User:Antimoany/sandbox1

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Attention: This page is still under construction. Most notably, many templates are missing, there are broken file links everywhere, and there are only instructions for three softwares.
If anyone spots a simple error, such as blatantly incorrect information or a spelling mistake, they are welcome to correct it.

A complete list of select-delete templates, and instructions on how to use them, for The Elder Scrolls: Legends. These templates will drastically speed up the process of generating new card images for UESP, or for personal use if you're so inclined.

Whilst I cannot control what others do, as the creator of these templates, I do make one simple request:

If distributing these templates elsewhere, for any reason, do not remove the URL on them. This functions both as credit, and far more importantly, as a way for anyone to find instructions on how to use these templates.

Anyone is free to use these templates, in any way, for any reason, provided they honour that one simple request.

How to Use the Templates[edit]

If you own software that does not allow you to follow these instructions, please leave a message on the talk page asking for help. Similarly, if you know how to perform a similar operation in software not listed here, feel free to add your instructions to the list.

If you are having trouble following these instructions, you're welcome to ask for help on the talk page or to ask me for help directly. I'm pretty active in the Discord and am not adverse to pings or PMs.

These instructions may seem like overkill, or unnecessarily specific, to those already familiar with the software they're using. This is because they are intended to make sense even to someone who has never used that software before. Because they are so thorough, they seem intimidating at first glance. Once familiar with the process, a user can easily carry it out within about a minute, if not less.

Take a Screenshot[edit]

In order to use these templates, you will need a high-quality screenshot of a card. For instructions on the best methods of doing so, see the Legends section of Help:Images.

A note on resolution: Each template will only work for a screenshot taken at that template's resolution. At present, templates are available in the following resolutions:

  • 1920 by 1200
  • 1920 by 1080

While you are free to resize the templates yourself, if you are unable to do so you are welcome to request that the templates be resized to your device's native resolution.

If you own 2 or 0 copies of a card, you can easily remove the quantity box by "temporarily" soul trapping or soul summoning a copy to make the number 1. Just remember to press "undo" right after taking your screenshot!

Universal Usage Instructions[edit]

These instructions are for those familiar with their image editing software of choice, who feel confident in locating the correct options and performing the operations described. If these are not specific enough for you, in-depth instructions are available for most image-editing softwares capable of using these templates. These may also prove useful to those using software not listed here, though they may need to research the exact method of performing certain functions.

  1. Paste the template into a new layer above the screenshot.
  2. Reduce the transparency to 50% and align the template as exactly as possible with the card beneath. Zooming in to 600% or more may be necessary.
  3. Select the template silhouette, for example by CTRL-clicking or converting an alpha mask to selection.
  4. Contract the selection by 1 pixel, and then invert the selection.
  5. With the screenshot layer active, erase the selected area. If the edges look sharp and pixellated, you may wish to undo and feather the selection by 1 pixel before erasing.
  6. Autocrop or copypaste the cut-out card into a new canvas with a transparent background, adding to the height if necessary.
  7. Save or Export as a .PNG.

Photoshop[edit]

This should work for almost any version of Photoshop, including older versions and Photoshop Elements.

Preparation:

  1. Open the screenshot you wish to edit and the template for that card type. If no template yet exists, feel free to request one on the talk page.
  2. Depending on the version of Photoshop you're using, you may not be in the correct edit mode. Look for the word "expert" across the top bar of the page and select it if it isn't. If you're not sure, feel free to look up the exact version of photoshop you're using and the phrase "expert mode". Alternatively, simply try to follow the rest of these instructions. If you cannot follow a step, you are unlikely to be in expert mode. Note that not all versions of photoshop have an expert mode: this means that you are always in "expert" mode.
  3. Open the layer bin, if it isn't already. The layer bin nearly always appears on the right-hand side of the window (unless you've moved it), and may only contain a single layer named "Layer 1" or "background". To open the layer bin, look to the menu bar at the top, click on Window and then select layers.
  4. Ensure the screenshot is not a background layer. There are many ways to do this, but one of the simplest is to double-click the locked layer icon. Do not double-click the layer name, as that will prompt you to rename the layer.

