Card question

Cooleyvol · 08-23-2010, 09:56 PM

Am I on the right track? Foolin' around with a 52 Topps card.

Looking for some insight as to whether I've done the card portion correctly.............

Cooleyvol · 08-23-2010, 10:57 PM

53 Topps try. Again, I'd appreciate those versed in this telling me if I'm on the right track. My main question on the 53 is how do I randomize the cards with some having a black bg for the name (shown) and some having the red like the real cards did? Do I just do two front graphics--one red and one black?

udbacker58 · 08-24-2010, 12:28 AM

Cooley, they look pretty good; just make sure they are .PNG files.

Cooleyvol · 08-24-2010, 06:38 AM

That's odd. I don't even have them saved in jpg format. I only have png files and that's what I attached here.

EDIT: Evidently the sizes were too large to upload, so it changed them to jpg format. I've uploaded/linked them on my webspace. If they are viewed as being adequate, I'll get to work on the xml for them or allow someone more versed in that to do it.

BMW · 08-24-2010, 10:59 AM

You wouldn't need to recreate an entirely new front. You can just have an overlay that creates a red shield that goes over the black shield. I've attached one here. You'd just need to use some XML tricks to use the red overlay on some cards while ignoring it on others.

Note that I didn't create just the shield and instead used the same dimensions as your original template, leaving all the transparent space in there. One of the beauties of the PNG format is that large blocks transparent space is really efficient. The additional 130,000 transparent pixels add all of about 1100 bytes to the file.

The trickier part is adhering to the font colors. The black shield shows position in red text, while the red shield uses black text. You really can't have two different text colors generated in the same way that shield is determined. You'd might have to compromise and make the position text something that would display universally well on both a red and black shield.

I think on the 1953 Topps that you've done, the black shield is a little bit too dark. If your eye is telling you that a white or black area is standing out a bit too much, it probably is. The 1952 Topps one that you did has the right kind of off-white so that it doesn't glare at you. I'd probably tone down the black shield on the 1953 card a bit to make it slightly more gray. Not a lot. (Note that my red shield example is completely ugly - it's just for an example.)

I am probably doing 1953 Topps next, by the way, and Tisenberg was working on a 1952 Topps card on and off.

Cooleyvol · 08-24-2010, 11:49 AM

Appreciate it. The black came straight from a card image using the cloning tool.

08-23-2010, 09:56 PM	#1
Cooleyvol Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Union City, TN Posts: 6,383	Card question - examples included Am I on the right track? Foolin' around with a 52 Topps card. Looking for some insight as to whether I've done the card portion correctly............. Last edited by Cooleyvol; 08-24-2010 at 10:14 AM.

08-23-2010, 10:57 PM	#2
Cooleyvol Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Union City, TN Posts: 6,383	53 Topps try. Again, I'd appreciate those versed in this telling me if I'm on the right track. My main question on the 53 is how do I randomize the cards with some having a black bg for the name (shown) and some having the red like the real cards did? Do I just do two front graphics--one red and one black? Last edited by Cooleyvol; 08-24-2010 at 07:03 AM.

08-24-2010, 12:28 AM	#3
udbacker58 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,140	Cooley, they look pretty good; just make sure they are .PNG files. __________________ Heartland Baseball League Commissioner Fictional - Stats Only - 30 years of History! HBL HOME PAGE \| HBL REPORTS HOME \| HBL UTILITIES HOME

08-24-2010, 06:38 AM	#4
Cooleyvol Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Union City, TN Posts: 6,383	That's odd. I don't even have them saved in jpg format. I only have png files and that's what I attached here. EDIT: Evidently the sizes were too large to upload, so it changed them to jpg format. I've uploaded/linked them on my webspace. If they are viewed as being adequate, I'll get to work on the xml for them or allow someone more versed in that to do it. Last edited by Cooleyvol; 08-24-2010 at 06:46 AM.

08-24-2010, 10:59 AM	#5
BMW Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,030	You wouldn't need to recreate an entirely new front. You can just have an overlay that creates a red shield that goes over the black shield. I've attached one here. You'd just need to use some XML tricks to use the red overlay on some cards while ignoring it on others. Note that I didn't create just the shield and instead used the same dimensions as your original template, leaving all the transparent space in there. One of the beauties of the PNG format is that large blocks transparent space is really efficient. The additional 130,000 transparent pixels add all of about 1100 bytes to the file. The trickier part is adhering to the font colors. The black shield shows position in red text, while the red shield uses black text. You really can't have two different text colors generated in the same way that shield is determined. You'd might have to compromise and make the position text something that would display universally well on both a red and black shield. I think on the 1953 Topps that you've done, the black shield is a little bit too dark. If your eye is telling you that a white or black area is standing out a bit too much, it probably is. The 1952 Topps one that you did has the right kind of off-white so that it doesn't glare at you. I'd probably tone down the black shield on the 1953 card a bit to make it slightly more gray. Not a lot. (Note that my red shield example is completely ugly - it's just for an example.) I am probably doing 1953 Topps next, by the way, and Tisenberg was working on a 1952 Topps card on and off. Attached Images __________________ Last edited by BMW; 08-24-2010 at 11:05 AM.

08-24-2010, 11:49 AM	#6
Cooleyvol Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Union City, TN Posts: 6,383	Appreciate it. The black came straight from a card image using the cloning tool.