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Track Creator 101 (Kinda Useless or Kinda Usefull advices, recomendations and stuff that you can add in your tracks)

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Messages 740 - Mario Mario
vs59421 pts ★ Titan
battle12814 pts ★ Champion
Venezuela
Well keep in mind this:

- English isn't my native languaje so i apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused by some misunderstanding in my messages in the worst case.

- I won't do a french translation because... i think that you'all can easily figure out that i speak sapish(spanish) and i haven't take any kind of french lessons yet so...

- I won't teach any kind of ""right or perfect"" way to make tracks, this will be more a kind of advices, recomendations and some than other stuff based on my own criteria so i won't force you to follow my methods.

- If you'll just critize my methods because you have better ways to do it, feel free to create your own topic and share your knowledge (F.U with much affection and well-deserved respect)

- Keep in mind that i just use paint.net, so im not sure how can be used or how are named some tools or effects in others softwares.

- As almost every tutorial in the world, i'm gonna start with the basic so that overtime i can introduce properly or in a more understable way some advance stuff (or a least something that i consider as such)

- With my activity on the site isn't the best so is kinda rare to see me very active at forums, so you can guess that i won't do a daily message explaining something, i think that basically will be just like 10 messages or idk.


Said that.... Time to start with some basic stuff........


The layout


Well obviusly every track starts with that.... a least mines start with making the layout, so the layout desing will ups in your  creativity xd i'll just want to give this poins to take in consideration:


1- Readbility: What i mean with this?  Well, the track will be a mess if the layout just get lost in the background or in a big amount of useless details because the main road will be hard to see, so always try to keep pretty clear the limits of the drivable part, of the one which is only decorative. Here an example:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/mgqGGfxb/EXEMPLE.png


Even if the layout has no drawn walls, you can do an outline or make the outside a bit darker, highlighting the main layout.



2- Keeping Clear the main elements: Jumps, boost pannels, offroad, holes, those elements that i mentioned (specially the jumps that i highlighted lol), needs to be pretty noticeable in the track, always try to dont blend them with the track, even these "hidden" ones that could help in shortcuts, doesnt need to be pretty hidden or almost unoticeables. Here some examples:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/zf10h0KC/EXEMPLE1.png



As separated, some examples for the jumps.... Why a separated example?, well because keep in mind this is a flat game, so some kind of sursprise jumps such like the ones of mobile floor like in wii bowser castle works good in 3d (not really but you'all get it) because there's a kind of anticipation due is a 3d model so you can see everything better, meanwhile in 2d... well to keep it short, just make every jump pretty noticiable DONT MAKE INVISIBLE JUMPS... please :)

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/WztnVKcv/EXEMPLE2.png


Extra tip: try to keep a kind of patter to boost and jump pannels so people that already played your tracks can figure out better any element (as example and totally not propaganda lol, you can see that in almost all my tracks i keep a main desing for boost pannels and all that kind of stuff.)




3- Size and creativity of the layout: Size does matter!..... and yep i'm still talking about tracks (totally intentional out of context lol), Something a bit hard to master at the beggining but after mastering it, is pretty easy, keep in mind that if you want to make some W I D E patch or narrow ones, you have to test them in mkpc to see if it plays well, a tip for this is that you can take measurements on the basis of already done tracks, so you can already figure out how will be that W I D E or narrow part in your track. Examples:


Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/vT1WkV58/Tip1.png



Now about the creativity of the layout, yep is nice that you can create a layout different to the others, but in some cases, try to dont exagerate with the""creativity""here some examples:


Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/HnfQgktw/EXEMPLE3.png


When a turn is pretty... hard to take, just try to tour-ify that turn. You can guess that i'll show some examples lol

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/jdS016gQ/EXEMPLE4.png




Tip (a least in paint.net): DONT use the circle tool to make curves, use rounded rectangle instead. No i'm not crazy (yet), you can do better shaped circles with rounded rectangle tool and works better than elipse in short or small corners, just set the corner size with a pretty high number and do a circle just like with elipse tool see this image to notice the differences:


Spoiler [ShowHide]

Rounded Rectangle // Elipse

https://i.postimg.cc/L5PsJrwS/example23419.png


Even if it's a bit unoticeable, is pretty obvius that with rounded circle the turns will be better, obviously i do them in a new layer to don't mess so much the main layout:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/DZprxgJY/tip2.png




Having explained all this, which I consider basic knowledge, for the next time i'll go ahead and explain about using layers, soooo see ya next time!!!

