Introduction To Skinning
Why hello there! If you came here with the intentions of learning how to make your very own skin (for JKA), then you've come to the right place! It's not as complicated as it may seem, so don't fret if you have already scrolled down and seen the plethora of images and stretched faces! It's a fun and addicting process.
What You'll Need
Alright, so there are some things you're going to need to get started. Firstly, any program that can accurately edit images. Secondly, a program that can open, read and save PK3 files. Both of which are free!
Image Editing Software
Paint.Net [free] Download
GIMP [free]
Adobe Photoshop
PK3 Management
Pakscape [free] Download
Others
PK3 Template Download (Courtesy of Senbou)
ModView Download
Your brain
Can of Coke
Barbeque Flavored Lay's Potatoe Chips
There's really only one available source that I know of for use when dealing with PK3's. It's very simple to use, as it should be, and it has yet to fail me. I have noticed only one flaw, which will be mentioned later. It's a free program and I highly recommend using it (as you need it anyways!). Also, Modview will easily allow you to view your progress as you model/skin your mods! Hence the reason it's called MODview.
I would recommend Paint.Net over GIMP, based on past experiences. Paint.Net is free - I use it for things that are too difficult or lengthy to do in Photoshop. Over all, I use Adobe Photoshop and would recommend you buy it. It can be overwhelming but once you get comfortable using it, it's not hard to do other things. If you're going to only be skinning and nothing more, might as well get Paint.Net
This tutorial will be done in Photoshop, but I will list the equivalent functions (if they are different) of Paint.Net. I highly dislike GIMP and therefore I will not be giving directions specifically on how to use it.
Section 1 A: The First Encounter
Alrighty folks, let's begin! First and foremost, we need to decide what model/skin we're going to use from base JKA. In this tutorial, we're going to use the model named "Galak".Yes yes, we're going to give Ole'Galak an extreme make-over. We all know he needs it after that little confrontation he had with Kyle in JK2.
Anyways, to access this model with all of its files, we need to open the Pk3 in JKA's base folder, where about fifty percent of all the good important stuff is held. Now you may just happen to be wondering what the heck the "base folder" is. If so, continue reading - otherwise skip to the headliner "Section One B". Oh good, so you were wondering and my words haven't gone to waste! Excellent! Anyways, the base folder is a folder (obviously) which is found in your copy of JKA's directory. The directory is where all of the game files which help make the game run (apart from those found on the CD) are at. To access this magical wonderland, open the place of which you installed the game. In most cases it will be on your local disk (C). Follow the instructions below to continue.
1. Open "My Computer" or wherever you installed the JKA game.
2. Open "Program Files" (Unless you installed the game somewhere else on your computer).
3. Open "Lucas Arts"
4. Open "Star Wars Jedi knight Jedi Academy"
5. Open "Game Data"
6. Finally, open "base"
Hazaah, you have found the base folder. This is where all of your mods should go (apart from some which are to be extracted in the Game Data folder. For now, don't worry about this!)
Section 1 B: The Kind-of-Second Encounter
If I was any sort of musical genius, I would most definitely write a song about the base folder. It truly is a wonderful place, where mods run freely and scripts play hopscotch! Anyways, you've made it to possibly the second most easy part of this tutorial: Opening a PK3!
As of right now, you should have a window open that displays the contents of the "base" folder. If you do not, please refer to Section One A. If you do, follow the below instructions if you will.
1. Open PakScape, which you should have already downloaded. If not, click here.
2. Put PakScape's window off to the side a bit, and go back to the "base" folder's window.
3. Hunt down the file in the "base" folder named "assets1" which is a PK3 file.
4. Select the PK3, "assets1", and drag it over to PakScape. Congratulations, you have just opened your first PK3 file.
Once you have done these things, you can read some more about what this means or you can go on to Section 2 for the next bit of instructions (it's entirely up to you, reading the following will most likely benefit your skinning experience). Well hello, you're still reading! Opening this PK3 file named "assets1" will grant you access to many of the files that are used to make-real the different characters, weapons, and vehicles. In here you'll find all the game textures, effects, physical models, botfiles, menus, and user interfaces. Most of all editing will be done from "assets1". I say MOST of, because sounds are not located in this particular asset PK3, which must be retrieved from another. We'll focus on that as one of the last steps.
Section 2: Digging To The Depths; Spelunking
Okay, we're almost to the editing part! These steps are imperative to skinning. Follow the below instructions to learn how to salvage the model/skin parts.
1. With PakScape open, you should be viewing "assets1" PK3. If not, please refer back to Section 1 B. Here is what it should look like:
2. Open the folder named "Models"
3. Open the folder named "Players"
4. Find the folder named "galak", and as I'm sure you guessed - open it. You can easily find the folders of certain models by clicking randomly on any of the folders, then pressing the key of the first letter in the name of the model. In this case, I clicked one of the folders then pressed G on my keyboard, which brought me to "galak". So open this folder if you already haven't.
5. Do NOT close that window.
Wooooo! You've opened up and viewed your first JKA skin. Kinda. This stuff right here that you see is literally the meat and bones of what makes Galak, Galak. Continue onto the next step now! Don't close that window!
Section 3: The Transfer
Cool, we found our model and his skin. Now we need to duplicate it all so we can much more easily edit it. Follow the below instructions to continue.