Select-Delete:

  1. Copy and paste the template onto the screenshot. Take care to line it up exactly with the card you wish to crop down. The best approach is to reduce the transparency of the template to about 50% (it does not need to be exact) and line up some card elements, such as the mana cost or rarity gem. You can rapidly hide/show the template layer by clicking on the eye icon to make sure it's aligned correctly. If it is, parts of the card will appear and disappear. If it is aligned incorrectly, elements may appear to jump up or down. If you need to fine-tune the alignment, zoom in to 400% or 600% and hold down the CTRL key for pixel-perfect control.
  2. Select the screenshot layer. It should be blue.
  3. Hold down the CTRL key and left-click on the image preview of the template layer. Pay close attention to the cursor. When you are hovering over the correct area, a small square will appear over it. This is what you want. If the template layer becomes selected (turns blue), you have made a mistake. Select the screenshot layer and try again.
  4. If you have correctly CTRL-clicked the template layer, a selection outline will appear around it. Typically, this is a flashing black-and-white border, though depending on your photoshop settings it may become a red transparent mask over the image instead. Either is acceptable.
  5. In the menu bar, navigate to Select --> Modify --> Contract. Enter 1 in the box if it says anything different, and click OK. The selection should appear to shrink slightly.
  6. Hold down the keys CTRL + SHIFT + I at the same time, or use the menu bar to find Select --> Inverse. Only do this once. The border of the entire screenshot should now be selected, and the area containing the card will not be selected. This is correct.
  7. Press the DEL (delete) key on your keyboard once.
  8. Hold down CTRL + D, or navigate to Select --> Deselect. Hide the template layer. The card should now appear to exist within a void of grey-and-white check. That is transparency. If something looks wrong, hold down CTRL + Z, or navigate to Edit --> Undo until you have reversed the errant steps. Try again. If you're not sure where you went wrong, close the screenshot without saving, open it anew, and start again from the very beginning.

Finalising:

  1. When the card has been correctly cropped, select everything by holding down CTRL+A or navigating to Select --> All, then copy this selection and open a new canvas, either with File --> New --> From Clipboard, or by opening a blank file and pasting.
  2. If there is a background layer, delete it. The isolated card must exist alone, within a void of transparency.
  3. (Optional) If the template you used states that the canvas must be resized, navigate to Image --> Resize --> Canvas Size. Tick relative if it isn't already, and click the arrow at the top of the interface that appears until the upper arrows are no longer visible. Next to the height and width, ensure the drop-down, which may default to inches or centimetres, reads pixels. There are often two drop-downs. Changing one changes both. Enter the number the template mentions into the correct (usually height) box with no units. When you click okay, the image should lengthen slightly.
  4. Navigate to File --> Save As... or hold CTRL + SHIFT + S and, under Format, change the drop-down to .PNG. Name the file something easy to remember, ideally the exact card name.

GIMP[edit]

GIMP is free image editing software available for most operating systems. The latest stable version is recommended.

Preparation:

  1. Open GIMP. Many windows and bins may appear in addition to the base window. You may close all of them except Toolbox and Layers. If neither of these are open, or if you closed them by mistake, navigate to Windows --> Layers, and Windows --> Toolbox to open them. Setting the base GIMP window to fullscreen is recommended.
  2. Open the screenshot you wish to edit with File --> Open, or by pressing CTRL + O. There should now be a layer in the layer bin with that file's name. You may see a dotted selection border around the edge of the canvas. This is normal.
  3. Navigate to File --> Open As Layers and select the template you will need to use. Click Open and the template should appear as a new layer above the screenshot.

Select-Delete:

  1. Reduce the opacity of the template layer to roughly 50% by holding the mouse cursor over the opacity slider at the top of the layer bin and scrolling the mousewheel down, or by holding down the small down-arrow to the right of the opacity slider until it is roughly 50%. It does not need to be exact.
  2. Using the Move tool, which looks like a four-pointed cross in the Toolbox, align the template so that it exactly matches the card in the screenshot. You may need to zoom in, by holding down CTRL and scrolling up with the mousewheel or by navigating to the small drop-down in the bottom left of the window and selecting your preferred zoom level. You may zoom out by reversing these actions. Use the eye icon to the left of layer to rapidly hide/show the layer to ensure it is lined up exactly. If it is incorrect, elements will appear to dance about as you hide and show the template.
  3. When you are sure you have aligned the template correctly, right-click the template layer and select Add Layer Mask. Choose Layer's alpha channel and click add.
  4. Right-click the template layer again and choose Mask to selection. A dancing black-and-white line will appear around the edge of the selection.
  5. Navigate to Select --> Shrink and enter 1 into the box, untick "shrink from image border" if it is ticked and press OK.
  6. Invert the selection by pressing CTRL + I on your keyboard or navigating to Select --> Invert. Then, navigate to Select --> Feather and enter 1 into the box, then click OK.
  7. Make sure the screenshot layer is selected by left-clicking on it. If it's selected, it will appear blue. Press the delete key on your keyboard.
  8. Hide the template layer to see if you were successful. Press SHIFT + CTRL + A, or navigate to Select --> None to deselect, enabling you to better judge the edges of the image.
  9. If you have made a mistake, press CTRL + Z, or navigate to Edit --> Undo until you have reversed the errant steps. If you're not sure where you went wrong, close the open tab and start again from the beginning.

