Guide to Graphic Design on NationStates

[Tippercommon]

Greetings. I am Tippercommon, proprietor of the GE&T Help Desk and the creator of Guide to Storefront Format & Design. This guide, as you can see, is called the Guide to Graphic Design on NationStates, and is meant to teach you how to utilize the image editing software GIMP effectively on NationStates. This thread will contain multiple guides to how you can use graphic design on NationStates. Although some of these guides will be very specific, such as drawing airplanes, you can use what you learn in these guides and apply them to other things. For example, you can use the shading techniques in the guide where I draw an airplane to shade your own tank, or phone you are trying to sell. The possibilities really are endless. GIMP, you are not in the know, is a free-source image editing software which I use. This guide will exclusively use GIMP. This guide will also have instructions for the service Dropbox which, in my opinion, makes the whole graphic design process ten times easier in comparison to Imageshack or Photobucket. This guide will be updated periodically with new guides being added as I think of them. If you want to see some of my aviation art, my aircraft graphic design gallery is here.

I. Aircraft Series

• How to Draw the Base Layer of the Aircraft
• How to Shade the Fuselage of the Aircraft
• How to Highlight the Fuselage of the Aircraft
• How to Draw the Wing of an Aircraft

2. How to Find Area on a Map (Pixel Counting)
3. How to Make White Backgrounds Transparent

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The function of GIMP revolves around the toolbox. The toolbox has every tool on it, as well as dialogs for organizing your Layers and your Paths, and with helpful functions like the Histogram Dialog. List below are the primary tools of GIMP and their icons.

Icon	Tool	Description
	Layer Visibilty	A button on the Layers Dialog, the visibility button controls whether or not a layer is visible or not. When the eye is next to the layer, it is visible. When it is not, it is invisible.
	Smudge Tool	The smudge tool "smudges" things. It is useful for breaking up hard borders and blurring and shaping shadows and highlights.
	Eraser Tool	The eraser tool erases things.
	Paths Tool	Used to draw lines. Can also be used to create selections.
	Color Picker Tool	When you click on a color, it puts that color on your palette which you can then use to bucket fill, draw, etc.
	Bucket Tool	Fills an area with a color of your choice.
	Text Tool	Allows you to create text in an image.
	Paintbrush Tool	Allows you to draw on things. The edges of the paintbrush are soft and anti-aliased.
	Pencil Tool	Allows you to draw on things. The edges of the pencil tool are hard and aliased.
	Measure Tool	Allows you to measure things (usually in pixels).
	Select by Color Tool	When you click on something in an image, everything that is the same color as what you clicked gets selected.
	Blur/Sharpen Tool	Allows you to blur things. Unlike the Smudge Tool, the Blur Tool does not actually move the subject.
	Move Tool	Allows you to move things around in your image.
	Rotate Tool	Allows you to rotate specific layers in your image.
	Layers Dialod	This dialog contains all your layers. This is the most crucial dialog in GIMP.
	Paths Dialog	This dialog contains all your paths. This is the second most crucial dialog in GIMP.
	Undo History Dialog	This dialog allows you to undo your mistakes.
	Histogram Dialog	This dialog gives you data on the colors and alpha values in your image.

[Tippercommon]

First, you're going to want to draw a path in the shape of your fuselage using the Paths Tool (). You can copy the general outline of a technical drawing or lineart of an already existing aircraft, or you can draw your own original design. For this one, I'm going to copy the fuselage shape of a Boeing 727-200.

Turn the path into a selection (Shift + V).

Create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N) and name it "Base."

Now that you have the selection, bucket fill to the color that you want your aircraft to be. Now, if your aircraft is one color, this part is done and you can get rid of the selection (Shift + Ctrl + A), but this particular aircraft has multiple colors, so we're going to go ahead and proceed with a few more steps.

On this Boeing 727-200, the undercarriage is painted blue while the topside is painted grey, similar to a naval vessel. Create a box around what will be the second color, and make put the path to a selection (Shift + V)

Now that you have the selection, create a new layer and name is "Base 2." Bucket fill it with the second color.

You will notice that the second color is overflowing over the borders of the fuselage. To remedy this, select your aircraft's fuselage path, do path to selection (Shift +V), invert the path (Ctrl + I), and erase everything. Because selection was inverted, everything within the borders of your aircraft remained untouched.

This method of adding a secondary color is useful, especially for military aircraft where there are multiple layers and multiple colors of camouflage. Make sure that each color is its own layer when you use this method. Text can also act as a base layer. Using the text tool (), you can create text which signifies an Airline, or the name of your air force. Also, you can't paint symbols, such as roundels or flags.