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Messages 404 - Metal Luigi Metal Luigi
vs15887 pts ★ Master
battle6024 pts ★ Racer
United States
First and good explaining example.
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Messages 1030 - Golden Mario Golden Mario
vs13177 pts ★ Champion
battle4970 pts ★ Budding pilot
Morocco
Good tips.

I create pixel tracks in Pixel Studio because it's not heavy
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Messages 740 - Mario Mario
vs59421 pts ★ Titan
battle12814 pts ★ Champion
Venezuela
Ayo i'm back so, time for the next ... basically lesson xd

Layers


Probably my favorite tool of almost any painting software, but what makes layers so good ? you may wonder, well layers funtion is simple, when you create one and have it selected they allow you to draw above or below the canvas depending on the order in which you put them; it also lets you set the opacity of each layer, letting you fade or intensify whatever is in that layer, brings the easy option of enable or disable a layer so you can see how works something without that layer, and something pretty important for future stuff, the blending mode of the layer.

Spoiler [ShowHide]
Soooo something that i could tell you, is that my tracks are like onions by the amount of layers that i use (original quote by tox lol), i mean not every track will need this amount of layers, is just that im pretty meticulous lol.
https://i.postimg.cc/X7N2Fb45/layers.png


So basic stuff to know about layers (how to create one and its elements)

A-) Click Add New Layer to add as many layers as you want. The background layer is the default layer you will see every time you start a new project unless you make changes in the Settings area.

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/tC2VZ04Y/step1.png


B-) You can see these options that i number:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/0Ngt3J1g/step2.png


1- New Layer : kinda stupid that i explain what it does, but well you can guess that option lets you add a new layer how many times you want

2- Delete Layer: Doing the contrary to the first option, this one lets you delete every layer that you have selected.

3- Duplicate Layer: This option lets you duplicate the layer that you have selected.

4- Merge Layer Down: With this option, you can combine the layer you have selected with the one below it.

5- Move Up/Down Layers: As it's name says, this option is used to up or down the layer that you have selected.

Basically Shortcut: You can also move layers by just clicking and dragging it with the mouse.

6- Layer Settings: Clicking on this option, you can set some options suck as Layer Opacity, Blend Mode, Name of the Layer, Enable/Disable layer and anything else that i might be forgetting.

7- Enable/Disable Layers: Basically a shortcut to Enable/Disable layers with just one click (this sound like a slogan for propaganda lmao).


C-) If you save the project without flatten the layers, the software (a least the ones that i used) will save the track as another project, on my case paint.net saves projects with layers as .pdn files being able to open only with paint.net, shall i worry about it?  Nah is common so don't worry, to save the whole project as image format, just click on "Save As" and instead pick the image format of your prefference, probably it'll ask you if you want to flatten the layers, by logic you'll click yes. Another way is just... flatten everything before saving (look for the option in your software, in case of using paint.net the shortcut is CTRL + Shift + F):gamba: .



Some examples where layers can be very useful:


- Tracing an existing layout: Easily with layers, you can replicate any part of any existing track with just putting it's map in a layer below your main layout.
Example:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/RZ9yGV2V/layer1.png



- Create a layout variant without affecting the original layout:
sounds a bit confusing but lemme explain with images:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/xjJw1ZKY/layer3.png
As you can see, with layers i easily can have a kind of preview of how will look something before merge the layers.



- Edit something without affect the main layout: as you can guess, layers can help you to work in details without affecting the main layout, i mean that you can erase something that goes through the layout but if it's in another layer, the layout won't be affected.
Example:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/sxhqHBV1/layer2.png
As you can see, i deleted part of the background without deleting the main layout thanks to separated both in layers before.


-  Visual Effects: There's a lot of ways to do visual effects, like shades, higlightings, fading textures to simulate tunnels or going inside something, glows, etc, the only limit is your imagination...... and your skill using the software of course :gamba: .
Example:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/3xtPfQXM/layer4.png i always have a big amount of layers in each track, because i add an effect or texture and try to polish it at best, sometimes is funny to do and sometimes is a hard headache :gamba:


- Texturing: There's a lot of ways to make textures too, and with layers you can apply them in a easier way; on the next time i'll go ahead and explain some methods that i use to aply textures anyways, because with texturing a track, it can have a noticeable change in a good way, as you can see here:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/G2dSxctn/layer5.png



In short, after you learn how to use layers, easily you'll be able to improve your tracks so dont fear and learn how to use them, in summary of the summary, God Gamba Bless Layers and for the next time, i'll show you some ways to add textures for you track.

