Nekvin: forum

1. Preface

I am not a professional at using Photoshop, I simply learned through trial and error + countless google searches. Throughout this post I will refer to profile pictures as PPs, since I do not want to write profile picture each time I refer to a profile picture.

2. Why?

You're probably wondering what the hell is this post and why I made it.
The answer is simple. I've always liked how the Torn NPCs have unique, yet similar looking PPs, which led to me wanting to make a PP for myself similar to the Torn NPC ones.
The reason I made this thread was to showcase the finished product to the community and rant about how the Torn NPC PPs are created.

3. What makes an NPC PP an NPC PP
Now before I showcase the PP I made, I'd like to dissect and examine the Torn NPC PPs.
How else would you be able to make a authentic looking NPC PP if not by copying elements from their PPs?
One thing I'd like to point out before we analyze the PPs is the fact that George's, Tiny's and the Easter Bunny's PPs are different from the other NPCs. I'm going to assume this was because they hadn't made all of the PPs at the same time.
Now, let's take a look at the PPs:

[image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com]
[image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com]

3.1 The Four Trademarks
Were you able to spot the key aspects of the PPs? Don't care if you did or didn't, going to tell you anyway.

3.1.1 The Nameplate
The thing which contains the NPCs name consists of a few different components. The obivous ones are the gray/silver bar used as the background for the name, the black rhombus going around the name and the gradient below the gray/silver bar. There is one important thing to observe here, namely that each of these components is unique looking.

3.1.1.1 Gray/Silver Bar
At first glance it looks like a simple elongated rectangle that is colored gray/silver, but you need to look at it closely. The color isn't the same across the whole length and the color seems to be filled with monochromatic noise. The color seems to be a pretty bright silver color, but due to two different gradients it causes it to appear more gray-ish. Going from left to right:
- The darkest part of the rectangle is a very dark gradient
- The brightest part is the original color
- The rest of the rectangle is a slightly less darker gradient, which covers around 50-60% of the rectangle

3.1.1.2 Black Rhombus
The black rhombus looks fairly simple, but it's got a little secret sauce on it. The opacity on the rhombus is not at 100%. If you take a very very close look you will see that it is slightly transparent. The other thing the rhombus has is its drop shadow, which is very inconspicuous and can be easily overlooked.

3.1.1.3 The Transparent Gradient
Below the gray/silver bar we have the gradient. This thing is actually very simple. It's a transparent gradient going from left to right. I would just like to point out that the simplicity didn't make it easy to reproduce.

3.1.2 The Colors
At first glance you can see there is a lot of blue, cyan and yellow/orange-ish. That's a fairly good observation, but you need to take another look at the PPs. The backgrounds are colored colder and the people are warmer. Take a good look at all of the people in the PPs. All of them are edited into a much warmer color, so that they contrast nicely against the much colder background.

3.1.3 The Visual Effects
Most of the visual effects used in all of the NPC PPs are 1-to-1 the same. Whoever was making these was either lazy or wanted each of the NPCs to have the same effects, I can't tell which it is.
If you take a good look at the PPs you will notice the same solar flares are used in most of the NPC PPs. The PPs also have a smoke/fog/steam effect, but I'm not too sure if this effect is used in each of the NPC PPs just like the solar flares.

3.1.4 The Name in the Nameplate
You would think this was another component of the nameplate instead of a trademark aspect, however I'd like to think it's not, due to the fact that you can see each NPCs personal information on their profiles. The name displayed in the PP is different from the name in their personal information. The PP either contains a nickname or a full legal name. Jimmy, Tiny and Fernando have their nicknames in the PP. Duke, Amanda and Leslie have their full legal names in their PPs.

4. The Result
Now that we know what makes a NPC PP look like a NPC PP, let's take a look at the PP I made:

[image: profileimages.torn.com]

Using the four trademarks as a guideline, I'd say I've done a fairly good job at making a authentic fake NPC PP for myself. The only thing missing from the PP are the solar flares, which the Torn NPCs have. This is due to me being unable to find a good pair of similar looking solar flares.
Also I had to make up a full legal name that would make sense for my Torn name, which was a interesting learning experience.

5. Summary
This whole process took me somewhere around 24-30ish hours. I went through quite a few different iterations, before finally making the finished product. I would only recommend this to someone who is genuinely interested in learning about photoshop and image editing, otherwise don't bother trying to make a NPC PP for yourself.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and if you have any questions regarding the process, then I'll try to answer it.

TL;DR: I made a cool profile picture, so you should give me thumbs up

Would it be possible to assign my referral to my friend who didn't use my referral link?
I invited him to play Torn during April and even helped him financially at the start.
I'd like to say I've successfully hooked him :)
Friend in question: https://www.torn.com/profiles.php?XID=3690228

I am competing in the Illicit Services and Racing categories, time to see if my theory works out or not

Surprisingly quick service, will definitely trade again

Thank you!

So about the gradient, it was a pain in the ass to try and imitate the one from the official NPC pfps, since I didn't know what actual color was used. I could only assume it was some kind of white. I was mainly using Jimmy's pfp as a point of reference when making mine, which is partially why my gradient is so bright. So I simply decided to just pick a white color, reduce the opacity on it, before adding the gradient.
That's why it seems more defined/bolder!