1. Open up a new window and find "My Documents" (then open it).
2. Make a new folder named "My Skinz" (then open it).
3. Make another new folder named "Epic Galak" (then open it).
So the line of folders should look like this:
My Documents\My Skinz\Epic Galak\ *You're in here!*
4. Go back to the PakScape window where you have all the original files from the model/skin "galak". Press CTRL+A on your keyboard to select all of the files (or just click/drag your mouse to select).
5. Press CTRL+C to copy all of these files.
6. Go back to the new folder you made in the other window, press CTRL+V to duplicate/paste all the files.
Great, now we have all the files in one easy-to-access spot. For now, you can close PakScape if you wish. We won't be needing it again until later - once we need to go find the sound files and then eventually compress your skin.
Section 4 A: Get Out Your Skinning Knife
Whoop, whoop! We're now ready to dive into the mystical world of skinning. Depending on what program you decided to use for image editing, open it now. As a reminder, all the visuals have been done using Adobe Photoshop. Nearly everything that is done in Photoshop can be done in Paint.Net and GIMP, therefore follow the instructions as you would for either program (most of the tools remain the same). However, if no equivalent function is present, I will provide a way around that for Paint.Net only.
1. Open up your image editing program, mine being Adobe Photoshop.
2. Go back to the window where you placed all the files for your new skin. If you haven't made a new folder for your skin outside of the base folder yet, please refer to Section 3.
3. Find the file named "galak_torso" and drag it into your image editing program. This is what it should look like once it is opened.
4. So what you see now is the entire outside covering that wraps around the actual phsyical model of "galak", referring to the TORSO area. If it doesn't look like the above image, please post here in this thread for extended help or private message me. Anyways, we have to decide what we're going to do next. Continue onwards!
5. For this tutorial, we're going to do a few things to help y'all get an idea of what can be done to change the appearance of a skin. Firstly, we're going to change the hue of the sleek imperial jacket Galak wears.
To do this in Photoshop, find the panel on the right hand side that says ADJUSTMENTS, then click the icon that's in the second row, second from the left. It's highlighted in the image below.
6. Once this is done, feel free to drag that colorful little bar all over the place to find whichever color suits you (well technically Galak) the best. I'm going to choose pink. Note, to get a more vibrant affect, slide the little SATURATION pointer up towards the red (right) side. Not too high though!
7. Oh cool, now we've got a krazy-kolor thing going on. What now, you ask? We're going to put a fat and sassy "KR" stamp on the back. Select the Text tool from the toolbar on the left hand side. Alternatively, in both Paint.Net and PS, you can just press "T" on the keyboard as a shortcut. This is going to open up some options on the top of the window. Here you can adjust font size, font style, and alignment. I usually set the alignment to center just to make things easier. Depending on the font style, you may have to change the size of the text.
8. Select any color you like before starting. Great, now click the middle portion of the image, it's the very back of the torso on the skin. A blinking cursor will appear with a line under it (in Photoshop). Type "-[KR]-" and press the little tiny check mark in the middle/right top portion of the screen (highlighted in the example below).
9. Alrighty, now we have a fanciful jacket, complete with a KR smacker on the back. Feel free to do whatever you please to the jacket, but for the sake of this tutorial we're going to move on to the next step.
10. Save iiiiitttt!!! In Photoshop, you can't just straight up click save - you have to go to Save As. So click File, then Save As. When the window comes up, it should already be named "galak_torso" so don't mess with that just yet. What you do want to do is click the Format drop-down-box and select JPEG. Once you have selected JPEG, click Save.
11. Approve the overwriting notifciation, then click OK on the next window that'll pop up after that. It's basically asking how good you want the final JPEG to look. I always set it to level 12 quality, but it honestly doesn't matter all too much where it's at on default.
Section 4 B: A Botox-a-licious Evening
Witty comment or joke unavailable.
1. Go back to the window where all the files are for the galak skin that you created. If you closed it, you should have put it in My Documents if you can recall - so bring that up again. If you haven't made a new folder with all the files in it from the original galak folder, for some reason, then refer to section 3.
2. Find the image file named "face", then drag and drop it into your image editing program. Whoa! What a fatty! Just kidding, it's actually quite the rare site to see someone's entire head stretched about one flat, 2-dimensional plane. Consider yourself honored. Here's what it should look like when opened:
3. So this is Galak's face, what should we do to it? (Suppressing an evil smile). Well I know what I am going to do. That's right, we're going Joker-style all over his face. Prepare yourself for an epic smile, Mr. Galak. For those of you using Paint.Net, you're out of luck. This can't be done in that program, so just skip step 4. You can always do something else to his beautiful little face, like add another KR stamp to his forehead.
4. Okay my little shpootleheimers, select the smudge tool from the toolbar on the lefthand side of the window. It looks like a finger pointing down. Change the brush size to about 70 (in the top left hand corner this can be achieved by clicking the little circle and either selecting one of the preset brush sizes or changing it yourself). Now find the corners of Galak's mouth, and slowly/carefully click and drag them upwards and out. Not too far now, refer to the image below. If you're feeling mischevious, you can do his eyebrows as well!
5. Additional clicks/drags will provide you with a better effect. It may not look like the Joker all too much, but why so serious? Anyways, for those of you who skipped step 4, and don't forget as I mentioned from before, you can still do something to his face. Perhaps put a little exclamation point on his cheek or something, be crafty.
6. Now we're going to save. Click File, Save As, switch the format of the image to JPEG. The name should be "face" if it isn't already. Override the overwrite notification, and select image quality on the final pop-up image after you've hit save.
