The easy way to create new item images

Hello, I figured that a lot of people may not be aware of how to create the item images found here so I wanted to create this short FAQ that explains how to do it using step by step instructions. It only takes about 30 seconds to create an item image so with the help of a lot of people we could probably have images for nearly every item. In this tutorial I will be using an older version of Photoshop (version 6.0).

1. The first thing to do is make sure that your item image has the brown background to match the others. You can copy and save this image below to use as a new item image background:



2. Locate an item in the shop that doesn't have an item image already (items with no images automatically display a question mark).

In this example I will create an image for the item named "Black Hawk" located here:

http://www.funender.com/finalfantasy/forums/shop_inventory.php?action=displayitem&item=1055

NOTE: (You will see a hawk image already for this item since I created it during this tutorial)

3. I then go to the Google Image search page to find an image relating to a black hawk. Here is what I have found:

http://images.google.com/images?q=black+hawk&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&start=20&sa=N&ndsp=20

Next I will choose which image to use and save it to my computer. In this example I have chosen this image:



4. I will then open my brown background image in Photoshop first:

Make sure to go to the Photoshop menu and go to Image > Mode > and select the RGB Color option for the brown background image like you see in this screenshot:



5. Next I will open up the Google Image that I have found of the black hawk. I will zoom in on the image to make it as large as possible so that it is easy to use the Lasso Tool to copy the part of the image that I want. On the menu located to the left select the Lasso Tool:



If you mouseover the Lasso Tool icon, right click on your mouse and you will have additional lasso tool options:



Select the Polygonal Lasso Tool Option. Now we are ready to roll

6. Now go to the Google image you have downloaded and use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to make an outline of the image you want. You do this by first clicking on your mouse where you want your start point to be, then drag your mouse across the outline of the image and click again to create a pattern. You can see in the following screenshot where I outlined part of the image that I wanted to copy (You will see dotted lines around the image)



Once I have completed the outline, I use the CONTROL + C keys on my keyboard to copy the image. I then click the CONTROL + N keys to open a new page in Photoshop. Once I have opened a new page I use the CONTROL + V keys to paste the image I have just outlined. You should see the image that you have just copied if done correctly.

7. Now I resize the image that I have just copied. It is best to go no larger than 21 by 21 pixels in size. To resize the image, in the Photoshop menu go to Image > Image Size... and a menu will pop up where you will see the height and width adjustments. In this example I choose the image dimensions to be width - 17 height - 21 and clicked OK to save changes:



After you have saved the new image size, I then use the CONTROL + A keys to copy the whole image. The whole image will be surrounded by dots and I then use the CONTROL + C keys to copy:



8. I then open up the brown background image that has been minimized this whole time and use the CONTROL + V keys to paste the small hawk image I just copied:



9. Almost done! Now all I do is go to Photoshop menu located at the top and go to File and Save As... I make sure to choose the .Gif option (CompuServe GIF) and name the image after the item name:



I click the OK button for the rest of the menus during the save and then I am done I upload the image and when you look at the item again you will see that it will have the Black Hawk image assigned to it:



At the moment there is no way for you guys to upload images so if you could create a post and link to the image you have created Kim or I could upload them for you I hope that this little FAQ helps and even though it looks like a lot of work it only takes about 30 seconds to create an item image.