Finalising:

  1. If there is a background layer, delete it. The isolated card must exist alone, within a void of transparency.
  2. Hide the template layer. Navigate to Image --> Autocrop Image. This will automatically crop the image down to as small as it can be without removing non-transparent pixels.
  3. (Optional) If the template states that the canvas must be resized, navigate to Image --> Canvas Size. At the top of this window will be a Width and Height box. To the right of these boxes is a small image of a chain. If the chain appears connected and unbroken, left-click it to break it. You will have to manually add the requisite number to the correct box (typically height), as GIMP has no "relative" feature. For example, if the canvas size is 490 and the template requires you to add 20, change the number to 510. If you doubt your maths, please use a calculator. Ensure resize layers is set to none By default, altering the height of a canvas in GIMP should cause it to only extend downwards. However, if it does not, you must move the card up to the very top of the canvas so that the absolute top pixel of the card is on the top pixel layer of the canvas.
  4. Navigate to File --> Export As, or press CTRL + SHIFT + E on your keyboard. In the drop-down on the bottom-right, select .PNG image. Name the file something easy to find, ideally the exact card name.

Paint Tool SAI[edit]

SAI is not completely free, but a one-day free trial is available. While the paid version may have additional tools to further expedite the process, this tutorial was written with the free trial in mind. Note: transparency in SAI is represented by white, which can be confusing for those accustomed to checkered transparency.

Preparation:

  1. Open the screenshot you wish to edit and the template in SAI by navigating to File --> Open, or by pressing CTRL + O.
  2. Select the entire template by pressing CTRL + A, or navigating to Selection --> Select All Copy this and paste it onto the screenshot. It should appear as a new layer.

Select-Delete:

  1. Reduce the opacity of the template layer by dragging the grey bar above the layer bin, to the left of the canvas, about half-way to the left. It doesn't have to be exact.
  2. Use the Move tool, which resembles a four-pointed cross in the tool bin to the right of the layer bin, to align the template with the card you wish to crop. For added precision, zoom in by scrolling down with the mousewheel, or by locating the zoom drop-down above the canvas and selecting your preferred zoom level. Rapidly hide/show the template layer by clicking the eye to check the alignment - if elements of the card appear to dance around, it is misaligned.
  3. Ensure the screenshot layer is selected by left-clicking it. It should be blue. Hold down the CTRL key and left-click on the image preview on the layer bin for the template layer. If you have done this correctly, a black-and-white dancing border should appear around the card. If not, you have most likely accidentally selected the template layer. Select the screenshot layer and try again.
  4. Navigate to Selection --> Invert, and then either press CTRL + X or navigate to Edit --> Cut. This will cut the inverted selection to your clipboard, but more importantly it will also remove the selected area from the image.
    1. Unfortunately, there is no feathering or anti-aliasing option within SAI, making it sub-optimal for card images as it creates a very sharp border. However, any image is better than no image.
  5. If you have made a mistake, press CNTRL + Z or navigate to Edit --> Undo until you have reversed the errant steps. If you're not sure where you went wrong, close the open canvas and start again from the beginning.

Finalising:

  1. CNTRL-click the newly edited screenshot layer. Navigate to Canvas --> Crop by selection.
  2. If there is a background layer, delete it. The card must exist on a transparent canvas.
  3. (Optional) If the template states that the image must be resized, navigate to Canvas --> Change Size and, in the new window that opens, go to the Extend Canvas tab. Add the required number to the correct box (usually bottom) and click OK. The canvas will lengthen slightly.
  4. Navigate to File --> Save As, or press CTRL + SHIFT + S. In the filetype drop-down below the filename, make sure to select .PNG. Name the file something easy to find, ideally the name of the card.

FireAlpaca[edit]

FireAlpaca is free image-editing software available for Windows or Mac. The latest stable version is recommended.

Preparation:

  1. Open both the screenshot you wish to edit and the template via File --> Open, or by pressing CTRL + O.
  2. Select the entire template by pressing CTRL + A, or navigating to Select --> All Copy this and paste it onto the screenshot. It should appear as a new layer.

Select-Delete:

  1. Reduce the opacity of the template layer by dragging the blue bar above the layer bin, to the right of the canvas, about half-way to the left. It doesn't have to be exact.
  2. Use the Move tool, which resembles an arrowhead with a four-pointed cross in the tool bin to the right of the canvas, to align the template with the card you wish to crop. For added precision, zoom in by scrolling down with the mousewheel, or by clicking the zoom in icon above the Navigator, at the top-right of the window. Rapidly hide/show the template layer by clicking the small circle to the left of the layer to check the alignment - if elements of the card appear to dance around, it is misaligned.
    1. If you are having trouble moving the template smoothly, navigate to Snap --> Off.
  3. Ensure the template layer is selected by left-clicking it. It should be blue. Navigate to Select --> Create selection from Layer/Opacity. Navigate to Select --> Contract, enter 1 into the box, and click OK.
  4. Navigate to Select --> Inverse, or press CTRL + SHIFT + I, and then press the delete key on your keyboard.
  5. If you have made a mistake, press CNTRL + Z or navigate to Edit --> Undo until you have reversed the errant steps. If you're not sure where you went wrong, close the open canvas and start again from the beginning.