*7. As a side step, it'd be favorable to edit the image named "icon_default" which is in the same folder as everything else. It's the little player icon you get when you select a model from the menu. You will most likely want to change it so you can more easily find your skin when you go to select it on said in-game menu. It's rather easy to do, so just follow procedure of saving/opening/editing like you would for the other parts of the skin. Make sure name remains the same. For mine, I will change the hue of the icon a bit.
Section 5: A Technical Way of Life
Nice, we've done some pretty cool things so far. We (I) gave Galak a pink jacket, complete with a fashionable green zipper, a big ole' fat and sassy KR stamp on his back, and a face lift. So now we have to do some technical work to make the skin work properly. You may close your image editing software for now, unless you wish to go back and edit other parts of the skin. Just follow the same general procedure for opening and saving each file and you should be gewd.
1. Open up your folder where you have saved all the duplicated / edited files from the original "galak" folder.
2. You're going to see 5 non-image files. They are: Model.glm, Model_blue.SKIN, Model_Red.SKIN, Model_Default.SKIN. Open the SKIN file named "Model_Default" using notepad/wordpad or any basic text editor.
3. Whoa Nelly, that's a lot of stuff. I know. Don't freak out.
4. Okay, first things first, we have to change the directories of which this file will refer to. A SKIN file helps the game know where to look for the specific model's skin files. So we just made some stuff, right? Well this skin file is how we tell the machine where to look for the edits we just made. Now that you have opened that .SKIN file, it should look like this:
5. Each line represents a part of the model followed by a comma then the skin file location. So you see the first line says "hips,models/players/galak/boots_hips.tga". The part of the model is the hips, and the current file location is "models/players/galak/". The file is "boots_hips.tga". Ignore the ".tga" as JPEG's will still work even though they're labled differently here. So to change the directory, find the part of that line that says "galak" and change it to "epic_galak". We will make this actual directory in Section 6. So the first line should look like this:
hips,models/players/epic_galak/boots_hips.tga
If you change the name of the skin's image file, it must be changed in the directory as well. For example, if you named the "face" image file we just edited as "Facelolol", in the directory it HAS TO BE "Facelolol", however, note that caps don't matter.
6. Here's a higlighted version of the .SKIN file so you can see which parts to edit. Ignore all model parts that refer to the Stormtrooper directory. These parts of the model aren't seen, as they refer to pieces which don't exist. Leave them alone. Change all the folders named "galak" that are highlighted below, to "epic_galak".
It should look like this once you're done changing them all:
7. Double check to make sure there is no folder directory, /galak/, and that they're all in fact /epic_galak/.
8. Triple check. This stage is very important, as it is the most bothersome. I'd say about 40% of all errors come from a faulty .SKIN file. 10% comes from improper image sizes, which we'll talk about later, and the other 50% most indefinitely comes from SHADERS which we will also talk about later.
It's extremely important that you have properly renamed all the directories. If you haven't the .SKIN will load other image files as textures onto the skin inappropriately.
9. Once you have checked over and over, save it. If for some reason you need to do a Save As, make sure you set the format to ALL FILES, then in the actual name of the save put an ".SKIN" at the end.
Section 6 A: Compiling To Compress
Phew, alright. We've made it this far. It all goes down hill from here anyways. Compare to what y'all just went through, this is like writing your name on a chalkboard. Strikingly difficult unless you're sitting down watching. Just kidding, because if it was that hard, I would have just lied to you a bunch. It's not that hard. I'm actually relieved we're finally on this part!
ANYWAYS.
1. Open up PakScape if you closed it.
2. Click on the little icon of a blank sheet to create a new file, or just press CTRL+N.
*2.5. If you downloaded the PK3 Template, you can open this up in PakScape and put all the files in the correct positions instead of having to make a new PK3 entirely. Just make sure you save the PK3 with a different name!
3. Get a hold of that folder named Epic Galak (in your Skinz folder in My Documents), where you have saved all your edited goodies. Open it up so you have all the files in front of you.
4. Go back into PakScape and create a new folder. To create new folders, either right click and select object, then new directory or click the icon on the above toolbar that looks like a folder. Name it "models" (open it after creating it)
5. Create a folder named "Players" (open it after creating it)
6. Create a folder named "epic_galak" (open it up, too)
7. Go back to your little window where are all the images and stuff is for your new creation. Press CTRL+A to highlight all the files in the folder.
8. Whilst all files are highlighted, click to drag the lot of them over to PakScape. Alternatively, you can copy/paste them into PakScape.
9. Make sure you put all the files into the directory you just created, that being:
Models/Players/epic_galak/
10. Double check the files are put correctly into the series of folders you just made, as stated above. Now, do NOT close PakScape. Continue onto Section 6 B.
Section 6 B: Sound Sleuthing
Unfortunately my friend, it is time to go back into the jungle of assets. We need to get the sound files for Mr. Galak, so he can howl in pain and taunt his enemies appropriately.
1. You won't need to keep your folder open with all your files for the new Galak you're making, so head back to My Computer from there. Note, this doesn't mean close PakScape. Keep PakScape and the new file you just made in there and open. Don't even touch it. Nah-ah-ah, don't look at it either.
