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Wherever there is a popular game, there is fan art: custom wallpapers, t-shirts, etc.

One thing they usually have in common is that they feature artwork from the game, or something close to it. Obviously, some people are talented enough to reproduce the artwork with their own skills. But I think more often than not, it uses actual artwork straight from the game.

Take a look at some image search results for Portal for some great examples.

I'm a programmer so I understand that for some games, you could literally just lift the artwork right out of the game files. But for things that are dynamic and animated, that's not really an option (for example, the blue and orange portals themselves, in Portal).

Grabbing the artwork I would imagine has to involve taking screenshots and then manipulating the image to give it transparency. But I've tried this, but it seems impossible to get a perfect 'lift'. Sometimes you can do things in the game that help, like get the subject to be in front of a perfectly even surface for the screenshot (like a green screen). But even that often times won't turn out well due to anti-aliasing, etc.

Are there better techniques? Are there any tutorials out there for Photoshop (or any other tool) specifically for this kind of task?

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    Specifically with Source engine games, I believe many authors use Garry's Mod for fanart, comics, machinima etc.
    – Oak
    Commented Jun 18, 2011 at 6:14
  • There's really no substitute for artistic skill.
    – SevenSidedDie
    Commented Jun 18, 2011 at 14:46

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It sounds like you need to do defringing when you're "lifting" the graphic from in-game to a white/other background. If that's the case you should check out the answers to one of my questions: How can I fix the edges of foreground objects pasted onto a new background?

If you're getting aliasing all over the images, rather than just at the edges, try increasing your screen resolution and graphical effects before taking a screenshot. Your example, Portal, provides a lot of options for this. It may slow the game down if your computer can't handle it, but that's OK if you're taking screenshots and not actually playing the game.

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  • Very helpful, thanks! I was also wondering about another technique (whether it is possible and if it would yield good results): If you can get an image of the game with and without the target artwork, you could subtract one image from the other. Like in Portal -- get a closeup of a wall, take a screenshot, then add the portal, and take another (without moving at all). Would that be effective?
    – InfinitiesLoop
    Commented Jun 20, 2011 at 21:34
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    @InfinitiesLoop That can be somewhat effective when the object in question is transparent. You would have to carefully outline the object (the area where the filter should be applied) since it needs to "subtract less" from the object than the background. If the object is opaque, it wouldn't work. I've written programs to do this for specific purposes, but I don't know of a general solution.
    – Matthew Read
    Commented Jun 20, 2011 at 21:43
  • Oh I see, makes sense. Although, if it's transparent and it subtracts 'too much', but not enough to lose the structure of the image, you could probably fix it up via levels/adjustments, depending on your needs. I doubt it would for a portal from portal, though. Sounds like the best thing I can do is put a portal (for example) on as smooth of a surface as I can, then use the defringing techniques you linked.
    – InfinitiesLoop
    Commented Jun 20, 2011 at 21:47

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