTER. This helps prevent the outer edge of the normal from being

cut off by the alpha.

CREATING ALPHA CHANNEL

Select the logo and create an alpha channel. Make sure

that the alpha is clean / sharp. DOUBLE CHECK THE

ALPHA WITH THE NORMAL.

CREATE BLEED

- Select the logo. Then follow image to the right.

- Fill a new layer with the same color as outside

edge.

- You can also add a layer style stroke (same color)

of 1 pixel to the logo or layer with the outer edge.

SAVING FILES

Five files need to be created for each HELMET logo (ONE SOURCE PHOTOSHOP FILE + FOUR

EXPORTED TGA FILES). See FILE NAMING for details.

SOURCE PHOTOSHOP FILE

POSITIVE COLOR POSITIVE NORMAL NEGATIVE COLOR NEGATIVE NORMAL

NOTE: For more details on layers – setup / naming in

Photoshop, see the following file as an example:

THUNDE_fabric_logo01.psd

CREATING FABRIC LOGO

CREATE BACKGROUNDS

Create the POSITIVE and NEGATIVE Backgrounds.

SEPARATE LAYERS

The logo needs to be separated into

various parts or layers (See

THUNDE_fabric_logo01.psd as an example).

This can be done by duplicating the logo several times. Then, select each color (invert the selection

SHIFT+CNTRL+I) and delete the remainder.

For better results, this can be done in a larger file (than the 512 x 512) and then the layers can be

imported or copied into the 512 x 512.

You can also export paths out of Illustrator at the beginning of the logo creation process.

The amount of separated layers will vary depending on the team logo (complexity and colors).

*NOTE: This step can also be applied to the Helmet logo as well.

CREATING STITCHES

- With the pen tool, draw a line around

the outer border of the logo (the stitches

work best when the line/path is placed

directly in the middle).

You can also clean the path up by adding more points and

adjusting the curve using the Add Anchor Point Tool.

- Select the brush that has the middle stitch as well as

top and bottom.

- Select the desired size and color (92% white) of

brush.

- Go to the PATHS menu in the layers section.

- Right click on the path and select STROKE PATH.

- Press OK and the stitches should follow the path that

you have made with the pen tool.

ADDING BLENDING

OPTIONS TO LAYERS

Add the following blending options /

layer styles with their settings to the

layers.

These layer styles can be copied from

THUNDE_fabric_logo01.psd.

ADDING THE FABRIC DETAIL

Use the texture provided in THUNDE_fabric_logo01.psd.

- Select the desired layer and invert the selection.

- Select the pattern / texture layer and delete. This can also be accomplished using a mask (that

way, the texture remains intact).

- Make sure the pattern

is at the highest level in the

layers.

Blend using Soft Light.

FINAL IMAGE

CREATING NORMAL MAP

For the best results, each of the layers will need to be filtered using the NVIDIA NORMAL MAP

FILTER and then combined. SEE SETTINGS IN HELMET SECTION OF DOCUMENT.

CREATING ALPHA CHANNEL

Create an Alpha Channel using the same methods as mentioned above in the CREATE HELMET

LOGO.

SAVING FILES

Five files need to be created for each HELMET logo (ONE SOURCE PHOTOSHOP FILE + FOUR

EXPORTED TGA FILES). See FILE NAMING for details.

SOURCE PHOTOSHOP FILE

POSITIVE COLOR POSITIVE NORMAL NEGATIVE COLOR NEGATIVE NORMAL

___________________________________________________________________

FILE NAMING

Files must follow a strict naming convention so that our development team can script it in game.

The files must have the FIRST 6 LETTERS OF THE TEAM (ie: THUNDE).

If the team doesn't have 6 letters, it gets forced into 6 letters by using X's (ie: ELKSXX). EXAMPLES: THUNDE_fabric_logo01.psd THUNDE_helmet_logo01.psd THUNDE_fabric_negative_logo01_COL.tga THUNDE_helmet_negative_logo01_COL.tga THUNDE_fabric_negative_logo01_NORM.tga THUNDE_helmet_negative_logo01_NORM.tga THUNDE_fabric_positive_logo01_COL.tga THUNDE_helmet_positive_logo01_COL.tga THUNDE_fabric_positive_logo01_NORM.tga THUNDE_helmet_positive_logo01_NORM.tga

COLOR SETTINGS

The settings for the blacks and whites are very important and can affect how the textures display in

the game.

- Blacks within the logo textures are NOT to be a pure or complete black (100%). They are

supposed to be set at 12%.

- Whites within the logo textures are NOT to be a pure or complete white (100%). They are

supposed to be set at 92%.

It is best to make the changes to the color in Illustrator before exporting the parts to be used in

Photoshop.

FILE SIZE

Final .tga images are to be 512 x 512.

Color versions of files need to be saved WITH the alphas, but normal versions DO NOT.

POSITIVE COLOR POSITIVE NORMAL NEGATIVE COLOR NEGATIVE NORMAL

(saved with alpha) (no alpha) (saved with alpha) (no alpha)