2. From My Compooper, open your local disk (C) or whever you installed JKA.
3. Open "Program Files"
4. Open "Lucas Art"s
5. Open "Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy"
6. Open "Game Data"
7. Open "base"
8. Locate the PK3 named "assets0" and drag it into PakScape, careful not to drag it into the new file you just made. You have to open this one up. If it's too hard, you can always open "assets0" from PakScape itself by navigating in the same manner through your computer as shown above.
9. Yes, I know, another ugly assets file. Why they chose to name it number 0 instead of knocking everything up one, I don't know. Any-who, open up the folder named "Sound".
10. Open the folder named "chars"
11. Oddly enough, I don't have a sound folder for Galak. I don't think you do either, so with that said, open up the folder named "Tavion"
12. Open the folder named "misc". In here are all the important sounds. Oh joy! So what we're going to do is select them all (using any previously mentioned method, like CTRL+A), then copying them using CTRL+C.
13. Excellent, now after having done nothing but copying those files, go ahead and close assets0. You should be left with the new file you created for your skin.
14. Create another new folder named "sound" (then open it) Remember now, creating new folders in PakScape you must either right click and select object, then new directory or click the icon on the above toolbar that looks like a folder.
15. Create another new folder named "chars" (then open it)
16. Create another new folder named "epic_galak" (then open it)
17. Create another new folder named "misc" (then open it)
18. Now press CTRL+V to paste/duplicate all the sound files.
19. STOP, don't do anything after this. Go on to Section 7.
Section 7: PK3-pie
Yes, YES, YEESSS!! Look how far you've come. There's really only 2 things you need to do now. Technically 3, if you're being technical.
1. Most importantly, SAVE YOUR PK3. TO do this, click File then SAVE AS.
2. FIRST, you must select format before putting the name in. I don't know why, but mine always saves as a zipped folder instead if I don't. So put the format as PK3 (Quake 3 Pak).
3. Put in the name for the file as "epic_galak". Click the drop down box next to the small words "Save In" and find the folder "My Skinz" in your "My Documents" folder. Click Save.
4. Hunt down the skin in its new location, seperate window.
5. Press CTRL+C to copy it.
6. Find your base folder, which can be gotten to following these directions...
7. Go to My Compooper, open your local disk (C) or whever you installed JKA.
8. Open "Program Files"
9. Open "Lucas Art"s
10. Open "Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy"
11. Open "Game Data"
12. Open "base"
13. Once in the "base" folder, press CTRL+V to paste/duplicate a copy of your skin.
14. Open up that can of Coke and bag of chips. Take a break and enjoy life for a moment!
Section 8: Your Skin, M'Lord
Let me be the very first to congratulate you on making your first skin ever. Congratulations. You did it. You made a totally whacked out version of Galak. Not only has his manhood been eradicated, but his voice replaced by that of a female psychopath. Seriously, congratulations. It was a long and hardy road thou hath traveled.
1. Open JKA
2. Once in-game, press Escape and open the profile menu.
3. If you changed the icon of the skin, it'll be a lot easier to find. Select it and click Apply.
4. Enjoy infinite Galak mochery.
The Finished Project! (Video)
If you do not understand or are having / had troubles - Please contact me or an SC officer ASAP. We're all very willing to help, and of course, super friendly. Don't be afraid to ask questions either. Support on this matter is appreciated!
Brief Lessons
Lesson 1: Team Colors
Making your skin team-color-compatible is rather easy. More often than not, the files for other team colors will be trailed by a "_blue" or "_red" which helps signify to the corresponding .SKIN file which image files to use. Yes, there are 2 more .SKIN files which refer to the proper JPEG's/image files in the folder seperately from the "default." If you do make some team colored image files, you'll have to set up new .SKIN files to corrolate with the changed images. They should always be named either "model_blue.SKIN" or "model_red.SKIN" and refer to each respective team color image (inside the .SKIN). It's easiest to open up the "model_default.SKIN" then add either "_red" or "_blue" to the ends of the image files (make sure you put them infront of the ".TGA" at the end of each line) then save it as a new file, being either red/blue with the correct names as shown above. If using that method, make sure you change the format of the file to ALL FILES and add the .SKIN in the file name itself whilst saving.
Quick example! If you opened up the model_Red.SKIN file, you'll see all the image files and their model parts like you would in the normal model_Default.SKIN. However, instead of just "torso.tga", the image file will probably be "torso_red.tga". So like I said before, if you just open the model_Default.SKIN, you can just go about adding _red/_blue to the ends of the image files then saving the .SKIN with the different name. Please make sure that there actually is a torso_red or head_red (w/e) inside the skin's folder. Otherwise, rename them so they match up.
Lesson 2: Icons
It is highly recommended you change the icons for your skins if you're reskinning something. It'll be much easier to find for yourself when you're going to select the skin. The default image size for an icon is "128x128" pixels. The names should always be "icon_default" for default, "icon_red" and "icon_blue" for team colors. The team colored icons don't need to be switched around in the main .SKIN files.
Lesson 3: Image Sizes
It's imperative you do not change the sizes of the images to inappropriate proportions. If the file size is 100 pixels by 100 pixels, it will not work if you change it to 140 x 40 pixels. You can upscale the image to help improve quality of the texure on the actual skin. This is a very dirty little secret of mine. Of course don't go over board and do 5000x5000 size textures, no one will download your skins because of the very apparent lag.
Please note, SHADERs are an entirely different thing when compared to basic skinning. Currently I have not made a tutorial for SHADERs as it can be much more complex. I wasn't kidding when I said half, if not more, of all problems with skins come from SHADERs not satisfying the correct directories or parameters.