I'd like to sign up for LEAGUE 3
Racer Class: A
RS: 26 (At the time of posting this)

1. Preface

I am not a professional at using Photoshop, I simply learned through trial and error + countless google searches. Throughout this post I will refer to profile pictures as PPs, since I do not want to write profile picture each time I refer to a profile picture.

2. Why?

You're probably wondering what the hell is this post and why I made it.
The answer is simple. I've always liked how the Torn NPCs have unique, yet similar looking PPs, which led to me wanting to make a PP for myself similar to the Torn NPC ones.
The reason I made this thread was to showcase the finished product to the community and rant about how the Torn NPC PPs are created.

3. What makes an NPC PP an NPC PP
Now before I showcase the PP I made, I'd like to dissect and examine the Torn NPC PPs.
How else would you be able to make a authentic looking NPC PP if not by copying elements from their PPs?
One thing I'd like to point out before we analyze the PPs is the fact that George's, Tiny's and the Easter Bunny's PPs are different from the other NPCs. I'm going to assume this was because they hadn't made all of the PPs at the same time.
Now, let's take a look at the PPs:

[image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com]
[image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com][image: profileimages.torn.com]

3.1 The Four Trademarks
Were you able to spot the key aspects of the PPs? Don't care if you did or didn't, going to tell you anyway.

3.1.1 The Nameplate
The thing which contains the NPCs name consists of a few different components. The obivous ones are the gray/silver bar used as the background for the name, the black rhombus going around the name and the gradient below the gray/silver bar. There is one important thing to observe here, namely that each of these components is unique looking.

3.1.1.1 Gray/Silver Bar
At first glance it looks like a simple elongated rectangle that is colored gray/silver, but you need to look at it closely. The color isn't the same across the whole length and the color seems to be filled with monochromatic noise. The color seems to be a pretty bright silver color, but due to two different gradients it causes it to appear more gray-ish. Going from left to right:
- The darkest part of the rectangle is a very dark gradient
- The brightest part is the original color
- The rest of the rectangle is a slightly less darker gradient, which covers around 50-60% of the rectangle

3.1.1.2 Black Rhombus
The black rhombus looks fairly simple, but it's got a little secret sauce on it. The opacity on the rhombus is not at 100%. If you take a very very close look you will see that it is slightly transparent. The other thing the rhombus has is its drop shadow, which is very inconspicuous and can be easily overlooked.

3.1.1.3 The Transparent Gradient
Below the gray/silver bar we have the gradient. This thing is actually very simple. It's a transparent gradient going from left to right. I would just like to point out that the simplicity didn't make it easy to reproduce.

3.1.2 The Colors
At first glance you can see there is a lot of blue, cyan and yellow/orange-ish. That's a fairly good observation, but you need to take another look at the PPs. The backgrounds are colored colder and the people are warmer. Take a good look at all of the people in the PPs. All of them are edited into a much warmer color, so that they contrast nicely against the much colder background.

3.1.3 The Visual Effects
Most of the visual effects used in all of the NPC PPs are 1-to-1 the same. Whoever was making these was either lazy or wanted each of the NPCs to have the same effects, I can't tell which it is.
If you take a good look at the PPs you will notice the same solar flares are used in most of the NPC PPs. The PPs also have a smoke/fog/steam effect, but I'm not too sure if this effect is used in each of the NPC PPs just like the solar flares.

3.1.4 The Name in the Nameplate
You would think this was another component of the nameplate instead of a trademark aspect, however I'd like to think it's not, due to the fact that you can see each NPCs personal information on their profiles. The name displayed in the PP is different from the name in their personal information. The PP either contains a nickname or a full legal name. Jimmy, Tiny and Fernando have their nicknames in the PP. Duke, Amanda and Leslie have their full legal names in their PPs.

4. The Result
Now that we know what makes a NPC PP look like a NPC PP, let's take a look at the PP I made:

[image: profileimages.torn.com]

Using the four trademarks as a guideline, I'd say I've done a fairly good job at making a authentic fake NPC PP for myself. The only thing missing from the PP are the solar flares, which the Torn NPCs have. This is due to me being unable to find a good pair of similar looking solar flares.
Also I had to make up a full legal name that would make sense for my Torn name, which was a interesting learning experience.

5. Summary
This whole process took me somewhere around 24-30ish hours. I went through quite a few different iterations, before finally making the finished product. I would only recommend this to someone who is genuinely interested in learning about photoshop and image editing, otherwise don't bother trying to make a NPC PP for yourself.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and if you have any questions regarding the process, then I'll try to answer it.

TL;DR: I made a cool profile picture, so you should give me thumbs up

Would it be possible to assign my referral to my friend who didn't use my referral link?
I invited him to play Torn during April and even helped him financially at the start.
I'd like to say I've successfully hooked him :)
Friend in question: https://www.torn.com/profiles.php?XID=3690228

I'm looking to get into a marriage with anyone that doesn't have the personality of cardboard.
My main reason for getting married is the merits. God I love merits.
Been playing since March of last year and learning about the game at my own pace (snail speed).
I don't care if your gender says Male, Female or Apache Helicopter.
I do not have a PI and I am hesitant to rent a PI because I'm stingy like Scrooge McDuck.
If you're interested in cooperating, then hit me up.

[image: media.tenor.com]

I'm going to hijack the thread and ask a question in relation to level holding.
Don't the quests from Duke give you players with a similar level to defeat, potentially making it harder for you to complete a quest?