Tutorial: Custom Portrait Creation

THIS PAGE IS UNFINISHED AND A WORK IN PROGRESS

Introduction

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This tutorial was created to help other creators learn about custom portrait creation. Custom student portraits are relatively easy to create once you know the basic steps to follow. This tutorial and the program(s) used are available for both Windows and Mac users.

Links Need for this Tutorial

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 * Useful Portrait Stuff (Fanon Wiki page): A great resource for portrait assets. Be sure to credit any assets that you decide to use from this page!


 * FireAlpaca (External website not associated with the Fanon Wiki): One of the best free-to-use digital art programs currently available for both Windows and Mac. We will be using this for the majority of the tutorial.

Part One: Gathering Parts for the Portrait

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Open Useful Portrait Stuff in a new window or tab
 * This page provides us with any assets we could possibly need for our portrait.
 * This page is separated into various categories for easy use.

Scroll down to "Portrait Bases"
 * For this tutorial, we will be using the default female uniform base (Face template.png).
 * Once you find the base you want to use, click on it, click on "Full resolution" and save the image to your computer.
 * If you are using an edited base, be sure to credit the base's creator!

Scroll down to "Hairstyles and Pieces"
 * For this tutorial, we will be using Midori's hair (Midori hair.png) by Truekung.
 * Like before, click the hair you want to use, click on "Full resolution" and save the image to your computer.
 * If you are using edited hair, be sure to credit the hair's creator!
 * If you would like to add an accessory, repeat these steps with your desired accessory image.

Part Two: Creating the Portrait

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Download FireAlpaca using the link provided above.
 * Once you have FireAlpaca downloaded, open it.
 * Using the toolbar across the top of the screen, go to File > Open > [Select your saved base and hair images]
 * Each image will open in a new canvas.
 * Once opened, copy your hair image using File > Edit > Copy
 * Paste your copied image onto your base using File > Edit > Paste. FireAlpaca will automatically create a new layer for the pasted image.
 * If you cannot see your hair, it's probably under your base image. Go to the right-hand side, and you'll see a column containing "Layer 1" and Layer 2". Click and drag the hair layer above the base layer.
 * Do not merge your layers!

Placing/Sizing Your Hair
 * Once pasted, the hair probably won't fit correctly onto the base.
 * To fix this, go to Select > Transform. This will allow you to freely move and resize the hair.
 * Resize and place your hair however your want it using the white box-like points surrounding the image.
 * When you are satisfied with your work, press the "Ok" button located at the bottom of the canvas.
 * Alternatively, if you want to reset the hair to its original size, press the "Cancel" button located at the bottom of the canvas and resize the image again.

Recoloring Your Hair
 * Now that we have the hair where we want it, we can change its color.
 * Go to the right-hand sidebar, and you will see two layers named "Layer 1" and "Layer 2".
 * Press the grey circle located on the left side of the base's layer to turn that layer off.
 * Make sure that you are now on your hair layer.
 * Go to the toolbar located across the top of the screen, select Filter > Hue. This will change the hair's color.
 * Adjust the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. Once you're satisfied with your color, press "Ok".

Recoloring Your Eyes
 * Turn the base layer back on by selecting the small white box located to the left of the layer column.
 * Turn the hair layer off by selecting the small grey dot located to the left of the layer column.
 * Make sure you are now on your base layer.
 * Select the Lasso Tool from the left-hand toolbar.
 * Using the Lasso, circle the portion of the eye you want to recolor. Hold down the Shift key while using the Lasso tool.
 * Once you have the eyes selected, go to Filter > Hue.
 * Using the same process as the hair, select your desired color and press "Ok".
 * To De-Select everything, press CTRL D (Windows) or CMD D (Mac).
 * Turn the hair layer back on.

Saving Your Portrait
 * Using the toolbar located across the top of the screen, go to File > Save As
 * Change the file type from .MDP to .PNG. This will automatically merge all layers once saved.
 * Name your portrait.
 * Save your portrait anywhere you'd like, just make sure you remember where you saved it!