How do I get the Background Transparent

[Gamesmaster]

I'm trying the Ren'Py engine out for the first time.I got a couple of character pics but the white background just won't go away.At first the images was a jpg with a black background.I've tried changing it to white and I've tried changing the picture format to .png.Neither idea worked
Below is the picture I'm using.

[lordcloudx]

hey... are you sure you wanna use that pic? Isn't that shiori misaka from Kanon. In fact, I'm sure that's her.

Anyway, there are lots of tutorials on making pics like that transparent... but the fastest way with a nice soft effect is to use the magic wand tool on adobe photoshop. Click on the white background with the magic wand. Then go to select feather --- choose 3 or 5 pixels and press delete a few times maybe 2 or 3 times. Then save for web as a png-24 or something like that

[Gamesmaster]

Well I don't know where she's from really but I found a site with lots of images to use.My scanner is not working so I can't draw my own but I really want to at least try this thing out .So I'm doing the best I can with the resources that I have.It's either this or try drawing a original character with nothing but a mouse.(I have nightmares just thinking about it).

[lordcloudx]

You can do inking with a mouse. At least as long as you have a rough sketch or any other pic as a reference, to work with. Just trace over the sketch or pic either point by point or by angles using the pen or freeform pen tool and stroking the paths every now and then.

Or you can even draw from scratch with mspaint. The good old curve tool is something that they should have added to photoshop long ago.

[Ren]

If you don't want to use paint you could try Pixia instead, it's free and i quite like how it fixes lines for you.
I heard some people don't like it but i think it works quite well and i saw some artworks done with it that made me think it can give you nice results if you practice enough.

[lordcloudx]

Wow! Pixia is incredible in the hands of the right user. It seems to be more powerful than photoshop for anime drawings.

[monele]

One good thing with a picture you create yourself is that you won't have to use the wand and this will help avoid the jagged lines as you can see in the hair area (sadly, the wand doesn't help too much :/).
I don't mind such items to be used as placeholder art though (since I tend to do that myself >.>)

[Alessio]

Actually if you resize a picture (smaller), then the jagged lines will get more smooth. As long as the image is big enough and the background has one uniform colour you can thus get rid of jagged lines.

But I'd really recommend using own artwork. You wouldn't be even able to offer your game for download if it contains parts you don't own the copyright of. (On the other hand, if you see it as a temporary solution, and the game turns out well, I'm sure some artist would be willing to help.)

[Gamesmaster]

Alright alright you guys convinced me.I would really like to draw my own graphics.But I've never drawn straight on my computer before.I've always drawn my stuff on paper and scanned it, then colored it.But I will give it a try.Right now I'm in the practice stages of this thing so I'm going to use the images I have for the practice program but I will definitely try my hand at making game graphics for the actual game.

The artwork that I saw using Pixia was amazing.I wonder how long it took him to get that good?

[Alessio]

I'm pretty sure that in order to draw properly you'd need a scanner or then a drawing tablet, no matter which program you use (Pixia, GIMP...). The mouse is just not exact enough for free-hand drawing. Don't punish yourself trying that...
Alternatively, you can use a vector graphics program and assemble the lines bit by bit. I think PyTom created his characters in the Demo game and in Moonlight Walks that way.

[monele]

I agree. Unless you're proficient with a mouse (doing lots of oekakis for example), it will really bring the quality down. Not having either a scanner or a tablet will clearly hinder your work :/. Do you know anyone who has a scanner maybe ? Even if it's not *great*, you could at least scan drawings from time to time this way.

Another thing : what are your plans in the close future ? If you just want to try Ren'Py, as in testing what it can do for you, then I guess you don't *have* to draw things -right now-. Keep using ready-made pictures. You'll have time to replace them with your own drawings later.
If you plan to publish something really soon though, better not lose time and find a solution ^^;

[Watercolorheart]

I'm pretty sure that in order to draw properly you'd need a scanner or then a drawing tablet, no matter which program you use (Pixia, GIMP...). The mouse is just not exact enough for free-hand drawing. Don't punish yourself trying that...
Alternatively, you can use a vector graphics program and assemble the lines bit by bit. I think PyTom created his characters in the Demo game and in Moonlight Walks that way.

That is not true. I learned to drew with a mouse as a child at the age of five roughly the same time as a pencil, and I have no difficulties in making a non-shaky line, provided that I have a decent mouse and pad.

A lot of work just goes into cleaning up spare pixels, and making straight-edged lines. It's the same with traditional, really: you'd still erase and fix a line that was off-center then, now, wouldn't you?

[Alessio]

Wow, well, if you manage to do that, then I take my claim back of course. :) I started my foray into the computer world at the age of 16 when mice were... er... not really being used yet. So pencil on paper is what I go for.

[monele]

I started at the age of 4, with a mouse, as crappy as it was, and I *did* draw stuff on the computer with the mouse (no affordable scanners or tablets at the time), but still... except maybe for a tablet, I wouldn't give my pen'n'paper + scanner away

[PyTom]

Alternatively, you can use a vector graphics program and assemble the lines bit by bit. I think PyTom created his characters in the Demo game and in Moonlight Walks that way.

I did, I used the free SVG program inkscape. I had to do it that way, since I am fundamentally unable to draw with the mouse. Even if I was, I like the fact that in Inkscape, the lines are alive, so I can alter them easily if I don't like where they end up. That's something you can't do with raster graphics, especially after a path has been stroked.

(That's not to say I consider myself a good artist... I know I'm not. But it is to point out that if a nerd like me can make reasonable art with Inkscape, imagine what someone decent could do.)

Everything I did was made with the bezier line tool, rather than any of the pencil or pen tools. I like having precise control over where the points on the line are placed.