Rich Pizor's Custom Deck Construction Kit v1.0
by Rich Pizor
richpizor@adelphia.net

Everyone likes making and using custom decks, but constructing them can be a problem. This kit is designed to ease that process as much as possible. Note that you will require some intermediate skill with graphics software to make full use of this kit.

The files in this kit are as follows:

- Combat template - template for basic combat cards
- power_special_template - template for all other kinds of cards

These two files were built in Adobe Photoshop, and will work in any version of that program 3.0 or later. If you don't have Adobe Photoshop, these files are fully compatible with the free program The GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) which is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux at the following url:

http://www.gimp.org

You you don't have Photoshop and don't wish to deal with installing The GIMP (which is really remarkably easy, all things considered) you can also use SabreCreator's templates. Note that if you intend to use those templates for the purposes of following the instructions in this document, you should not do any typing when you edit the cards; you should use Microsoft Paint (or whatever other graphics package you prefer) to do the card illustration ONLY.

In addition, there are a number of templates for the deck itself; this is document you will use to set all the card text and to create the PDF document that will be your deck. The basic process is the same regardless of which document you use, but the specifics will vary.

These files are as follows:

- deck template (1 page).ai - an Illustrator template
- deck template.pm7 - an Adobe PageMaker 7 template (also usable in any version of Adobe InDesign)
- deck template.qxd - a QuarkXPress template (5.0 or later)
- deck template.sla - a Scribus template (Scribus is an open-source page layout program; see the deck making FAQ for more details)

If none of these templates will work in any software you own, there is also a PDF version of the template that should be usable in any illustration program, such as Extensis Freehand or Deneba Canvas.

STEP 1: DESIGN THE DECK
This is not optional; these files will be of no use if you don't know exactly what the deck's composition is. This means the exact number and distribution of basic combat cards, and the exact number, strengths, and special effects of power and special cards. (Of course in theory you've already shared all this information with the mailing list. ;)


STEP 2: DESIGN THE BASIC COMBAT CARDS
NOTE: These instructions assume that you are using Photoshop. The process using The GIMP is essentially the same, but the interface conventions will be slightly different.

1) Open combat_template.psd in Adobe Photoshop. This is the most straightforward of the various templates.

2) In the Layers palette, make sure the Background layer is highlighted.

3) Open the artwork you intend to use for this card. From the Select menu, choose All to select the entire artwork. Paste it into the combat card template.

4) Make any fine tuning you need to make to the position and scaling of the artwork.

5) In the Layers palette, click on Layer 1 to highlight it.

6) From the Select menu, choose Load selection. From the drop-down menu of selections to load choose "color region". Hit OK.

6) From the Image menu, choose Adjust, and then Replace Colors from the submenu. Use the middle of the three eyedropper tools and scrub over the color region. Then use the sliders to set the color you want for this character.

7) Use Save As to save a copy of this modified template for the character at 300 dpi.

Repeat for minor characters.


STEP 3: DESIGN THE SPECIAL CARDS (as needed)
NOTE: These instructions assume that you are using Photoshop. The process using The GIMP is essentially the same, but the interface conventions will be slightly different.

1) Open power_special_template.psd in Adobe Photoshop.

2) In the Layers palette, click on the eye icon in the label marked Attack. The red Attack circle should go away. Repeat this process in the layers labeled Attack Circle, Defend, and Defend circle. Finally, click the empty box where the eye icon should be in the layer marked Special Plate; this should make the silvery Special label appear on the left edge of the card.

3) In the text layer, replace the word "Jawa" with the name of the character. (NOTE: The exact methodology of this step will vary depending on which version of Photoshop you are using.)

4) In the Layers palette, highlight the Background layer.

5) Open the artwork you intend to use for the special card. From the Select menu, choose All. Copy the artwork and paste it into the special card template. Adjust its positioning and scaling as necessary; you may also need erase part of the excess portions of the image to keep it from obscuring the rest of the card.

5) In the Layers palette, highlight Color Swath.

6) From the Image menu, select Adjust, then Replace Color from the submenu. Use the middle of the three eyedropper tools and scrub over the color region. Then use the sliders to set the color you want for this character.

7) Use Save As to save a copy of this modified template.


STEP 4: DESIGN THE POWER COMBAT CARDS (as needed)
NOTE: These instructions assume that you are using Photoshop. The process using The GIMP is essentially the same, but the interface conventions will be slightly different.

1) Open power_special_template.psd in Adobe Photoshop.

2) In the text layer, replace the word "Jawa" with the name of the character. (NOTE: The exact methodology of this step will vary depending on which version of Photoshop you are using. Sorry, but you're on your own for this one.)

