LE Necromancy Mod Resources

[Liara7LF]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking for a little help with my modding. I'm currently working on a small necromancy mod (my first mod woo) and I was wondering if someone would be able to create a new book cover for me. I'm only just coming to grips with the creation kit and I don't have any visual editing software installed. My request is fairly simple - start with DLC1LD_KatriaJournal (or whatever ID is the same render) and place a skull on the cover (similar to how necromancers robes have a skull). I've no idea how to do this myself and I'll probably need instructions on how to load this file into the CK without it becoming a new master file for my .esp.

 

Also any modders resources relating to (or potentially) necromancy that I should check out, let me know :) Again I don't know how to use them without loading them as an .esm, so help on that front would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance and, of course, any assistance will be credited should the mod ever be released on the Nexus.

[Deleted1308005User]

I suggest you get paint.net tool.

It's quite simple, (REALLY simple), even I can comprehend it and that's basically only tool I use :laugh:
Photoshop only for normal maps, as it's quite easy to do.

 

The thing why I suggest you learning it yourself?

You are gonna be much more satisfied when you do that little part yourself, learn a bit, and decide to do more because you just learned how to do this simple task :laugh:

I'm putting my thumbs up, because finally someone is working on "first mod" that is not OP daedric sword.

[Liara7LF]

First off, Thanks for the reply!

Will this paint.net tool simply involve drawing said skull and that being it? I'm too no0b to know what a normal map is if I'm honest. Do I need photoshop too? Try talking to me as if I was someone's grandma (*Internet grandma meme here*). Maybe not that bad but still, my skills and knowledge are limited.

Having thought about it a little more, I agree with learning how to do that sort of stuff myself, it'll be better in the long run :smile:

Thanks again!

 

Edit: p.s OP Daedric sword coming soon.. ;)

[Deleted1308005User]

Well, normal map is the thing that makes texture bumpy, not huge deal at the moment.

Paint.net is really simple tool, it's "paint", sort-of.

by that I mean, simple and effective.

Aand it can handle dds files :laugh:

Skyrim utilizes dds files, are you familiar with changing texture paths in nifskope? So I don't need to start about that subject.

Anyhow, you can get the tool from here:

http://www.getpaint.net/download.html

 

And as for the "skull" part.. Don't really know where you could get that.

Separating the skull from robe is something really tricky to start with.

 

I suggest you experiment with the paint.net a bit, how the tools work and such.

I don't have it currently so I can't name exact locations for buttons, but maybe most important tools:

"magic wand"

"Lasso select"

"Layers"

 

With those I've pretty much done all texture alterations I've done.

(And there's plenty of those, though most are still for my personal use)

 

Magic wand is good tool for selecting parts of the texture, it recognizes some of the shapes and such.

 

Layers are good, by adding one you can hide the original "texture" and work on the skull part from example, position it correctly, and once you're done you save and it combines both layers into one.

[notmyhome]

As soon as you've got to delve into the depths of image editing, I'd recommend you go for GIMP a.k.a. "Photoshop for poor people".

A little more complicated, but basically the same functionality.

[Liara7LF]

Hmph. I wrote out a fairly lengthy reply but I somehow managed to not post it, Great.

 

Anyway, Shadowjin, thanks! I shall look into using this tool. No, I'm not familiar with nifscope in the slightest. Also I didn't mean the actual skull on the necromancer robes, I was trying to explain it as like a flat image or drawing on the book and not a 3d skull glued onto the cover. My poor explanation!

 

I don't have any photo editing software beyond MS paint installed.. is GIMP a substitute for that or for paint.net or both?

 

Thanks again

[Deleted1308005User]

I understand what you mean :laugh:

But you.. actually don't need nifskope for this.

 

My mistake.

 

Under "world data" (Or somewhere)

There is block called "Texture sets", just select one (Preferably search with "Book" and use one)

and change the ID at the upper part, this way you create your own texture set for your book. (So you don't need to assign the texture to mesh via nifskope)

Assign textures for the book.

 

Textures consist of 1--> parts, usually it's

1. The texture

2. Normal map

3. Environment map

4. cube maps etc.

 

Also, if you ain't as dumb as I am, you probably can comprehend gimp.

It's just over my head :laugh: same for photoshop.

Paint.net is really simple.

 

Do you have BSA extraction tool? so you can extract the textures for books and robes (Or maybe use "real" skull textures? )

[Liara7LF]

Right, I've been having some fun with paint.net and so far I have edited the image found here (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/54043/?) and changed it to the attached. The version I want is actually an inverted version of this but white on a white background doesn't work too well.

 

So how on earth do I stick this onto the front of my book? I image I'm going about this all wrong and it'll end up looking pretty bad..

 

Also no.. BSA extraction tool?

 

Like I said I'm VERY new to all this :tongue:

 

Edit: Also the image I have edited doesnt have a white background, its the checkered one in the editor meanign that it doesn't have a background but white shows up on this anyway

[Chaophim]

Right, I've been having some fun with paint.net and so far I have edited the image found here (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/54043/?) and changed it to the attached. The version I want is actually an inverted version of this but white on a white background doesn't work too well.

 

So how on earth do I stick this onto the front of my book? I image I'm going about this all wrong and it'll end up looking pretty bad..

 

Also no.. BSA extraction tool?

 

Like I said I'm VERY new to all this :tongue:

 

Edit: Also the image I have edited doesnt have a white background, its the checkered one in the editor meanign that it doesn't have a background but white shows up on this anyway

I replied to your question in the mod's comments section, but will repeat it here. I'm using the image I made in another of my mods and would not like it swiped. Sorry.