Making an item portrait
I saw a thread asking on how to create portraits. I feel like there used to be a thread or a dev stream at some point about how to make these, but I can't find it right now, so I thought I would share my method, using all free software. I have used a less good variation of this method while creating the portraits for the Miner mod, which I hadn't perfected until after I was done with all the items. They still don't look 100% like Radiant's, but close enough for my purposes.Tools
I use free software for my modding work. You will need to get these, if you do not have them already:
VoxelShop
paint.net
Step 1: Export model
I’ll skip the creation of the model here, and will assume you already have a model ready to go. You will need to open VoxelShop and import (ctrl+i) your model’s qb file. I’ll use Radiant’s footman outfit for this. Import it, and you will see something like this:
Next, we’re going to merge all the visible layers, and use the selection and camera controls to move the model as much in the center of the wireframe cage as we can. When finished, press the Move Selection button to confirm the move:
OK, now we’re going to press Esc to remove the selection and the Reset View button in our 3D view screen to put it on a standard angle, turn off the wireframe to prepare it for export:
Press Ctrl+Shift+e to open the export window. Select export to “png” (render), turn OFF render depth map, and export the file to your chosen location.
Step 2: Crop and add outline
Now we will open the exported PNG file for editing in paint.net (don’t click that link, it’s some guy’s paint selling website, this forum just likes to format things in fun ways). Use the Rectangular Select tool to get a close cropping (with ~20 pixels breathing space on the sides) of your model, and press the Crop to Selection button when you’re satisfied.
We need to duplicate the background layer, and move our duplicate to the bottom, making sure we’re always working with the duplicate. Once it’s on the bottom, go to Effects > Stylize > Outline, and turn the thickness to 5 and intensity to 100.
Now we just need to colour the outline black. Making sure your bottom layer is still selected, go to Adjustments > Curves, and drag that top point down to the bottom right:
After pressing OK, you are now good to Save As… > png, and save it with the default settings. It will ask you to flatten layers, say yes. Here’s what should come out:
