Tutorial: Creating a Tattoo in Photoshop and/or GIMP

Today, we'll be learning how to create your own tattoo using Photoshop and/or GIMP! The techniques described in this tutorial will also work when creating clothing or other transparent textures, but for the purposes of this tutorial, we'll be making just a simple tattoo. :)

What You Will Need For This Tutorial

1. Photoshop or GIMP

2. The upper or lower avatar PSD files (if you do not have them, you may download them here). For the purposes of this tutorial, we will be working on the upper avatar layer.

Please choose which tutorial you would like to read: Photoshop | GIMP

Creating Your Own Tattoos Using Photoshop

The first thing we'll need to do is create our tattoo in Photoshop! To do this, open the avatar PSD file you'd like to work on. Upper or lower, it is your choice! For this tutorial, we will be working on the upper avatar layer.

1. Create a blank, new layer above the UV layer you will see when you open the PSD file. This will be the layer you will paint your tattoo onto.

2. Using a brush of your choice paint or stamp (or even cut and paste a picture!) onto the UV layer where you would like your tattoo to appear. I want my tattoo to appear on my lower back, so I will be painting my tattoo onto the lower back location of my new layer. (Important Note: MAKE SURE you are painting onto the BLANK LAYER you just created and NOT the UV layer -- you will be hiding the UV layer when we save the file).

3. Once you are satisfied with your tattoo, press the Eye icon on the left of the UV layer to hide it. This should leave you with a checkered background indicating that you now have only your tattoo layer on a transparent background. Now comes the fun part!

4. In your main menu, go to File > Save For Web & Devices.

5. Change your saving preset to PNG-24. This is VERY IMPORTANT. Using PNG-8 will leave a white halo around your image, which you do not want. Be SURE that you have changed your saving format to PNG-24.

6. Underneath the PNG-24 drop down box, you should now have a tick box named "Transparency". Tick this check box to be sure that the blank background saves into the PNG file. If this box is unticked, your file will *not* be transparent, it will have a white or black background!

7. Press Save and save the file where you will be able to find it easily.

Continue reading the final bit of this tutorial.

Creating Your Own Tattoos Using GIMP

The first thing we'll need to do is create our tattoo in GIMP! To do this, open the avatar PSD file you'd like to work on. Upper or lower, it is your choice! For this tutorial, we will be working on the upper avatar layer.

1. Create a blank, new layer above the UV layer you will see when you open the PSD file. This will be the layer you will paint your tattoo onto.

2. Using a brush of your choice paint or stamp (or even cut and paste a picture!) onto the UV layer where you would like your tattoo to appear. I want my tattoo to appear on my lower back, so I will be painting my tattoo onto the lower back location of my new layer. (Important Note: MAKE SURE you are painting onto the BLANK LAYER you just created and NOT the UV layer -- you will be hiding the UV layer when we save the file).

3. Once you are satisfied with your tattoo, press the Eye icon on the left of the UV layer to hide it. This should leave you with a checkered background indicating that you now have only your tattoo layer on a transparent background. Now comes the fun part!

4. In your main menu, go to File > Save As. In the Select File Type By Extension list, select PNG image. (NOTE: If you receive a window saying that PNG cannot support multiple layers, select "Merge Visable Layers" from the radio button options - you should only have one visable layer, the layer you've painted your tattoo on, and so this is your best option). Press Export.

5. In the next options window that displays, uncheck "Save Background Color".

6. Press Save and save the file where you will be able to find it easily.

Uploading Your File to Second Life & Creating the Tattoo Clothing Layer

Once you have saved your file, it is now time to upload it into Second Life!

1. Log into Second Life, and go to File > Upload Image and find the PNG file you just saved. Be sure to check "Use Lossless Compression" in the upload window if it is not already checked!

2. Now that you have your file uploaded (it should appear in your Textures folder), it is time to create the clothing layer that your tattoo will go onto. Right click on your avatar and go into Appearance Mode.

3. Because we placed this tattoo on the upper avatar layer, we will need to use one of the upper avatar clothing pieces to place the texture on (undershirt, jacket, or shirt). Let's use the undershirt layer. Click the Undershirt tab on your screen and select "Create New Undershirt".

4. You should now be wearing a new, white Undershirt. Before we place our texture onto it, let's first make sure all of the texture will display by editing the undershit a little. While still in appearance mode and wearing your undershirt layer, click the Undershirt tab and turn all of your undershirt layer properties to 100 (Sleeve length, Bottom, Collar Front and Collar Back).

5. Now, click the Fabric square in the upper left corner of your New Undershirt window. Select the texture you just uploaded from your inventory and press Select. This will replace the default white fabric texture of the undershirt with the new, transparent texture of your tattoo!

6. Press Save and OK. Your new tattoo is now complete and ready to be worn!

As stated at the beginning of this tutorial, this technique can be utilized when making clothing, transparent textures for building (such as windows) or anything else that has the need to be transparent, or semi-transparent, in Second Life. Don't be shy! Play around with layer styling, opacity, drop shadows, etc and make your own unique tattoos or clothing all on your own.

Until next week!