[Tippercommon]

When you're shading and aircraft, or any other subject for that matter, you have to think about the shape of the aircraft and the lighting situation. The fuselages of most aircraft have a curvature similar to a cylinder. Generally, when I shade my aircraft, I have the top and the bottom being dominated by black shadows (the top shading being lighter than the bottom) and a highlight streak running along the curve, also similar to a cylinder. In reality, highlights and shadows are not hard black or white lines. In lineart, you will often find that artists will just use the pencil tool and pencil in a slightly darker hue of the base color. This, however, is not realistic. To get the best shading, you want to use multiple layers and differing opacities and differing blur settings to get the best effect. Here is how you can do this on GIMP.

Basic Fuselage Shading
In order to achieve the optimum shadow, you're going to have to use the Gaussian Blur Filter options to create a gradient.

First you're going to want to create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N) and name it "Shadow 1." Once you have done this, you're going to want to draw a rough outline in black using the paintbrush around the top edge of the fuselage. It does not matter how precise you are right now. However, it is important that you only skim the edge of the fuselage and do not cover too much of the fuselage. Once you have drawn the outline, duplicated this layer (Shift + Ctrl + D) as we will need another layer of shading later. This layer will be named "Shadow 1 copy" automatically. You may make this layer invisible for now by clicking the visiblity button () in the Layer tab in the Toolbox.

Now, to create the gradient and the "shadowy" effect, you're gonna want to Gaussian Blur (Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur) it. Now, the level of Gaussian Blur will differ depending on what kind of shadow it is. This is going to be the base layer, so it will have a higher Gaussian Blur so it is more spread out/less dense. For this layer, I am going to go with a value of 20. As you can see, the black outline is now slightly transparent on its fringes and casts a "shadow."

Now, the value you put for the Gaussian Blur depends on your subject and how you want the lighting to be. If you want a darker, denser shadow, a lower Gaussian Blur value is in order (say 5), but if you want a faint, more transparent shadow, a higher value (20-40) is preferable.

As you may be thinking right now, you aren't drawing this airplane so you can shade the background. To do this, we're going to use the fuselage path again. But this time, instead of filling it with a base color, we're going to use it to isolate the shading inside the borders.

You're going to want to select the "Fuselage" path, which is the shape of the body of your aircraft. Then, do path to selection (Shift + V).

Now, invert the selection (Ctrl + I). Now, only the areas outside of the fuselage will be affected. Using the eraser (), erase everything outside of the selection. Because it is inverted, nothing inside the fuselage will be erased. After everything is erased, you may get rid of the selection (Shift + Ctrl + A). You will see that my shadows are pretty lopsided. This is because my original outline was lumpy (because I drew it on a laptop track pad). If you want a smoother shadow, make a smoother initial outline.

Now you're going to lower your opacity. You can do this in the Layer tab in the toolbox. The opacity of your shadow will depend on (1) its size, (2) how big it is, and (3) what color the subject is. For this specific situation (being the base layer of a shadow and on a grey base), I'm going to put it to about 45%, but for you it may be different. Unless the base is a very very dark grey itself, I wouldn't recommend keeping your shadow at 100% opacity.

Repeat the same steps for the duplicate layer "Shadow 1 copy." The main difference is you will drop the Gaussian Blur to about 5 and lower the to a higher percentage (I chose 77% for mine, but yours may be different). This will make the shadow look layered and give it more definition as there are two layers of shadow rather than one.

Now repeat Steps 1-6 for the bottom part of the fuselage. The difference between the top and the bottom is that the bottom shadow is typically large, so you can make your initial outline within the fuselage's boundaries and have a higher opacity. What I did was have two shadow layers, both at 56% opacity.

[Tippercommon]

First you're going to want to create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N) and name it "Highlight 1." Once you have done this, create a path in the shape of the highlight you want to make. You want it to follow the contour of the fuselage, so it will curve. If the highlight is above the center of the fuselage, it will curve upwards. If it is below, it will curve downwards.

Stroke a 3px large path. Duplicate this layer (Shift + Ctrl + D) and set it to invisible via the visibility button in the layers tab for now.

Gaussian Blur the first highlight layer. This layer will have a higher gaussian blur than the second (a value of 12). Because of this, the opacity will be relatively high, between 70-100%.

Select the duplicate layer, "Highlight 1 copy" and make it visible again. Gaussian Blur it with a smaller value than the first (I chose 4).

On a subject in real life, unless it is perfectly smooth, highlights typically aren't just straight lines. You will want to use the smudge tool () to shape (make the edges sharp points rather than rounded corners) and distort the highlight, breaking it up. You can do this by just running over it with the smudge tool, every once in a while moving it up or down. Quick tip quicky, select the Brush "Hardness 025" or "Hardness 050." This way the smudge tool will not drag everything with it, which it will tend to do at full hardness.

Because it is more concentrated than the first highlight layer, the opacity will be much less to compensate. For this image, I chose 35% opacity for the second highlight.

