Intro TalkingWelcome cards makers and other random ppl looking at this. Here I will be trying to help you learn how to make GOOD cards in Photoshop. Now keep in mind this guide was made based on CS3 so there may be small differences between your program and mine. But the essentials are the same.
Quick TipsA few things to go over before I start, some small things that will make this easier. First off, your gonna want to make most of the things invisible as you work on this template so its not a cluster of things. Like a Leaf Symbol, on a Mist symbol, on a etc etc. To make something invisible simply Click the Eye icon, next to the Layer on the Right Bar.
Also, help you when aligning things in this Template we're about to make I suggest you take a picture of a real card and make it visible only temporarily long enough to align things. When your done making the template delete the card.
Making a TemplateAlright, so the first thing you want to do is make a basic
template that you can use to make cards with. Templates are what make PS so awesome cause you just use them over and over again.
So lets start off, first check out this Thread full of parts
made by our Main Card Making group.
http://www.bandaicg.com/naruto/showthread.php?t=73445From here grab the supplies needed to make your Template and
follow these steps.
1. Open up PS
2. Select File>New: Make it 350Wx490H
3. Make a Group and call it BGs. (To make a group press the
tiny Folder icon on the bottom of the right side of the screen.)
4. Now Drag and Drop all the Element Templates found in the
Thread I linked you too earlier into this Group. Make sure each one is
perfectly aligned.
5. Make a Group and call it LowerBar. Make sure it is above the Group called BGs. You can tell location by the bar on the right side of the screen.
6. Using the “2002 Masashi Kishimoto Rarities” and “2002MK-2007SP
Rarities” images found on the site I linked you to Drag and drop them all into the new group. (This is easily done by using the Rectangle Marquee Tool to cut each rarity out and then just drag it into your Template.) Make sure everything is perfectly aligned before you continue.
7. Inside this group you should also Put your own custom
made set symbol and a Text box for your Card number. I suggest you make it Times New Roman, and type in 000 so you can place it properly.
8. Make a Group and call it Essentials. Make sure this group
is at the top of all your groups.
9. In this group you’re gonna want to put “Characteristic
Bar”, “Stat and Combat Attribute Bar”, and “Faded Text Box” in that order from top to bottom. DO NOT TRY TO FADE THE FADED TEXT BOX!!! It comes pre-faded, fade it more and it will not be correct. As usual make sure everything is perfectly aligned before continuing.
10. Make a Group and call it Texts.
11. Inside this new group make Text boxes for Name, Effect
Name, Valid:, Effect, Characteristics and Flavor Text. (For the flavor text
make sure to add a drop shadow. Your angle should be 135, but use your spread and size to make it so it gives a nice full surrounding soft drop shadow and not just a drop down duplicate of the text.)
12. Make a Group and call it Village Symbols. Using the
Picture in the Thread align cut, paste, and align all the Village symbols into
their proper positions inside this folder.
13. Make a Group and call it Entrance Costs. Repeat what you
did above with the Entrance Costs.
14. Make a Group and call it Hand Costs. Repeat above step
just with Hand Costs. Also remember each of these new groups should be above
the last one.
15. Make a Group and call it Symbols. In this group put the
Symbol for every element and the Ninja Symbol. Keep these Invisible. You only want to bring them out if your picture covers up the main symbol too much.
Preparing for the PicNow that you have most of your Template set up let’s get a
bit more complicated.
16. Select your Group called Lower Bar.
17. Click the icon to the right of the Group icon, it should
say Create a New Layer if you hover over it. This should make a new Layer right above the Lower Bar group. Not inside of any group. Name it Insert Pic Here
18. Now Right click it where it says “Insert Pic Here”. And
select Blending options. The Layer Style window should open.
19. Click Drop Shadow, and make sure the check mark shows
up. The angle should be 135. The rest you get to figure out on your own. Play around with it. (I can’t give away all of our secrets.)
20. Click Outer Glow, and make sure the check mark shows up.
Change the color to White. Now play with the Opacity, Size, and Spread to get it perfect. (Can’t give away all our secrets sry.)
Making the CardWith that your Template is ready. Now when you drag in a
picture you can just drag the drop shadow and outer glow effects over to the pic rather than redoing it every time.
Things to do after this to Make a card:
1. Drag in pic.
2. Make selections and Type in effects.
3. Cut out the desired Stats and Combat Attribute from
existing cards and place them at the top most on the right bar.
4. Be thankful card making is as easy as it is now, in the
old days it was a lot harder lol.
Commonly Made Mistakes
- Miss ordering your Characteristics:The proper order courtesy of Shino'sDad is as follows-Village | Village Affiliation | Rank | Gender | Mental Power (if any) |
Non-active characteristics (in alphabetic order) | Active
characteristics (in alphabetic order)
- Active Characteristics Should be Capitalized. (AMBUSH, GROWTH, SQUAD, SURGE, DUAL AFFINITY, DETERMINATION, etc) Anything that actually does something other than sit there waiting to be a requirement on a different card.
- Lacking Drop Shadows on the Upper Bar of Missions and Jutsus
- Missing "Cap" words. Some words always star with a capitol letter: Deck, Damage, the Phases(Mission Phase, Exchange of Jutsu, etc), Ninja, Jutsu, Mission, Client, Chakra area, Discard Pile, Village, Battle Reward, Team, Battle, Battling, Mental Power, character's names, Combat Attribute, Attack, Block, it goes on and on
- Missing Commas(,) here are some examples of where you need to have commas. "Then,", "In that case,", "During the (any phase),", "When this Ninja is sent out to (Attack/Battle/Block),"
- Do not let your text leak onto the Shuriken at all or any where outside of the text box, not even the outer rim!!!!
- When using a pic for missions or jutsus dont let it cut off on the upper part, also if it cuts of on the lower side part then blur it into the black back ground.
- Set Symbol, Card Numbers, and rarities are important to have on a card. Without them it's just not real and we want real.
- Proper wording for paying costs: ....discard X of your Chakras with a "Element" Symbol. (Note Chakras, not Chakra. Cap the Element. Cap Symbol. Cap Chakras. don't forget the quote around the Element.)
- Whenever you talk of finding a card with Requirements the proper way to write it is "Requirements: 'Blah'" (Note the ' ' inside the " ".)
If you got any questions or this helped you please drop a comment.
Previews 
Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:14 pm
Also it is stickyed now since this is some important info for a beginner card maker or even an advanced maker that just wants to look for quicker ways of doing things.