Why hello there! If you came here with the intentions of learning how to make your very own skin (for JKA), then you've come to the right place! It's not as complicated as it may seem, so don't fret if you have already scrolled down and seen the plethora of images and stretched faces! It's a fun and addicting process.
What You'll Need
Alright, so there are some things you're going to need to get started. Firstly, any program that can accurately edit images. Secondly, a program that can open, read and save PK3 files. Both of which are free!
Image Editing Software
Paint.Net [free] Download
GIMP [free]
Adobe Photoshop
PK3 Management
Pakscape [free] Download
Others
PK3 Template Download (Courtesy of Senbou)
ModView Download
Your brain
Can of Coke
Barbeque Flavored Lay's Potatoe Chips
There's really only one available source that I know of for use when dealing with PK3's. It's very simple to use, as it should be, and it has yet to fail me. I have noticed only one flaw, which will be mentioned later. It's a free program and I highly recommend using it (as you need it anyways!). Also, Modview will easily allow you to view your progress as you model/skin your mods! Hence the reason it's called MODview.
I would recommend Paint.Net over GIMP, based on past experiences. Paint.Net is free - I use it for things that are too difficult or lengthy to do in Photoshop. Over all, I use Adobe Photoshop and would recommend you buy it. It can be overwhelming but once you get comfortable using it, it's not hard to do other things. If you're going to only be skinning and nothing more, might as well get Paint.Net
This tutorial will be done in Photoshop, but I will list the equivalent functions (if they are different) of Paint.Net. I highly dislike GIMP and therefore I will not be giving directions specifically on how to use it.
Section 1 A: The First Encounter
Alrighty folks, let's begin! First and foremost, we need to decide what model/skin we're going to use from base JKA. In this tutorial, we're going to use the model named "Galak".Yes yes, we're going to give Ole'Galak an extreme make-over. We all know he needs it after that little confrontation he had with Kyle in JK2.
Anyways, to access this model with all of its files, we need to open the Pk3 in JKA's base folder, where about fifty percent of all the good important stuff is held. Now you may just happen to be wondering what the heck the "base folder" is. If so, continue reading - otherwise skip to the headliner "Section One B". Oh good, so you were wondering and my words haven't gone to waste! Excellent! Anyways, the base folder is a folder (obviously) which is found in your copy of JKA's directory. The directory is where all of the game files which help make the game run (apart from those found on the CD) are at. To access this magical wonderland, open the place of which you installed the game. In most cases it will be on your local disk (C). Follow the instructions below to continue.
1. Open "My Computer" or wherever you installed the JKA game.
2. Open "Program Files" (Unless you installed the game somewhere else on your computer).
3. Open "Lucas Arts"
4. Open "Star Wars Jedi knight Jedi Academy"
5. Open "Game Data"
6. Finally, open "base"
Hazaah, you have found the base folder. This is where all of your mods should go (apart from some which are to be extracted in the Game Data folder. For now, don't worry about this!)
Section 1 B: The Kind-of-Second Encounter
If I was any sort of musical genius, I would most definitely write a song about the base folder. It truly is a wonderful place, where mods run freely and scripts play hopscotch! Anyways, you've made it to possibly the second most easy part of this tutorial: Opening a PK3!
As of right now, you should have a window open that displays the contents of the "base" folder. If you do not, please refer to Section One A. If you do, follow the below instructions if you will.
1. Open PakScape, which you should have already downloaded. If not, click here.
2. Put PakScape's window off to the side a bit, and go back to the "base" folder's window.
3. Hunt down the file in the "base" folder named "assets1" which is a PK3 file.
4. Select the PK3, "assets1", and drag it over to PakScape. Congratulations, you have just opened your first PK3 file.
Once you have done these things, you can read some more about what this means or you can go on to Section 2 for the next bit of instructions (it's entirely up to you, reading the following will most likely benefit your skinning experience). Well hello, you're still reading! Opening this PK3 file named "assets1" will grant you access to many of the files that are used to make-real the different characters, weapons, and vehicles. In here you'll find all the game textures, effects, physical models, botfiles, menus, and user interfaces. Most of all editing will be done from "assets1". I say MOST of, because sounds are not located in this particular asset PK3, which must be retrieved from another. We'll focus on that as one of the last steps.
Section 2: Digging To The Depths; Spelunking
Okay, we're almost to the editing part! These steps are imperative to skinning. Follow the below instructions to learn how to salvage the model/skin parts.
1. With PakScape open, you should be viewing "assets1" PK3. If not, please refer back to Section 1 B. Here is what it should look like:
2. Open the folder named "Models"
3. Open the folder named "Players"
4. Find the folder named "galak", and as I'm sure you guessed - open it. You can easily find the folders of certain models by clicking randomly on any of the folders, then pressing the key of the first letter in the name of the model. In this case, I clicked one of the folders then pressed G on my keyboard, which brought me to "galak". So open this folder if you already haven't.
5. Do NOT close that window.
Wooooo! You've opened up and viewed your first JKA skin. Kinda. This stuff right here that you see is literally the meat and bones of what makes Galak, Galak. Continue onto the next step now! Don't close that window!
Section 3: The Transfer
Cool, we found our model and his skin. Now we need to duplicate it all so we can much more easily edit it. Follow the below instructions to continue.
