Bov creation for dvdauthorgui - gimp + ms paint

[Bjs]

This guide is on bovs as used in dvdauthorgui , using the gimp for all editing and ms paint to save out as a 16 colour bitmap

This is because the gimp only supports bitmap output in rgb at 24 colours , and not 16 colours .

For those using linux , please check out xnview for a linux version , as it can save out the images in 16 colour format ready to go .

http://www.xnview.com/

I'd like too thank liquid 217 for there advice and futher input , which is why this guide exists for newbies or anyone wanting there own buttons for there projects .

Those with jasc paintshop pro (not free) , can create these buttons easily , just follow the rules specifically to colours used , the number allowed per picture , and format .

The rules :

No picture may contain more than 4 colours (black is background , is not seen in playback of menu )

Only these colours specified below will work .

(well , not entirely sure about that , but stick with those mentioned would be easier)

The gimp - being freeware , is accessible to ALL .

Buttons can be any size , but prefer to keep them the same size as used by dvdauthorgui , they look cooler ...

The colours by hex value :





That third down on the left is 0,0,128 .. opps

These colours are from one of the buttons in dvdauthorgui , so we know they work .

The average button is 90pixels x 90pixels , so that would be a starting point to work from , so lets go .

For this guide , I am using some pictures from a clipart collection , so here is a simple picture to use



I'll leave the arrow out , and just use the paw print for my needs ... so open gimp .



Click File , Open



E is where my picture is (double click) , then in other window , navigate down to file (double click it) , to open



Right click on image and choose , View , Zoom , 8:1 to enlarge it enough to work with , then grab the lower right of the window and drag it open
to show the whole image .



Right click on the image and select from menu , Image , Mode , RGB , this will when finaly saving as bmp , produce 24 colour bitmap images .

Now as for this picture , all that is black will be painted for this guide , blue (0,0,255) , the area in a dark grey will be dark blue (128,0,0) , and background black (1,1,1)

The alternative will use light green (0,255,0) , dark green (0.128,0) around in that dark grey area , and leave that black area alone .

Each image will be saved as a different image in bmp format .

This image size initially is 47pixels x 47 pixels , a little small , but could be scaled up , but I wont do that now , just the paint bit .



You will notice the pointer in that black square area , double click that and this window appears next .



In the RGB values , I have chosen to start with my blue , so 0 is placed in R , 0 in G , and 255 in B , then click close button .

Now the paint tool , but first , click on the main gimp tool box , File , Dialogs , Brushes , and this appears



Choose the smallest dot available when working in small area's ... now to paint , I prefer the pencil as it allows me to only paint each pixel .



Here is the image so far ...



Thats 0,0,255 done , now back and change to 0,0,128 (dark blue) for those grey area's , and here that is ...



Just hit CTRL + Z if you mess something up ... now the final colour 1,1,1 (black) , and here is that pic ...



Now , on the picture , right click and choose , File , Save As



I have name it "dvdcolourblue.bmp" for now ... so here is my altrenative image file , done the same way .



The blue one is is my default button , the green one is my action button (performs action as required) .

To finish with , open each picture in ms paint , then File , Save As , change format too 16 colour bitmap , and there ready to go to work ...

Well , from here on , you should have a good understanding of how to produce buttons for dvdauthorgui in the gimp , just remmember the rules concerning colours , oh , and format required .

Size dosent matter , but keep them below 120pixels x 120pixels would be nicer looking ...

Before we finish , here's a snapshot of ifoedit playing back one of my projects .

The button you see here was created using pixia ... that was me screwing about trying to figure the buttons in pixia , and it too worked ???



Looks like an artist sitting down , painting .... just me fiddling about to see what other freeware paint programs can create buttons for dvdauthorgui ...

Of course , thats from my "Dvb for newbies" dvd I have been compiling over the last 2 years as a teaching guide while they work on their pc's .

All the tools are located on a cd so they have access to all the free tools , and guides I have created , in a simple to follow format .

Other buttons so far :





















And many more ... hundreds even .

Some 2 colours , 3 colours , and 4 colours .

Wont be happy till I have a minimum of 500 I think , by then I'll be ready for something else ... more pcgedit guides ...

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Just an addon : Mwsnap can load you button graphic's and flatten then down to 4 bit ... another handy feature as to why you should have mwsnap in your tool box ...

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Updated note : For the gimp output 16 color use ... image > mode > indexed

[liquid217]

Wow, excellent work. I would like to include these in the dvdauthorgui installer, with your permission of course.
I do have one point to make. Its something I have been thinking about, but have never really said anything. The Aspect Ratio of all of these buttons are 1:1, but if they are authored onto a menu, they will appear squeezed in slightly (moreso for 720,480 NTSC). this means it may be necessary to create 2 sets of buttons, one for NTSC, and one for PAL. What do you think?

Again, great work.

[Bjs]

I think this is prone too converted menu's , and not the actual buttons if used with raw inputs as required in dvdauthorgui when creating a new project .

All appears fine in my ntsc project .

Converted menu's from pal 720x576 to ntsc 720x480 , tends to squash things about , and in reverse , it stretch's them out in height .

Menu's with characters or substantial animations are the most affected .

In case of the button problem , I use a sub ripping tool to grab a snap of the buttons , and reconvert them for reuse , then its a matter of finding a suitable solution for pal to ntsc downsize , and there are a number of ways to do this , but not all will be happy ... in those case's I say go buy it .

I prefer to build my own menu's , thus avoiding several problems , and reuse the reconverted buttons , this allows me to completely reuse all the commands previously used by this menu .

Most are happy with the way I do it , and if the original menu has never been seen by the person watching it , then there none the wiser ...

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Well , I think the time has come to show users my way of correcting audio sync issues ... so I'll get too this guide and have it posted before saturday .

Which reminds me to find my pooh bear collection , thats just got to be converted ... for the kids .

[Bjs]

Another tool , better than ms paint is Free Image Editor found here : http://www.askedfiles.com/ ... it's free and packed with feature's .

Usefull tool for designing button's for dvdauthorgui ... and simpler .