Thanks for replying! The part making me guess is in Step 2 under Changing The Painting Image. The instructions say to click on the white box (highlighted in the accompanying picture), then " Click on the Export to edit button when the pop-up box appears."

The new updated tool does not put a cursor in the box nor change in any way to show that it's selected, nor does a pop up box appear. Also the button "Export to edit" is not in the same place as the picture, and has just been named "Export." I guessed at this step by just clicking on Export and saving the file, as it turned out it saved the same image as what I saw in the Overlay box - so I believe my guess was correct.

The next part where I'm stuck is Step 5 in the same section, where I'm supposed to save the file as "an interpolated alpha (DXT5)." I followed the link you posted for Gimp, and I all ready had the most up to date version of Gimp and the DDS plugin for my OS. They only mention that to save a DDS file, you must use Export.

So maybe I should ask, is an interpolated alpha file the same as a DDS file? I was under the impression it wasn't. I don't know the file extension for interpolated alpha, and I'm supposed to choose the file type to save as/export. The default is .xcf (for "save as" Gimp created files) or .png for exported files. I don't know if I'm supposed to change the file type back to .dds or something else?

Heh you'd find this a lot simpler in TT3

lol I am using TT3! The reason for my post is that the tutorial is out of date, and I'm stuck at certain points because of it. Are you able to help answer my last post's question? If so I'd love to hear it!

DDS files can be saved with various different compression settings. The most commonly used are DXT1 (no alpha), DXT3 (explicit alpha) and DXT5 (interpolated alpha). You'll see those options, perhaps with just the DXTx bit listed, after you've selected the Save as DDS option in GIMP.

Since there seems to be no better way to explain than showing you a picture of what I'm encountering with Gimp, here is what I get when I try to save as or export a file. At the top where I enter the name, I don't have the option of choosing a file type (notice the far right? there's no drop down box). The only drop down box at the bottom does not change the file type to save as/export as, it only affects what files are seen in the folder I'm working in.

What I've done is save the file as a DDS because that was my only option besides the default gimp file extension (xcf). But when I opened the file in TT3, it crashed TT3 with an error that it wasn't supported. By looking at this image, can you figure out how I'm supposed to save as /export as an interpolated alpha file?

Again, please see my previous posts to see what I've done, and what I've discovered, and what I'm encountering - it will help a whole lot if you understand my situation before commenting. Where I stand now is that I'm not finding the way to save the file as the file type I'm instructed to in the tutorial. Yes, I'm running the DDS plugin for Gimp. Gimp's website says to use Export to save a file as a DDS file - but that's not what the tutorial says to save as. I need to know how to save this file so I can move past this step.

You're welcome The part that has changed there is that instead of clicking in the white box over the Overlay what you want to do is click the little blue pencil that is to the right of the word Overlay. If you do that the Image Picker pop up box will appear and it has the choice Export to edit just as shown in the tutorial picture. I plan to update the one picture to show that you need to click the little pencil instead of the white box but the other pictures all still accurately show the process. Thank you for pointing this out as others are probably finding it as confusing as you have.

Yes...DXT5 (interpolated alpha) is a .dds file.

I think what Inge meant was that it would be easier to use Texture Tweaker to make your .dds instead of fighting with GIMP. In my last post to you I gave instructions for how you can make a .dds DXT5 (interpolated alpha) using Texture Tweaker. If you go that route and run into problems with it I can help you. I don't use GIMP so I really cannot say more about your problems with that tool than what I already have said.

I've been trying to follow the instructions you gave earlier for TT3, but I'm truly lost. I don't know if the instructions you gave were from the beginning, or after I clone the EA painting then resize the image I want to use?

I'm sorry, I don't want to be a bother, but I also didn't want to beg on the forum for someone else to make a few paintings for me. Perhaps I should just wait until you update the tutorial, maybe to include all the steps in TT3 since an outside image editor is no longer needed?

No bother and I updated the tutorial the day you posted which picture had become a point of confusion

To follow the instructions I gave before you first clone the painting you want to make your new painting from. You then make your new images for it and save them as .jpgs or .pngs or what have you. Then pick up with the instructions I gave previously by opening the clone in Texture Tweaker 3 (step 1 in my previous post).

I hope to get to adding this new feature to my tutorial since it is very convenient given the issues some 2D editors have making .dds files. It might not be right away though because real life is keeping me hopping at the moment. If you give it a shot from the written instructions I gave and run into problems I will do my best to help.

I'm really sorry, I've made my image, saved it as a .jpg file, but I think it's still wrong. Gimp doesn't work very well in my opinion, I may have to find another program. Instead of saving just the part that's going to replace the image in the painting, it saved the whole image on the screen, so I also see a brown box in the upper left, and a grey vertical bar on the right, and then in the bottom right the picture I actually want, and all this on a background of black and grey boxes. I'm not sure if that's right or not, but it almost doesn't matter because TT3 will not open any file but .package files, so I can't even open the .jpg I just created. The only option in the drop down box of file types to open is .package, so am I missing a step to convert the .jpg to .package?

What you want to do is use TT3 to open the .package that you created when you cloned the painting you want to change. Once that .package is open you can click the CASt presets tab to see all the .dds images the painting has. Then you pick up with the instructions I gave above in order to change the image. If you're looking for a different 2D editor that is free maybe give paint.net a try:

http://www.getpaint.net/

Thank you for the tutorial!

Question: Is it possible to make the image in higher resolution?

I often make my own paintings for TS3, like family portraits, but I want better image quality. Let's say that the .dds image from the object is 256 wide, can I resize it to 512 and then work on it and save?

I'm not sure of what I'm saying.

If you change the texture resolution/size, you also have to change the tiling settings.
But it's better is someone else gives you the details, I'm not into that kind of stuff.

EDIT: maybe the tiling is only for patterns and you have to change the Mask Width/Height instead.
Sorry if I'm confusing you instead of helping ;P

Yeah, I think the tiling thing is for patterns. That would be for the frames, but we're not working on them, just the images.

I've read about some simmers using a HQ mod so they can use CC skins and clothes with 2048 x 2048 textures instead of the normal 1024 x 1024 on the highest resolution setting. So I thought it would be great if we could make paintings with higher resolution, something like 512 or 1024, depending on the painting. No HQ mod would be needed then, since it's under 2048, right?

at Cororon... see, I don't use S3PE much, but yes, what you're trying to do is completely do-able. When I recolour paintings I tend to resize the original texture to one of my liking, be it higher or lower.

I expressly mentioned that I don't use S3PE because I'm assuming you have to manually change some value, I guess. When you import a new texture size in TSRW for example, you get a pop-up that in the blah blah asks you if you want to change the mesh properties to show your new texture size correctly. I could be wrong about that with S3PE, but you should notice right away if there is some problem, because your new image, even if clear and HQ in your file, will look very pixel-y in-game.

Didn't read Arsil reply. Do as Arsil said and change the mask width/height.

Thanks, it's worth a try.