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Messages 11441 - King Mario King Mario
vs35065 pts ★ Legend
battle6102 pts ★ Racer
France
You're like those strict bitchfacish teachers who share their knowledge because they've got a lotta experience... without the strict bitchfacish part

Nah but tbh, thank you
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Messages 2200 - Golden Mario Golden Mario
vs6692 pts ★ Racer
battle5601 pts ★ Novice
United States
RHcks wrote:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
Ayo i'm back so, time for the next ... basically lesson xd

Layers


Probably my favorite tool of almost any painting software, but what makes layers so good ? you may wonder, well layers funtion is simple, when you create one and have it selected they allow you to draw above or below the canvas depending on the order in which you put them; it also lets you set the opacity of each layer, letting you fade or intensify whatever is in that layer, brings the easy option of enable or disable a layer so you can see how works something without that layer, and something pretty important for future stuff, the blending mode of the layer.

Spoiler [ShowHide]
Soooo something that i could tell you, is that my tracks are like onions by the amount of layers that i use (original quote by tox lol), i mean not every track will need this amount of layers, is just that im pretty meticulous lol.
https://i.postimg.cc/X7N2Fb45/layers.png


So basic stuff to know about layers (how to create one and its elements)

A-) Click Add New Layer to add as many layers as you want. The background layer is the default layer you will see every time you start a new project unless you make changes in the Settings area.

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/tC2VZ04Y/step1.png


B-) You can see these options that i number:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/0Ngt3J1g/step2.png


1- New Layer : kinda stupid that i explain what it does, but well you can guess that option lets you add a new layer how many times you want

2- Delete Layer: Doing the contrary to the first option, this one lets you delete every layer that you have selected.

3- Duplicate Layer: This option lets you duplicate the layer that you have selected.

4- Merge Layer Down: With this option, you can combine the layer you have selected with the one below it.

5- Move Up/Down Layers: As it's name says, this option is used to up or down the layer that you have selected.

Basically Shortcut: You can also move layers by just clicking and dragging it with the mouse.

6- Layer Settings: Clicking on this option, you can set some options suck as Layer Opacity, Blend Mode, Name of the Layer, Enable/Disable layer and anything else that i might be forgetting.

7- Enable/Disable Layers: Basically a shortcut to Enable/Disable layers with just one click (this sound like a slogan for propaganda lmao).


C-) If you save the project without flatten the layers, the software (a least the ones that i used) will save the track as another project, on my case paint.net saves projects with layers as .pdn files being able to open only with paint.net, shall i worry about it?  Nah is common so don't worry, to save the whole project as image format, just click on "Save As" and instead pick the image format of your prefference, probably it'll ask you if you want to flatten the layers, by logic you'll click yes. Another way is just... flatten everything before saving (look for the option in your software, in case of using paint.net the shortcut is CTRL + Shift + F):gamba: .



Some examples where layers can be very useful:


- Tracing an existing layout: Easily with layers, you can replicate any part of any existing track with just putting it's map in a layer below your main layout.
Example:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/RZ9yGV2V/layer1.png



- Create a layout variant without affecting the original layout:
sounds a bit confusing but lemme explain with images:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/xjJw1ZKY/layer3.png
As you can see, with layers i easily can have a kind of preview of how will look something before merge the layers.



- Edit something without affect the main layout: as you can guess, layers can help you to work in details without affecting the main layout, i mean that you can erase something that goes through the layout but if it's in another layer, the layout won't be affected.
Example:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/sxhqHBV1/layer2.png
As you can see, i deleted part of the background without deleting the main layout thanks to separated both in layers before.


-  Visual Effects: There's a lot of ways to do visual effects, like shades, higlightings, fading textures to simulate tunnels or going inside something, glows, etc, the only limit is your imagination...... and your skill using the software of course :gamba: .
Example:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/3xtPfQXM/layer4.png i always have a big amount of layers in each track, because i add an effect or texture and try to polish it at best, sometimes is funny to do and sometimes is a hard headache :gamba:


- Texturing: There's a lot of ways to make textures too, and with layers you can apply them in a easier way; on the next time i'll go ahead and explain some methods that i use to aply textures anyways, because with texturing a track, it can have a noticeable change in a good way, as you can see here:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/G2dSxctn/layer5.png



In short, after you learn how to use layers, easily you'll be able to improve your tracks so dont fear and learn how to use them, in summary of the summary, God Gamba Bless Layers and for the next time, i'll show you some ways to add textures for you track.


