Overview
This guide is a guide made to help those who can’t figure out how to make a character, which is reasonable! It’s not easy to figure out the character creation process on your own. So, let this guide, well, guide you in the steps of making the character of your dreams!
Required Items
Before you make a character, there’s two things you will want to have on your computer.
The GRID File (Required!)
[link]
This is our sprite sheet. It’s going to show exactly where we need to put our pictures/sprites to get animation.
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) (Optional, but highly recommended)
[link]
This program will help us make images transparent, something that Microsoft Paint can’t do.
Making Character Sprites
Now that we have the grid, we should open it up in MS Paint, because GIMP is harder to use for simple image editing.
Now, the sides of the grid says what animations fit in that row. For example, the first row is select. This 4-frame animation plays when you select that character.
Now before you go jumping in with your tools like the brush and all the shapes, STOP RIGHT THERE. Those tools are extremely unreliable when it comes to making images that you’ll want to be specific. Instead, you should start off by zooming into one of the squares and selecting the pencil tool. Why the pencil tool you may ask? The pencil tool is the only tool in existence that allows you to work with one pixel at a time and leaves perfectly solid colors instead of a blurry mess.
Also to keep in mind, the rectangle selection tool is also reliable and handy. It can help you from going insane of using the pencil tool over and over to make the exact same thing over and over again using its nifty abillity to copy and paste. It also is pixel perfect, so operation at a high zoom level will allow for you to make smoother animations.
Also, try to not use white or light grey in your animations. Don’t worry, this is not a 100% strict thing, it just will make GIMP a tiny bit faster. Also remember to use a white paint bucket tool on the grid when you’re done with the sprites.
The GRID’s animations.
Now, if you’re completely inexperienced at looking at the grid, here’s the grid explained.
In the top left corner, there’s a small square. This square is the zoomed-up head photo you see in the top left corner when you select a character. Make sure to fill this in.
The first 4 squares are the selection animation. This plays only when you select the character/look at his/her bio.
The 2nd row of 4 squares are the idle animation. This plays whenever it’s not your character’s turn in a roast. This one IS NOT THE SAME AS THE OTHERS in terms of how to implement animations. The 1st, 2nd, and 4th squares are the animation that usually plays. The 3rd sqaure replaces the 1st square SOMETIMES. What you should put in the 3rd square is the exact same thing as the 1st square, but with your character blinking. This will make your character animate better.
The 3rd row is the thinking animation. It plays when it’s your turn to select a insult component and when your character is doing a continuation.
The 4th row is the low talking animation. This plays when you’re roasting an opponent with a 10 or lower damage roast and when you’re talking in a introduction cutscene.
5th row is the medium talking animation. This plays when you’re roasting with a 11-15 damage roast.
6th row is the critical talking animation. This plays when you’re roasting with a 16 or more damage roast.
The 1st square is the pose your character does when he/she gets hit with a low damage roast. There is no animation for it except what you put in this square.
The 2nd square is the pose your character does when he/she gets hit with a medium damage roast. There is no animation for it except what you put in this square.
The 3rd square is the pose your character does when he/she gets hit with a high damage roast. There is no animation for it except what you put in this square.
The 4th square is the pose your character does when he/she checks his/her script (aka refreshes his/her hand). There is no animation for it except what you put in this square.
2nd row of squares is the losing animation. This replaces the idle animation when your character is at low health.
3rd row of squares is the animation for when you lose. It shows when your character isn’t talking in the ending cutscene and you’ve lost.
4th row of squares is the animation for when you lose and are talking. It shows when your character is talking in the ending cutscene and you’ve lost.
5th row of squares is the animation for when you win. It shows when your character isn’t talking in the ending cutscene and you’ve won.
6th row of squares is the animation for when you win and are talking. It shows when your character is talking in the ending cutscene and you’ve won.
7th row of squares is your character’s partner’s animation for when you use a weak comeback in a roast. Remember that your partner overlaps your character, so keep that in mind.
8th row of squares is your character’s partner’s animation for when you use a medium comeback in a roast. Remember that your partner overlaps your character, so keep that in mind.
9th and final row of squares is your character’s partner’s animation for when you use the strongest comeback in a roast. Remember that your partner overlaps your character, so keep that in mind.
Using GIMP
Now that you’re done making your animations, it’s time to get rid of that ugly white background that your character has and make it transparent. First, open up your image using GIMP. It may take a bit for it to open up the first time, but every time from then on out will be much faster.
FOR THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE WHITE OR LIGHT GREY IN THEIR ANIMATIONS
Go to Tools –> Selection Tools –> By Color Select. Now click on any area that is white. Now it will select all pixels that are white and very light grey, which your characters don’t have. Now go under Colors –> Color To Alpha. Select Okay and all areas that were selected are now transparent! Pat yourself on the back, for now you’re done making animations. Now go under File –> Overwrite *file name* and click on it.
FOR THOSE WHO DO HAVE WHITE AND/OR LIGHT GREY IN THEIR ANIMATIONS
Due to how GIMP’s By Color Select works, it will select parts of your character that you don’t want to select. Don’t worry, as there’s another way to get rid of the ugly white background. Go to Tools –> Selection Tools –> Fuzzy Select. This tool is very similar to the By Color Select one, but it won’t jump over a non-similar pixel to select more pixels. Click on any part of the white background and then go to Colors –> Color to Alpha. Select Okay and then all selected parts are now transparent. Make sure to do this for all background pieces, and you’ll now be done with animations. Now go under File –> Overwrite *file name* and click on it.
Importing Your Sprites To The Game
Next, you should copy your finished GRID file. In your computer’s files, go to Documents –> OhSirTheHollywoodRoast –> CustomContent. Paste your GRID here.
Now you should open up Oh…Sir! The Hollywood Roast. The menus you should go through are Backlot –> Workshop –> Manage My Mods –> Create New Mod. Now, create a name and bio for your character. Once you’re done with that, select a base character. It doesn’t really matter which one you pick. Now you should click on Override Skin. Your GRID file should be where you placed it. Select it and your animations will be imported into the game! Make sure to go through them on the character animations thingy on the left so that they are smooth are working.
Making A Custom Voice (OPTIONAL)
Now that you’ve done the animations for your character, it’s time to create a custom voice (if you want). Make sure that you’ve selected a base character before doing this! All characters have their own special lines that only they can use, so you’ll want to make sure you know which character you’re recording for.
You’ll be put into a certain screen that allows you to make voices with your characters. Make sure to have a decent enough microphone before doing this. Click on a voice line and click on Record New. It will start recording in about 1.5 seconds. Say the line and click on the stop button when you’re done. Take note that there is a time limit to this, so you can’t do an hour long “and” phrase.
Also remember that some voice lines have alternate and plural recordings too, so remember to do those too. Once you’re satisfied with the recordings, click on save.
Publishing Your Character To The Steam Workshop
If you want your character to be on the Steam Workshop, first save your character and then click Publish. A screen will pot up that’ll allow you to edit the description and the change notes. After you’re satisfied with those, click on submit. You’ll then be asked to read the terms and service to the Steam Workshop. Agree to it and your character will be on the Steam Workshop!
Thank You, Sir, For Reading!
It’s a pleasure to have feedback from the the critic that’s inside all of us. Leave a comment and like (or dislike, if you feel obliged to do so) to support this guide!