3) If this is to be an Attack card, make the "Defend" and "defend circle" layers invisible (see instructions on how to do this in the section above on special cards). If this is to be a Defend card, make the "Attack" and "attack circle" layers invisible. If this to be both an Attack and Defend card, skip this step.

4) In the Layers palette, highlight the Background layer.

5) Open the artwork you intend to use for the special card. From the Select menu, choose All. Copy the artwork and paste it into the special card template. Adjust its positioning and scaling as necessary; you may also need erase part of the excess portions of the image to keep it from obscuring the rest of the card.

6) In the Layers palette, highlight "central color swatch".

7) From the Image menu, select Adjust, then Replace Color from the submenu. Use the middle of the three eyedropper tools and scrub over the color region. Then use the sliders to set the color you want for this character.

8) In the Layers palette, highlight "Background".

9) From the Image menu, select Adjust, then Replace Color from the submenu. Use the middle of the three eyedropper tools and scrub over the color region to the left of the Attack and/or Defend circles. Then use the sliders to set the color you want for this character.

10) Use Save As to save a copy of this modified template.


STEP 5: DESIGN THE CARD BACKS (optional)
1) Open combat_template.psd in Adobe Photoshop.

2) From the Image menu, select Image Size. Increase the size of the card by 30 pixels in each direction.

3) In the Layers palette, delete all layers but the background layer.

4) Fill the Background layer with a color that compliments the colors in the artwork you intend to use for the card backs.

5) Design your card back. Try to leave a border of around 30 pixels between the edge of the card and the edge of your graphics.

6) Use Save As to save a copy of this file.


STEP 6: LAY OUT THE DECK
The instructions below are specifically designed to go with Adobe PageMaker, but the basic procedure is essentially the same no matter what layout environment you use. If you don't have PageMaker, read the directions below anyway, then see the comments that follow for other software packages.

If you have used SabreCreator's templates instead of my own, import those templates when following these directions.

1) Open deck_template.pm7 in Adobe PageMaker.

2) Using full-body artwork of your characters, use the tall vertical rectangles on the left region of the page to design figures. (The bottom piece should be oriented normally, the top piece should be rotated 180 degrees.)

3) Use the region to the right to design the combat card. There is a gun icon to the right of the page layout for shooter characters.

4) If there are any special rules for this deck, use the area in the bottom region to type that information.

5) On page 2, use the upper-left most region of the grid to put the title of your deck and information about yourself.

6) Go to the File menu and choose the Place command. Select the combat template for your major character. Place it in the second grid space. You may have to stretch it a small amount.

7) Using a nice large font (I like Impact) lay white numbers into the Attack and Defend regions of the card.

8) Select the card and the numbers. Grom the Element menu, choose Group. Copy and paste the Group.

9) Align the group in the next grid slot and modify the numbers as necessary.

10) Repeat steps 8-9 until all the major character's cards have been included.

11) Repeat step 6 for the minor character's combat template.

12) Repeat steps 7-9 for the minor character's combat cards.

13) By now you should be on page 3. Using the Place command, import the template (s) for your Power Combat and Special cards. The general approach is the same, but you will also need to include a name for the card in the grey area, and descriptive text in the white area.

14) When all 31 cards are laid out, you should have used 5 pages, with one blank grid page remaining. If you created a card back, use page 6 to create a grid of it. Try to lay it out so that the solid color region of the card backs overlaps the grid lines, but the main artwork is completely contained within the grid lines.

15) When your layout is complete, save your work. In the Layers palette, highlight the Grid Layer. Toggle editing on for this layer, select all, and delete. If you have done this correctly, the grid lines will disappear.

16) You're done! From the File menu, select Export, then PDF, tweaking Distiller settings as desired to create a balance between quality and file size.

The instructions for Adobe InDesign are essentially the same; a couple menu commands are worded differently, but there are no significant differences.

The instructions for Quark remain essentially the same as well. The key difference is that, instead of using the Place command to import a card, you use the Picture Box tool to draw a box, then use the Get Picture command to insert the template into that box. A few other commands will have different names.

The Illustrator document only contains the grid page. You will have to save five separate copies of this document, one for each page of cards. Then, use Illustrator to open the PDF version of the deck template and edit the first page to compose the life card and figures.

I haven't honestly figured out how to use Scribus except enough to compose the template included in this kit. A guide to using Scribus to compose a deck would be most welcome.

Finally, again, if you don't have access to any of the aforementioned software packages, use the PDF version of the template in whatever illustration software you do have access to.