1. Open up a new window and find "My Documents" (then open it).
2. Make a new folder named "My Skinz" (then open it).
3. Make another new folder named "Epic Galak" (then open it).
So the line of folders should look like this:
My Documents\My Skinz\Epic Galak\ *You're in here!*
4. Go back to the PakScape window where you have all the original files from the model/skin "galak". Press CTRL+A on your keyboard to select all of the files (or just click/drag your mouse to select).
5. Press CTRL+C to copy all of these files.
6. Go back to the new folder you made in the other window, press CTRL+V to duplicate/paste all the files.
Great, now we have all the files in one easy-to-access spot. For now, you can close PakScape if you wish. We won't be needing it again until later - once we need to go find the sound files and then eventually compress your skin.
Section 4 A: Get Out Your Skinning Knife
Whoop, whoop! We're now ready to dive into the mystical world of skinning. Depending on what program you decided to use for image editing, open it now. As a reminder, all the visuals have been done using Adobe Photoshop. Nearly everything that is done in Photoshop can be done in Paint.Net and GIMP, therefore follow the instructions as you would for either program (most of the tools remain the same). However, if no equivalent function is present, I will provide a way around that for Paint.Net only.
1. Open up your image editing program, mine being Adobe Photoshop.
2. Go back to the window where you placed all the files for your new skin. If you haven't made a new folder for your skin outside of the base folder yet, please refer to Section 3.
3. Find the file named "galak_torso" and drag it into your image editing program. This is what it should look like once it is opened.
4. So what you see now is the entire outside covering that wraps around the actual phsyical model of "galak", referring to the TORSO area. If it doesn't look like the above image, please post here in this thread for extended help or private message me. Anyways, we have to decide what we're going to do next. Continue onwards!
5. For this tutorial, we're going to do a few things to help y'all get an idea of what can be done to change the appearance of a skin. Firstly, we're going to change the hue of the sleek imperial jacket Galak wears.
To do this in Photoshop, find the panel on the right hand side that says ADJUSTMENTS, then click the icon that's in the second row, second from the left. It's highlighted in the image below.
6. Once this is done, feel free to drag that colorful little bar all over the place to find whichever color suits you (well technically Galak) the best. I'm going to choose pink. Note, to get a more vibrant affect, slide the little SATURATION pointer up towards the red (right) side. Not too high though!
7. Oh cool, now we've got a krazy-kolor thing going on. What now, you ask? We're going to put a fat and sassy "KR" stamp on the back. Select the Text tool from the toolbar on the left hand side. Alternatively, in both Paint.Net and PS, you can just press "T" on the keyboard as a shortcut. This is going to open up some options on the top of the window. Here you can adjust font size, font style, and alignment. I usually set the alignment to center just to make things easier. Depending on the font style, you may have to change the size of the text.
8. Select any color you like before starting. Great, now click the middle portion of the image, it's the very back of the torso on the skin. A blinking cursor will appear with a line under it (in Photoshop). Type "-[KR]-" and press the little tiny check mark in the middle/right top portion of the screen (highlighted in the example below).
9. Alrighty, now we have a fanciful jacket, complete with a KR smacker on the back. Feel free to do whatever you please to the jacket, but for the sake of this tutorial we're going to move on to the next step.
10. Save iiiiitttt!!! In Photoshop, you can't just straight up click save - you have to go to Save As. So click File, then Save As. When the window comes up, it should already be named "galak_torso" so don't mess with that just yet. What you do want to do is click the Format drop-down-box and select JPEG. Once you have selected JPEG, click Save.
11. Approve the overwriting notifciation, then click OK on the next window that'll pop up after that. It's basically asking how good you want the final JPEG to look. I always set it to level 12 quality, but it honestly doesn't matter all too much where it's at on default.
Section 4 B: A Botox-a-licious Evening
Witty comment or joke unavailable.
1. Go back to the window where all the files are for the galak skin that you created. If you closed it, you should have put it in My Documents if you can recall - so bring that up again. If you haven't made a new folder with all the files in it from the original galak folder, for some reason, then refer to section 3.
2. Find the image file named "face", then drag and drop it into your image editing program. Whoa! What a fatty! Just kidding, it's actually quite the rare site to see someone's entire head stretched about one flat, 2-dimensional plane. Consider yourself honored. Here's what it should look like when opened:
3. So this is Galak's face, what should we do to it? (Suppressing an evil smile). Well I know what I am going to do. That's right, we're going Joker-style all over his face. Prepare yourself for an epic smile, Mr. Galak. For those of you using Paint.Net, you're out of luck. This can't be done in that program, so just skip step 4. You can always do something else to his beautiful little face, like add another KR stamp to his forehead.
4. Okay my little shpootleheimers, select the smudge tool from the toolbar on the lefthand side of the window. It looks like a finger pointing down. Change the brush size to about 70 (in the top left hand corner this can be achieved by clicking the little circle and either selecting one of the preset brush sizes or changing it yourself). Now find the corners of Galak's mouth, and slowly/carefully click and drag them upwards and out. Not too far now, refer to the image below. If you're feeling mischevious, you can do his eyebrows as well!
5. Additional clicks/drags will provide you with a better effect. It may not look like the Joker all too much, but why so serious? Anyways, for those of you who skipped step 4, and don't forget as I mentioned from before, you can still do something to his face. Perhaps put a little exclamation point on his cheek or something, be crafty.
6. Now we're going to save. Click File, Save As, switch the format of the image to JPEG. The name should be "face" if it isn't already. Override the overwrite notification, and select image quality on the final pop-up image after you've hit save.