[Tippercommon]

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The wing can be one of the hardest part of drawing an aircraft before it generally is perpendicular to the fuselage and thus has a completely different lighting situation. However, by manipulating the image, you can easily make it look realistic. You're going to have to use Paths, Selections, and Gaussian Blur. So if you don't know how to do that, read the guide to drawing the Fuselage and shading the Fuselage before taking on this guide.

Create the outline of the wing's shape with the Paths tool ( and do Path to Selection (Shift + V). Create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N) and name it "Wing" for easy access later. Then, bucket fill ( it with the color of the wing; it will usually be the color of the top part of the fuselage or slightly darker depending on the color.

Now, to create the illusion of a contrast/change in angle, create a white 1px path in between the wing and the fuselage. Once it has been stroked, Gaussian Blur it (Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur) at 2. Then, lower its opacity. For this specific aircraft, I lowered it to 35%, but it may vary depending on the color of the fuselage and the wing.

Note, the color of the line will depend on the color of the wing and the fuselage. Generally, the line will be white. But, if the fuselage is white or a really light color, it will be black.

In real life, wings cast shadows. To make your wing look real, you're gonna need a shadow underneath your wing. The first and primary shadow is cast on the undercarriage of the aircraft and is the shape of the wing. To do this, create a path that is the rough shape of the shadow you want to cast, path to selection (Shift + V), create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N) under the wing layer, and bucket fill it black. Get rid of the selection (Shift + Ctrl + A) and Gaussian blur it. I Gaussian Blurred it at a value of 10, but it may vary.

Next, select your aircraft's fuselage path, do path to selection (Shift + V) and invert it (Ctrl + I). Then, erase everything. The shadow that's outside of the border of the fuselage should be gone and the shadow inside the fuselage should be fine. Lower your opacity (I usually lower it to about 30-40%) and you got your first shadow.

Now there is a second, smaller but more dense shadow right under the wing. To create this shadow, on a new layer also under the Wing, draw a rough black outline around the bottom edge of the wing, and then Gaussian Blur it to about 10. Then lower the opacity to 70-80%, and you have your second undershadow.

The center of a wing is usually a darker color than the edges. To help to create this illusions, there will be a darker area in in the middle. To do this, create a path the shape of the shading, create a selection, and bucket fill it on a new layer above the wing. Then, get rid of the selection and and Gaussian Blur it (I blurred it to 10). Then, lower the opacity (I lowered it to about 30%, but it will vary depending on the color. If the wing is a lighter color, the opacity will be less, and darker, more).

The edge of the wing will have a highlight. To create this highlight, select the Wing path, do path to selection, create a new path, and then with the Paintbrush tool () set at a hardness of 050, draw over the front edge of the wing. After it is drawn, get rid of the selection and lower the opacity to 65%. You can use the smudge tool ( set to a hardness of 025 or 050 to shape the highlight and fix imperfections.

Underneath the first highlight, there will be a more faint, larger highlight. This will give the wing a contoured wing shape. To create this, use your paintbrush to create a rough outline on a new layer. Once it is drawn, Gaussian Blur it (Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur; I did it to about 30). Then, select the Wing path, do path to selection, invert the path, and erase everything. Now, only the highlights within the wing will be left. After you erase what is outside the selection, get rid of the selection and lower the layer opacity to about 55% and you have your second highlight.

Now, using the same process for the Wing Edge Highlight 1 at the back edge of the wing, but instead of white, it will be black. The opacity on this specific image for that shading is 60%.

Draw panels black or dark grey panel lines under the shading. The panel lines opacity will vary depending on the color. For this one, I made them 13%.

[Tippercommon]

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The wing can be one of the hardest part of drawing an aircraft before it generally is perpendicular to the fuselage and thus has a completely different lighting situation. However, by manipulating the image, you can easily make it look realistic. You're going to have to use Paths, Selections, and Gaussian Blur. So if you don't know how to do that, read the guide to drawing the Fuselage and shading the Fuselage before taking on this guide.

Create the outline of the wing's shape with the Paths tool ( and do Path to Selection (Shift + V). Create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N) and name it "Wing" for easy access later. Then, bucket fill ( it with the color of the wing; it will usually be the color of the top part of the fuselage or slightly darker depending on the color.

Now, to create the illusion of a contrast/change in angle, create a white 1px path in between the wing and the fuselage. Once it has been stroked, Gaussian Blur it (Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur) at 2. Then, lower its opacity. For this specific aircraft, I lowered it to 35%, but it may vary depending on the color of the fuselage and the wing.

Note, the color of the line will depend on the color of the wing and the fuselage. Generally, the line will be white. But, if the fuselage is white or a really light color, it will be black.

In real life, wings cast shadows. To make your wing look real, you're gonna need a shadow underneath your wing. The first and primary shadow is cast on the undercarriage of the aircraft and is the shape of the wing. To do this, create a path that is the rough shape of the shadow you want to cast, path to selection (Shift + V), create a new layer (Shift + Ctrl + N) under the wing layer, and bucket fill it black. Get rid of the selection (Shift + Ctrl + A) and Gaussian blur it. I Gaussian Blurred it at a value of 10, but it may vary.

Next, select your aircraft's fuselage path, do path to selection (Shift + V) and invert it (Ctrl + I). Then, erase everything. The shadow that's outside of the border of the fuselage should be gone and the shadow inside the fuselage should be fine. Lower your opacity (I usually lower it to about 30-40%) and you got your first shadow.

Now there is a second, smaller but more dense shadow right under the wing. To create this shadow, on a new layer also under the Wing, draw a rough black outline around the bottom edge of the wing, and then Gaussian Blur it to about 10. Then lower the opacity to 70-80%, and you have your second undershadow.

The center of a wing is usually a darker color than the edges. To help to create this illusions, there will be a darker area in in the middle. To do this, create a path the shape of the shading, create a selection, and bucket fill it on a new layer above the wing. Then, get rid of the selection and and Gaussian Blur it (I blurred it to 10). Then, lower the opacity (I lowered it to about 30%, but it will vary depending on the color. If the wing is a lighter color, the opacity will be less, and darker, more).

The edge of the wing will have a highlight. To create this highlight, select the Wing path, do path to selection, create a new path, and then with the Paintbrush tool () set at a hardness of 050, draw over the front edge of the wing. After it is drawn, get rid of the selection and lower the opacity to 65%. You can use the smudge tool ( set to a hardness of 025 or 050 to shape the highlight and fix imperfections.

Underneath the first highlight, there will be a more faint, larger highlight. This will give the wing a contoured wing shape. To create this, use your paintbrush to create a rough outline on a new layer. Once it is drawn, Gaussian Blur it (Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur; I did it to about 30). Then, select the Wing path, do path to selection, invert the path, and erase everything. Now, only the highlights within the wing will be left. After you erase what is outside the selection, get rid of the selection and lower the layer opacity to about 55% and you have your second highlight.

Now, using the same process for the Wing Edge Highlight 1 at the back edge of the wing, but instead of white, it will be black. The opacity on this specific image for that shading is 60%.

Draw panels black or dark grey panel lines under the shading. The panel lines opacity will vary depending on the color. For this one, I made them 13%.

[Tippercommon]

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If you have an area listed for your country (e.g. 4,000,000 km²), chances are it is based off of a similar real-world nation or is just a guess. If your region has a map, or you have a map, that has a specific pixel to area ratio (e.g. 1px = 400km²), this is a simple method to find the area of your nation. For this method to work, your nation has to be a solid color on the map, and its color has to be unique (another nation cannot share the same color as your nation).

Load up the map of your nation/region. Crop () out the non-essential parts of the image so that the process is as fast and easy as possible.

Next, make sure your nation is one solid color. If there is text over your borders, lakes, or rivers, go over them with the paintbrush () or pencil tools () until they are covered.

Now click on the Color to Selection tool () in the toolbox, and click on your nation.

Click on the Histogram Dialog () on your toolbox under the tabs. If you do not have the histogram dialog tab, load it by clicking on the Configure Tabs button (), going to "Add Tab" and clicking on the Histogram function. The histogram measures the amount of pixels a specific color against how many pixels there are in the composition.

When the Histogram Dialog is open, make sure the Channel is set to "Value." Under the "Pixels" section, all the pixels that are selected will be listed. The percentage value will be at 100% because it is displaying the pixel count for 100% of what is selected.

If you know the scale of your map (e.g. 1px = 400km²), you just need to multiply the amount of pixels by however much area is in a single pixel. Boom, you have your country's area!

[Tippercommon]

So we all know those guys who use PimpMyGun to make their NS weaponry, and how they end up having those white backgrounds and the "PimpMyGun" stamp on the bottom right corner. This guide will teach you how to make those ugly white backgrounds crisp and transparent.

First, you load your image on to GIMP. Then, you use the paintbrush tool () to get rid of the PimpMyGun website stamp. Use white for this.

With the color to selection tool () click on the white background. Everything in the image that is white will be selected.

Grow the selection by 1 pixel (Select > Grow)

Right click, click on the Colors tab, and then click color to alpha. Color to Alpha turns whatever color you have selected to transparent. The default will be white. Click OK.

And just like that, that white background has been transformed into a pristine transparent background. Make sure when you export (Ctrl + Shift + E) that you save it as a .png file. You can do this by just ending the file name with '.png'. If you save it as .jpg, the background will show up as a white when you use it on the forums.