Perfect for my track about ogres...
Messages 740 - Mario Mario
vs59421 pts ★ Titan
battle12814 pts ★ Champion
Venezuela
First of all... Happy New Year qlonas :gamba:, second yep its been a while but lets say that i forget for a while that i did this topic lmao... now yep lets go

Textures & Shading


My favorite part of making tracks, texturing helps to define the idea that you have for any part of the track, making clear the kind of texture that the element has, obviously not everything will have the same texture and blah blah blah lets go to the point, today i'm gonna show some ways that i use for do textures


A- Using Confetti + Fragment Blur effect:

The first way that i learned to do textures, even if its a bit outdated, i still using it sometimes and it works really good when you learn how to use it correctly. So let me explain step by step how to do it.

1- Selecting the part where you'll apply the texture, easily you can use the magic wand tool and select it doing click on the zone.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/k5fGjNNC/fortuto1.png


Extra: if you need to select multiples zones you can selec the "add" section and each click that you  just keep pressed control when you click.

2- Create a new layer WITHOUT end the selection btw.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/bY60Gb4K/foratuto2.png


3- Pick the base color of the place where you'll add the texture and pick as secondary color a darker tone of that one
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/hPfLVvBh/foratuto3.png


4- Pick the paint bucket tool, pick "Confetti" and fill the zone with that.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/T3bnHsh6/foratuto4.png


5- Go to effects > Blurs > Fragment.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/rsbtfGks/foratuto5.png


6- Set the distance and frames as your preference and apply the fragment effect.

7- Click on the base layer and make the zones darker.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/gkCZRKsB/foratuto6.png


8- Now you can finally end the selection.

Extra: to highlight the details in the texture, you can apply light and constract settings as you can see here:
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/y80STSr6/foratuto7extra.png





B- Using a Tileset or Already Existing Textures.

Probably the easier way to do textures in my opinion, because you just need a texture pattern so here we go.

1- Pick the tile that you would like to use. Make sure that the image repeats the pattern appropriately.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/pdx5cXgf/foratutoagain1.png


2- Add a new layer


3- In that layer, copy and paste the tile until you have a square (or something similar to a square) that covers the whole part where the texture will be placed.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/N0493vcW/foratutoagain2.pnghttps://i.postimg.cc/PxVLqbNy/foratutoagain3.pnghttps://i.postimg.cc/sf8QdJkD/foratutoagain4.png


4- Go back to the first layer, and with magic wand tool select the part where the texture will be placed.
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/yxr0w4FV/for-a-tuto-again-5.png


5- Now go back to the texture's layer and invert the selection (you can use CTRL + I or just looking for the option)
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/Hk0VM1VV/foratutoagain6.png


6- Cut that selection using CTRL + X (you can also delete it with eraser tool but with cutting it is a shortcut basically lol)
Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/Gpc9Jgyz/foratutoagain7.png


7- Flatten and enjoy :gamba:

Extra:  Again, to highlight the details in the texture, you can apply light and constract settings just like in the past method.

Extra II: after you cut the excedent on the texture, you can make that texture gray (just go to adjustments and pick black & withe), go to layer settings and pick overlay blend to get the color that you already have in your track



C- Do it by yourself

The most complicated now we're on the hardest way to do textures and its basically doing them by yourself, there's no much that i could explain because i rarely do a whole track doing textures by myself such as these kind of tiles:

Spoiler [ShowHide]
https://i.postimg.cc/44h2pXTf/whyimdoingthis.pnghttps://i.postimg.cc/YC8dt9Q3/why-im-doing-this2.png



As you can guess... is a headache but it worths.... sometimes


Said that, for another day i'll explain some basic stuff about lightning and shadows and how to do them (a least on my way)so cya fellas.
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Messages 662 - Mario Mario
vs6994 pts ★ Racer
battle5000 pts ★ Novice
United Kingdom
How do you create half pipes cus im gonna remake wii tracks pretty soon

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