*7. As a side step, it'd be favorable to edit the image named "icon_default" which is in the same folder as everything else. It's the little player icon you get when you select a model from the menu. You will most likely want to change it so you can more easily find your skin when you go to select it on said in-game menu. It's rather easy to do, so just follow procedure of saving/opening/editing like you would for the other parts of the skin. Make sure name remains the same. For mine, I will change the hue of the icon a bit.
Section 5: A Technical Way of Life
Nice, we've done some pretty cool things so far. We (I) gave Galak a pink jacket, complete with a fashionable green zipper, a big ole' fat and sassy KR stamp on his back, and a face lift. So now we have to do some technical work to make the skin work properly. You may close your image editing software for now, unless you wish to go back and edit other parts of the skin. Just follow the same general procedure for opening and saving each file and you should be gewd.
1. Open up your folder where you have saved all the duplicated / edited files from the original "galak" folder.
2. You're going to see 5 non-image files. They are: Model.glm, Model_blue.SKIN, Model_Red.SKIN, Model_Default.SKIN. Open the SKIN file named "Model_Default" using notepad/wordpad or any basic text editor.
3. Whoa Nelly, that's a lot of stuff. I know. Don't freak out.
4. Okay, first things first, we have to change the directories of which this file will refer to. A SKIN file helps the game know where to look for the specific model's skin files. So we just made some stuff, right? Well this skin file is how we tell the machine where to look for the edits we just made. Now that you have opened that .SKIN file, it should look like this:
5. Each line represents a part of the model followed by a comma then the skin file location. So you see the first line says "hips,models/players/galak/boots_hips.tga". The part of the model is the hips, and the current file location is "models/players/galak/". The file is "boots_hips.tga". Ignore the ".tga" as JPEG's will still work even though they're labled differently here. So to change the directory, find the part of that line that says "galak" and change it to "epic_galak". We will make this actual directory in Section 6. So the first line should look like this:
hips,models/players/epic_galak/boots_hips.tga
If you change the name of the skin's image file, it must be changed in the directory as well. For example, if you named the "face" image file we just edited as "Facelolol", in the directory it HAS TO BE "Facelolol", however, note that caps don't matter.
6. Here's a higlighted version of the .SKIN file so you can see which parts to edit. Ignore all model parts that refer to the Stormtrooper directory. These parts of the model aren't seen, as they refer to pieces which don't exist. Leave them alone. Change all the folders named "galak" that are highlighted below, to "epic_galak".
It should look like this once you're done changing them all:
7. Double check to make sure there is no folder directory, /galak/, and that they're all in fact /epic_galak/.
8. Triple check. This stage is very important, as it is the most bothersome. I'd say about 40% of all errors come from a faulty .SKIN file. 10% comes from improper image sizes, which we'll talk about later, and the other 50% most indefinitely comes from SHADERS which we will also talk about later.
It's extremely important that you have properly renamed all the directories. If you haven't the .SKIN will load other image files as textures onto the skin inappropriately.
9. Once you have checked over and over, save it. If for some reason you need to do a Save As, make sure you set the format to ALL FILES, then in the actual name of the save put an ".SKIN" at the end.
Section 6 A: Compiling To Compress
Phew, alright. We've made it this far. It all goes down hill from here anyways. Compare to what y'all just went through, this is like writing your name on a chalkboard. Strikingly difficult unless you're sitting down watching. Just kidding, because if it was that hard, I would have just lied to you a bunch. It's not that hard. I'm actually relieved we're finally on this part!
ANYWAYS.
1. Open up PakScape if you closed it.
2. Click on the little icon of a blank sheet to create a new file, or just press CTRL+N.
*2.5. If you downloaded the PK3 Template, you can open this up in PakScape and put all the files in the correct positions instead of having to make a new PK3 entirely. Just make sure you save the PK3 with a different name!
3. Get a hold of that folder named Epic Galak (in your Skinz folder in My Documents), where you have saved all your edited goodies. Open it up so you have all the files in front of you.
4. Go back into PakScape and create a new folder. To create new folders, either right click and select object, then new directory or click the icon on the above toolbar that looks like a folder. Name it "models" (open it after creating it)
5. Create a folder named "Players" (open it after creating it)
6. Create a folder named "epic_galak" (open it up, too)
7. Go back to your little window where are all the images and stuff is for your new creation. Press CTRL+A to highlight all the files in the folder.
8. Whilst all files are highlighted, click to drag the lot of them over to PakScape. Alternatively, you can copy/paste them into PakScape.
9. Make sure you put all the files into the directory you just created, that being:
Models/Players/epic_galak/
10. Double check the files are put correctly into the series of folders you just made, as stated above. Now, do NOT close PakScape. Continue onto Section 6 B.
Section 6 B: Sound Sleuthing
Unfortunately my friend, it is time to go back into the jungle of assets. We need to get the sound files for Mr. Galak, so he can howl in pain and taunt his enemies appropriately.
1. You won't need to keep your folder open with all your files for the new Galak you're making, so head back to My Computer from there. Note, this doesn't mean close PakScape. Keep PakScape and the new file you just made in there and open. Don't even touch it. Nah-ah-ah, don't look at it either.
2. From My Compooper, open your local disk (C) or whever you installed JKA.
3. Open "Program Files"
4. Open "Lucas Art"s
5. Open "Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy"
6. Open "Game Data"
7. Open "base"
8. Locate the PK3 named "assets0" and drag it into PakScape, careful not to drag it into the new file you just made. You have to open this one up. If it's too hard, you can always open "assets0" from PakScape itself by navigating in the same manner through your computer as shown above.
