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getting rid of jaggies

Tips, Tricks and Techniques for creating amazing Xion skins

Postby OfficerMike07 » August 19th, 2008, 2:37 pm

It seems that jagged edges are controlling my life... every time I try to use bevel layer styles set to hard chisel or soft chisel, the result has rough edges. Is there a way to smooth these out without rasterizing the layer first?
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Postby SLoB » August 19th, 2008, 6:43 pm

for bevels/insets try using stroke with or without gradient rather than those options, use in conjunction with minute bevel depending on the look you want, also use the contour options

I have an idea, if you put up a pic with the psd of what you are trying to achieve and a few of us can redo it to see what results we get, just a few layers not the whole thing, then we can see different techniques applied and the results achieved
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Postby WinstonGFX » August 20th, 2008, 6:30 am

Often I find it useful once I have the effect achieved with jaggies to create a duplicate of the layer with the jaggies and apply the following layer style: Stroke at 1 or 2 pixels at very light opacity set to center in a color similar to the layer you are trying to blend it with. I put this layer on top and it smooths the jaggies visually.
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Postby SLoB » August 20th, 2008, 9:17 am

I normally use 50% or 30% transparency for stroke for cleaning the edges up, 50% seems to work really well - I mainly use outside rather than centre or inside
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Postby OfficerMike07 » August 20th, 2008, 10:16 am

It's not for a skin, just a learning exercise, but I have a habit of using the bevel tool for many of the projects I make from scratch. The problem isn't the edge itself, it's the resulting surface of the bevel that looks nasty. This problem also appears in my Carbon skin on the chrome rings. Should I completely forget about bevel and emboss? What techniques would you guys use in its place?

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http://www.deviantart.com/download/95400563/troubleshooting_jaggies_by_OfficerMike.psd
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Postby WinstonGFX » August 20th, 2008, 11:20 am

Even with the bevel, as in the example you are showing, try the technique right on top, they will smooth out the edges (of the circle and of the logo)
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Postby Crotale » August 20th, 2008, 11:30 am

Actually, one way I get around the issue is to start out with a huge canvas, then create my objects in a fairly high resolution. After doing some light Gaussian Blurring (maybe 0.5 to 2.0 px depending on how jagged my edges are). I then resize my objects to the target size. To sharpen edges, I copy my layer, then use High Pass filter to the point where the layer is just gray but you can still make out the edges. I then change the layer to Soft or Hard Light and reduce opacity to somewhere between 25 to 75 percent accordingly. Merge the two layers together.

I know it sounds rather involved but I yield professional results using that technique.
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Postby Lance » August 20th, 2008, 12:03 pm

The issue with your PSD isn't with the bevel, it's with the shape. Without the bevel, the shape is very pixelated to begin with. Here's a few pointers. When using any form of selection tool whether it be marquee, lasso, or pen, always make sure you have anti-alias enabled.

Secondly, when applying bevels, try to avoid using the chissel options, they're actually intended to look rough which can cause the illusion of pixelation even on the smoothest of edges. If you wish to have a hard bevel, use the Smooth option, but increase the Depth accordingly, as this will harden up the edge the more you increase it without pixelating.

There is a very good method to smooth out any pixelated edge, but for now, I will just send you a modification of your PSD wih a smooth shape and bevel. If you still wish to know how it's done, I will write a short tutorial.

Here's a link to the PSD: Download

Peace, Lance
I made the Xion Default skin. Ask me questions and stuff.

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Postby OfficerMike07 » August 20th, 2008, 1:02 pm

I can't say thank you enough Lance!!!


Edit: here's my finished wallpaper.
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Last edited by OfficerMike07 on August 20th, 2008, 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Lance » August 20th, 2008, 1:53 pm

I'm glad it helped.

However, I'm back with more help. You inspired (or gave me a kick up the ass) to quickly write a tutorial explaining this. I've posted it on my forums. So yeah, here is the link if you are interested mate:

Kill Pixelation Tutorial

I hope that helps you out some more :)

Peace, Lance
I made the Xion Default skin. Ask me questions and stuff.

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Postby OfficerMike07 » August 20th, 2008, 2:17 pm

Great tutorial, you're amazing!
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