Minecraft Forums

Hello! 50000cal here, and i would like to create a tutorial. "Cal, theres like 5 other tutorials out there! Why make another one!?" I say, whats better, 5 different topics spread out discussing different things, or a single topic with all necessary information to texturing and, well, everything you need to know? I respectfully say that i do not like when i have to click on 5 different links and, with some chance, not find what i need to know. This guide will show everything i know, and including tips and tricks from texture pack artists themselves. Now to the actual thing.

Introduction

You wanted to make a texture pack, but you didnt know how. Where would you go to? Either in one of the video showcases of texture packs on YouTube, or ask in this section of the forums, where it appears every now and then(cough, my mistake, i believe, 4 days). Well, what if you DID know how to make a pack? You dont know how to make a good one. You dont know how to even change item textures, and how to make them appropriately work. You might not know which program is great for pack editing. Maybe, you dont even know a single program capable of making packs, excluding Microsoft Paint.
I have been changing Notch's textures on most updates, simply because they dont fit my colour. Like, the new cobblestone in 1.7 update. I thought theyre a bit TOO pale. Pistons didnt look like they were made of my old used cobblestone. And I dont like the annoying "shine" effect on glass. However, i have never posted my pack on the forums, simply because it will be either too much flaming, too much updating to suit the user's needs(Painterly pack has over 10,000 combinations in the official site), and probably too much nerves wasted. I dont like messing with people, and, to be honest, even though i was one of them, i dont like people repeating the question how to install packs when it even says how in the original post.


1. Determining your Style

While many might not think style is not important, can i ask you this: Have you ever seen a texture pack with a modern feel to it and it was highly renown(Moderncraft was one), and downloaded it because it was recommended, but you hated it simply because you like Medieval style packs the most and disgust modern time packs? Have you ever thought to yourself when using a 128 bit pack, "Man this totally ruins my Minecraft feeling!" and thought of using a 16 bit instead? I, for one, did many times, and it certainly took long to figure out what i like best.
generally, what i am saying is, if you dont know what your style is, feel free to experiment with different packs of different caliber. If you dont like your downloaded pack, dont bother continuing to use it.
Generally, the style of minecraft is supposed to be simplistic, like Roblox had the Lego-ish style which, later, was ruined by slender "premium character figures." If you dont want the same with Roblox, i suggest not to use anything past 32 bit. If you're like graphics fancy, consider 64 bit and 128 bit packs, if, of course, your computer can handle them. Also, try to search for packs that fit your style and reject the ones which are renown but not to your needs. One example is BorderCraft. While the game Borderlands was good, its graphics wasnt good. If it was to be imported to Minecraft, it would be disastrous... well, of course, for me anyways.
Lesson: Always experiment new packs when new to minecraft, and dont be afraid to give some criticism on packs suitable to your feeling and your graphics style.
My part of the style is 128x packs with a sort of Medieval feeling to it, or something similar to LB Photo Realism.


2. Starting out - Acceptable pack editing programs, .jar navigation, and pixel differentiation.

While any art program will do, some have the advantage over another. Microsoft Paint is a program for those who are way to cautious of their PC security, thus refusing to download ANYTHING. While Paint is an OK program, it does NOT accept transparent textures(textures which you can see through, like Glass). Instead, it will be just a giant white pixel polluting one of Minecraft's most useful blocks.
Next in line would be Paint.net and GIMP. Both have benefits and negatives. Paint.net is what i prefer. Paint.net has a movable interface and an easy to understand display. However,, since the interface is movable, i class it Unorganized. GIMP has a locked in interface, and looks slicker, but, based, on peoples opinions, is not easier than Paint.net.
And final in line is the famous Photoshop. Advanced interface with better effects, but can be quite confusing first time using it. The only minus this bears is its price tag, which, of course, not good to most people, for CS5, $670. Consider using Paint.net or GIMP, theyre both free.

Now, you might think that .jar navigation is not important. I say, hell, it is. Took me a while to figure out where the Items.png was. (I am sorry, i will fill this section in later when i can.)

And then, we need to know what type of pack we will create. If its a 16 bit pack, just open terrain.png as it is, without meddling with the canvas size. Anything under 16 bit will do without patching, but after 16 bit, you can only use 32 bit, 64 bit, 128 bit, and 256 bit, since the patcher supports only these types.
Heres a list of startings:
For 16 bit, canvas size must be 256x256. Just open up the terrain.png without editing.
For 32 bit, create a new file with the dimensions 512 by 512 pixels, copy and paste the terrain picture, and rescale it to fit the entire page.
For 64 bit, create a new file with the dimensions 1024 by 1024 pixels, and repeat the process with 32 bit.
For 128 bit, create a new file with the dimensions 2048 by 2048 pixels, and repeat the process with 32 bit.
For 256 bit, create a new file with the dimensions 4096 by 4096 pixels, and repeat the process with 32 bit.
Please note, however, that the bigger the file, the more work needs to be done for a single block.


3. Actual Creation

We finally take a step towards editing. But, how do we edit packs to be good? It takes patience and dedication. If youre impatient, you wont get much done. If youre not dedicated, you wont achieve the results you wanted. First, select the block which you want to edit. Then make a new file with the dimensions double the size of the block(eg 16 pixel block will need a 32 by 32 file, 32 needs 64 by 64). Then you make another file with the dimensions of your block. The reasons why we are doing this is because we dont want to accidentally edit other blocks nearby, and we want to check if our new block times correctly. Bad tiling = complete garbage. Next, think what type of design you want. If you want a grass block to get darker the deeper it goes, apply a dark shader to the bottom and make it lighter the higher you go. If you want medieval cobblestone, make the cobble clearly visible and apply a light shader for shining. Now select your block and paste it 4 times in every corner in the double sized file. If you feel that the block tiles well(excluding grass), congratulations! You have made your satisfying block. Now you got more blocks to go.
After you are done editing, save the file, and drag and drop the new png file into the .jar file. Now log into minecraft, and enjoy your new textures.


I will fill in the rest of this tutorial later. At the time of this post, i had no time to completely finish my work.

Please feel free to criticize in the comments, or add your own tip. It will be added.

-50000cal

Looks promising. Are you going to give info about how to make certain textures? Like leaves? Also, animating water/lava may be useful too. Just throwing that out there.

Quote from Crestfallen

Looks promising. Are you going to give info about how to make certain textures? Like leaves? Also, animating water/lava may be useful too. Just throwing that out there.

Yeah, i will include everything, but the water and lava part will be a bit difficult.

Tooooo long to read! ah!!

Do you have a link to some of your work? It is kind of hard to take the advice of someone without proof that they know what they are talking about.

Quote from 42and19

Do you have a link to some of your work? It is kind of hard to take the advice of someone without proof that they know what they are talking about.

I am sorry, but no. I quit after patch 1.7_01 because i felt that i had enough of editing for a while. And If youre still wondering why not, my PC started to fail, causing occasional crashes and ultimately corrupting my work. Now i use Other people's packs, mainly because i want a bit more ideas for making a new type of pack after official MC release, and to actually enjoy others work. I dont like working with anything higher than 32 bit, so i will not be advising anything higher than that.

And if i didnt edit packs, i wouldnt make this thread, since i would have had no experience.