9. Yes, I know, another ugly assets file. Why they chose to name it number 0 instead of knocking everything up one, I don't know. Any-who, open up the folder named "Sound".
10. Open the folder named "chars"
11. Oddly enough, I don't have a sound folder for Galak. I don't think you do either, so with that said, open up the folder named "Tavion"
12. Open the folder named "misc". In here are all the important sounds. Oh joy! So what we're going to do is select them all (using any previously mentioned method, like CTRL+A), then copying them using CTRL+C.
13. Excellent, now after having done nothing but copying those files, go ahead and close assets0. You should be left with the new file you created for your skin.
14. Create another new folder named "sound" (then open it) Remember now, creating new folders in PakScape you must either right click and select object, then new directory or click the icon on the above toolbar that looks like a folder.
15. Create another new folder named "chars" (then open it)
16. Create another new folder named "epic_galak" (then open it)
17. Create another new folder named "misc" (then open it)
18. Now press CTRL+V to paste/duplicate all the sound files.
19. STOP, don't do anything after this. Go on to Section 7.
Section 7: PK3-pie
Yes, YES, YEESSS!! Look how far you've come. There's really only 2 things you need to do now. Technically 3, if you're being technical.
1. Most importantly, SAVE YOUR PK3. TO do this, click File then SAVE AS.
2. FIRST, you must select format before putting the name in. I don't know why, but mine always saves as a zipped folder instead if I don't. So put the format as PK3 (Quake 3 Pak).
3. Put in the name for the file as "epic_galak". Click the drop down box next to the small words "Save In" and find the folder "My Skinz" in your "My Documents" folder. Click Save.
4. Hunt down the skin in its new location, seperate window.
5. Press CTRL+C to copy it.
6. Find your base folder, which can be gotten to following these directions...
7. Go to My Compooper, open your local disk (C) or whever you installed JKA.
8. Open "Program Files"
9. Open "Lucas Art"s
10. Open "Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy"
11. Open "Game Data"
12. Open "base"
13. Once in the "base" folder, press CTRL+V to paste/duplicate a copy of your skin.
14. Open up that can of Coke and bag of chips. Take a break and enjoy life for a moment!
Section 8: Your Skin, M'Lord
Let me be the very first to congratulate you on making your first skin ever. Congratulations. You did it. You made a totally whacked out version of Galak. Not only has his manhood been eradicated, but his voice replaced by that of a female psychopath. Seriously, congratulations. It was a long and hardy road thou hath traveled.
1. Open JKA
2. Once in-game, press Escape and open the profile menu.
3. If you changed the icon of the skin, it'll be a lot easier to find. Select it and click Apply.
4. Enjoy infinite Galak mochery.
The Finished Project! (Video)
If you do not understand or are having / had troubles - Please contact me or an SC officer ASAP. We're all very willing to help, and of course, super friendly. Don't be afraid to ask questions either. Support on this matter is appreciated!
Brief Lessons
Lesson 1: Team Colors
Making your skin team-color-compatible is rather easy. More often than not, the files for other team colors will be trailed by a "_blue" or "_red" which helps signify to the corresponding .SKIN file which image files to use. Yes, there are 2 more .SKIN files which refer to the proper JPEG's/image files in the folder seperately from the "default." If you do make some team colored image files, you'll have to set up new .SKIN files to corrolate with the changed images. They should always be named either "model_blue.SKIN" or "model_red.SKIN" and refer to each respective team color image (inside the .SKIN). It's easiest to open up the "model_default.SKIN" then add either "_red" or "_blue" to the ends of the image files (make sure you put them infront of the ".TGA" at the end of each line) then save it as a new file, being either red/blue with the correct names as shown above. If using that method, make sure you change the format of the file to ALL FILES and add the .SKIN in the file name itself whilst saving.
Quick example! If you opened up the model_Red.SKIN file, you'll see all the image files and their model parts like you would in the normal model_Default.SKIN. However, instead of just "torso.tga", the image file will probably be "torso_red.tga". So like I said before, if you just open the model_Default.SKIN, you can just go about adding _red/_blue to the ends of the image files then saving the .SKIN with the different name. Please make sure that there actually is a torso_red or head_red (w/e) inside the skin's folder. Otherwise, rename them so they match up.
Lesson 2: Icons
It is highly recommended you change the icons for your skins if you're reskinning something. It'll be much easier to find for yourself when you're going to select the skin. The default image size for an icon is "128x128" pixels. The names should always be "icon_default" for default, "icon_red" and "icon_blue" for team colors. The team colored icons don't need to be switched around in the main .SKIN files.
Lesson 3: Image Sizes
It's imperative you do not change the sizes of the images to inappropriate proportions. If the file size is 100 pixels by 100 pixels, it will not work if you change it to 140 x 40 pixels. You can upscale the image to help improve quality of the texure on the actual skin. This is a very dirty little secret of mine. Of course don't go over board and do 5000x5000 size textures, no one will download your skins because of the very apparent lag.
Please note, SHADERs are an entirely different thing when compared to basic skinning. Currently I have not made a tutorial for SHADERs as it can be much more complex. I wasn't kidding when I said half, if not more, of all problems with skins come from SHADERs not satisfying the correct directories or parameters.
