Give Feedback
CREATE YOUR OWN PAINTING IN FIVE EASY STEPS. ONLY ONE PROGRAM NEEDED! NO CREATION KIT NEEDED!!!
This tutorial has been tested for simplicity!!!
Ever wanted to be able to take the screenshots you made in-game and turn them into beautiful works of art, that you can actually hang in your Skyrim home and admire? Or even screenshots of your real-life friends and family, or pets... Anything! Or, maybe you're an artist! Maybe you've got some artwork of your own you want to display! Well listen here Malevich, this tutorial is even easier than the black square!
PROGRAMS!
You have a choice here! There are two programs I know that allow you to edit .dds files, if you know a program that allows you to do this, then you probably already know how to edit .dds files! The two programs I suggest are FREE, and extremely easy to use!
PAINT.NEThttp://www.getpaint.net/
Or
THE GIMP (With .dds plugin)
Or just find any program that opens up dds files and allows you to edit them.
This tutorial will use PAINT.NET because it needs no additional plugins, and is even more super easy than using gimp!
Video Tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dpztu5dlDTQ
------TUTORIAL FOR THE PROS------
STEP 1) NAVIGATE TO YOUR SKYRIM TEXTURES FOLDER. Find the “paintings” folder under clutter in textures. In here you should find files that begin with
"AKB_untitled_"
If your image is horizontal, you will want to find;
"AKB_Untitled_1_Horizontal".
or "AKB_Untitled_2_Horizontal", etc. It doesn’t matter which, but;
Note that the name of the painting will show up in game as "untitled 1" or "untitled 2" depending on the number written after "untitled". Thus, when you eventually craft your painting in game, make sure you keep note of which number you edited!
STEP 2) Open the file in any .dds editing program you have ( I suggest paint.net for the simplicity ) and simply copy and paste any image you want over it. Click save (don’t change the name or anything – overwrite the original file), and... That’s it. You’re Done! Test it out in game!
------TUTORIAL FOR THE BEGINNERS------
STEP 1) FIND THE IMAGE YOU WANT TO USE. Determine if it will be horizontal or vertical or square.
STEP 2) NAVIGATE TO YOUR SKYRIM TEXTURES FOLDER. Find the “paintings” folder under clutter in textures, by following these steps:
steam/steamapps/common/skyrim/data/textures/clutter/paintings
In here you should find files that begin with "AKB_untitled_"
If your image is horizontal, you will want to find;
"AKB_Untitled_1_Horizontal".
or "AKB_Untitled_2_Horizontal", etc. It doesn’t matter which, but;
Note that the name of the painting will show up in game as "untitled 1" or "untitled 2" depending on the number written after "untitled". Thus, when you eventually craft your painting in game, make sure you keep note of which number you edited!
Also, I know it may be tempting to add a name to your paintings other than “untitled”, but DO NOT CHANGE THE NAMES OF THE PAINTINGS, or NO PAINTINGS WILL SHOW UP! It’s a small sacrifice, trust me!
STEP 3) OPEN YOUR IMAGE AND THE UNTITLED.DDS IN PAINT.NET
Open your personal image in PAINT.NET – or in any program that will allow you to copy it. You can simply drag your image from its original folder into the program! Notice in the top right, you should see a little icon of your image? That’s handy!
Well, now open "AKB_Untitled_1_Horizontal.dds"(or whichever you chose) in Paint.NET. (simply drag the file into the window to open, or go to file: open: etc).
Now, if you look again in the top right, you should see another little icon for this file! You can click that to go to the blank canvas that you will paste your image into!
STEP 4) PASTE YOUR IMAGE OVER THE UNTITLED .DDS CANVAS!
Use the rectangle tool in the little “tools” palette to the left (may be on your right!) and drag it over your image, or go to edit: select all, and then go to edit: copy. Now hit that little icon of the blank canvas you just opened on the top right, it should open it up. Go to edit: paste! It will ask if you want to expand the canvas, DON’T! Click “keep canvas size”.
Depending on the size of your image it might only be showing a small section of your picture! That's okay! Just resize it by clicking on the little circle on the corner of your image; holding SHIFT while dragging the circle will enable you to keep the image proportion as you resize! Now, simply resize and drag the image so that it fits the canvas as you want it to!
STEP 5) SAVE YOUR IMAGE!
NOW SAVE IT! Go to file: Save. A box titled “save configuration” will appear. You don’t have to change anything here! Just hit “Okay”. That’s it! You’ve officially added your own image into the game! NOW GO AND PLAY SKYRIM, HANG YOUR PAINTING ON YOUR WALL, AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF THIS PATHETICALLY EASY PROCESS!
And of course, to add more paintings just follow these steps again, but use a different “untitled” canvas! Easy! You can also replace any image at any time, if you get sick of it! Spice things up!
But wait... How do you actually get your paintings in the game!?!?!?
PURCHASE BOOK TITLED "Painting Original Art" from Da Gee (you are required to have this in your inventory if you wish to make your own paintings!) Go to the easel in game. Choose which painting you wish to craft. But first, make sure you have paintbrushes and some paint handy! Your painting ain’t coming out of no-where!!!
You now have a custom painting, which you both worked to get in real life and in game. Set it up like you would any of the original paintings – make the frame, choose a nice spot in your home, and admire it.
1 comment