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13th Jun 2009 at 11:19 PM
Last edited by Srikandi : 13th Jun 2009 at
11:41 PM.
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Adding a dirt layer
Just thought I'd make a post about how to add a dirt layer to your pattern, so you can make it look grungy or aged. I've put up a couple of patterns like this but I'd love to see other people doing it too. Beautiful shiny palaces are great, but decaying, dusty palaces are even better
Your dirty pattern can't have more than three other color layers in it, because you'll need one for the dirt. The dirt layer has to go on top of all the other layers in the pattern, so it should be in the last channel on the list.
To make the dirt layer, find a grunge texture you like, or paint one yourself -- so long as you make sure it seamlessly tiles. Lots of different kinds of natural textures will work for this, depending on what kind of effect you're looking for, including things like clouds and marble. I've been using a modified version of "Purples", from the Patterns 2 library in Photoshop.
Convert it to grayscale, and fiddle with brightness and contrast. Remember that the light pixels are less transparent and the dark pixels are more transparent. You want your dirt transparent enough that the pattern underneath shows through, so not much of it (if any) should be pure white.
You'll probably have to test it in-game a few times before you get it tuned right. Test it with several shades from black to white, and with different dirt tints and pattern colors.
Once you have a dirt layer you're happy with, you can easily add it to any pattern you make that has fewer than four other colors
Now let's see some more dirty textures! :D