Finalising:

  1. With the newly-edited screenshot layer selected, navigate to Select --> Create selection from Layer/Opacity, then Edit --> Crop.
  2. If there is a background layer, delete it. The card must exist on a transparent canvas. Delete or hide the template.
  3. (Optional) If the template states that the image must be resized, navigate to Edit --> Canvas Size and, in the new window that opens, select Bottom Center. Add the required number to the correct box (usually height), for example if the canvas must be extended by 20 pixels and is currently 315 pixels, change the number to 335 and click OK. The canvas will lengthen slightly.
  4. Navigate to File --> Save As, or press CTRL + SHIFT + S. In the filetype drop-down below the filename, make sure to select .PNG. Name the file something easy to find, ideally the name of the card. Make sure to select transparent PNG in the box that appears.

Removing the Quantity Box[edit]

When viewing a card from your collection, if you own any amount of that card besides one, a small box will appear on the bottom-right indicating the number of copies you own. While it does not obscure any information, it is unsightly, and if possible should be disguised. Fortunately, the method for doing so is universally appliccable to all image editing software that uses layers. ((Confirm: Is it actually??))

If you own 2 or 0 copies of a card, you can easily remove the quantity box by "temporarily" soul trapping or soul summoning a copy to make the number 1. Just remember to press "undo" right after taking your screenshot!

This should ideally be done after correctly aligning the template and before deleting the background.

  1. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool or Rectangular Selection Tool, the icon for which is almost always several dotted or broken lines in the form of a square or rectangle.
  2. Drag a rectangle around the right edge of the bottom-right corner of the template, taking care to only select the "foot" and edge of the card element.
  3. Drag a second rectangle around the bottom edge of this corner, taking similar care.
  4. Press CTRL + J, or navigate to Layer --> New --> Layer via copy. In the layer bin, select and drag the new layer down so that it is beneath the template, and above the screenshot.
  5. Press CTRL + E, or right-click the layer and select Merge Down.
  6. If possible and necessary, select the Smudge Tool, reduce the size to roughly 6 pixels and gently smudge the connection between the pasted area. If you cannot see the connection, this is not necessary.
  7. Follow the instructions to delete the background of the screenshot.

If you are unable to follow these instructions, but can otherwise use the template correctly, please upload your image anyway and include the tag {{cleanimage}} in the description when you upload the file. Someone else will disguise the box.

Unsupported Software[edit]

Some image-editing software simply lacks the necessary tools to make proper use of these templates. Known examples of this include:

  • Microsoft Paint
  • Paint.NET, with or without the aid of plugins.

Creature Cards[edit]

Always check your card collection. Even if you do not own a card, you may still capture a high-quality screenshot of it within the card collection. If you cannot find a card within your collection, even with Soul Sight enabled (which allows you to see cards that you do not own), then it is an unobtainable card.

Obtainable[edit]

1920 x 1200 Standard Creature Template
1920 x 1200 Legendary Creature Template

These templates can only be used for obtainable creatures.

Other resolutions:


Unobtainable[edit]

1920 x 1200 Standard Unobtainable Creature Template
1920 x 1200 Legendary Unobtainable Creature Template

These templates are only to be used for unobtainable creatures.

Other resolutions:


1920 x 1200 Guard Unobtainable Creature Template
1920 x 1200 Legendary Guard Unobtainable Creature Template

These templates are only to be used for unobtainable creatures with Guard. Using the non-guard unobtainable creature template will produce a strange edge.

Note: Using these templates is not ideal. If possible, bounce the creature back to your own hand or silence it to remove guard before taking a screenshot.

Other resolutions:

Noncreature Cards[edit]

All non-creature cards have the same outline, and thus the same template can be used for actions and supports. Always check your card collection. Even if you do not own a card, you may still capture a high-quality screenshot of it within the card collection. If you cannot find a card within your collection, even with Soul Sight enabled (which allows you to see cards that you do not own), then it is an unobtainable card.

Obtainable[edit]

1920 x 1200 Standard Noncreature Template
1920 x 1200 Legendary Noncreature Template

These templates can only be used for obtainable noncreatures.

Other resolutions:


Unobtainable[edit]

1920 x 1200 Standard Unobtainable Noncreature Template
1920 x 1200 Legendary Unobtainable Noncreature Template

These templates are only to be used for unobtainable noncreatures.

Other resolutions: