{How To} Edit your TF3D Manila Images to Have Exactly the Design You Want

[chuckz07]

Originally Posted by bignadad

i went and zoomed in very close on the calendar icon. i didnt see anything around it, but the pixels inside of the icon were a little off. i cleaned up just the calender icon. is that what you were talking about?

Yes, calendar looks better now. But mainly, look closely at your numbers in the clock. The black outline looks jagged, and that is what I am referring to mostly. Not giving you a hard time, you're doing an excellent job. In my work I started seeing little things, when I started a couple years ago, that stand out and are the difference from good to excellent.

[bignadad]

Originally Posted by chuckz07

Yes, calendar looks better now. But mainly, look closely at your numbers in the clock. The black outline looks jagged, and that is what I am referring to mostly. Not giving you a hard time, you're doing an excellent job. In my work I started seeing little things, when I started a couple years ago, that stand out and are the difference from good to excellent.

Oh, no problem, i appreciate the input.
when i am zoomed in close enough to see each pixel, like i have shown above, should all color be solid like the blue, or shaded like the numbers in the calender icon? also what about edges, should they be a lighter/darker color?

or is it just playing around with it till something looks good?

[chuckz07]

Originally Posted by bignadad

Oh, no problem, i appreciate the input.
when i am zoomed in close enough to see each pixel, like i have shown above, should all color be solid like the blue, or shaded like the numbers in the calender icon? also what about edges, should they be a lighter/darker color?

or is it just playing around with it till something looks good?

For me it is just trying a few different ways until it looks right to me. Darker/lighter makes no nevermind it is all about aesthetics. On the smaller icons, I tend to drop the shadowing effect because the icon is already small as it is. this way there is more room for clarity. FYI, ensure you are saving 32 bit RGB. Sometimes photo editing software is defaulted at 8 bit. You probably already knew about that, but just throwing it in there.

[bignadad]

Originally Posted by chuckz07

FYI, ensure you are saving 32 bit RGB. Sometimes photo editing software is defaulted at 8 bit. You probably already knew about that, but just throwing it in there.

i know what bits are, but have not set them in photoshop.
where would i do that?
when i save as...png, it does not give any additional options. just interlaced or not.

i have attached my color setting in photoshop CS4

[chuckz07]

Originally Posted by bignadad

i went and zoomed in very close on the calendar icon. i didnt see anything around it, but the pixels inside of the icon were a little off. i cleaned up just the calender icon. is that what you were talking about?

OR were you referring to the pixels that make up the border? what about the shawdow?







Original----------------------------------------- Edited

Something else I noticed last night and just now. In the clock, look at the hour (. On the left side of it, you will see a straight 'cut off' line in the black border. I have been unsuccessful in finding the exact mapping for the files by the program. Basically what I mean is that the program 'should' be pulling images through coordinates. Knowing those coordinates would prove very handy in re-creating. But I have always done my editing for the clocks the same way you taught yourself to do it.

[chuckz07]

Originally Posted by bignadad

i know what bits are, but have not set them in photoshop.
where would i do that?
when i save as...png, it does not give any additional options. just interlaced or not.

i have attached my color setting in photoshop CS4

It has been too long since I fooled with a trial edition of PS. Your attachment is too small so I can't make it out. I looked at my GIMP program quickly to see something. When I create new, my settings are: RGB with a x and y resolution of no less than 72 pixels. When I save as png, I have an option for adam7 interlacing which I do not have checked. Will this help you, I don't know. But GIMP is free, you could download it and play with it a little and see what you come up with. Comparing 2 identical files, one created in PS and the other in GIMP, you could always see. PS is very, very powerful and takes a little time to use properly. But like I stated before, I have used a full (but trial) version of PS and GIMP IMO is just as powerful.

[chuckz07]

Post any single manila file from that clock. I would like to look at it closely if you don't mind. Just any one with the time numbers.

That is if you don't mind!?

[bignadad]

Originally Posted by chuckz07

Something else I noticed last night and just now. In the clock, look at the hour (. On the left side of it, you will see a straight 'cut off' line in the black border. I have been unsuccessful in finding the exact mapping for the files by the program. Basically what I mean is that the program 'should' be pulling images through coordinates. Knowing those coordinates would prove very handy in re-creating. But I have always done my editing for the clocks the same way you taught yourself to do it.

Yeah, i noticed that. its on almost all the numbers like that.
so does that mean the number is going outside the invisible border?
i also noticed in the same manila with the home missed call/calender/etc that if i erased the shaded clock tabs on the left of the icons it would make the clock numbers even wose. what if that same clock tabs that i erased i make a little more grainy or semi-transparent to try and hide??? i guess i will just have to play around with it.


also, when you touch the slider it brings up the large icon of whatever your sliding over, but it also puts up a semi-transparent black background that covers most of the screen. i would like it to be just a little bit larger that the icon itself. i have tried altering all the black transparent images i could find and none of them worked.

[chuckz07]

Originally Posted by bignadad

also, when you touch the slider it brings up the large icon of whatever your sliding over, but it also puts up a semi-transparent black background that covers most of the screen. i would like it to be just a little bit larger that the icon itself. i have tried altering all the black transparent images i could find and none of them worked.

That's where manila get a little tricky with the images. IDK exactly, yet, but that background may be controlled by a very small image. say 1x1, or 3x3, etc pixels but it is tiling it. The slider background kinda works that way. The image file is not the width of the screen. Make sense? Be back after I look at your file.

[chuckz07]

Oh yeah, remove that file you posted for me so you don't get people installing it later and asking why their clock is messed up.