Game titles/logos - An alternate way to get them.
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:03 pm
One thing that almost puts a halt my covers is finding a "clean" version of a game title/logo. Games like "Darksiders II" or "Borderlands 2" all use custom created characters. Finding an actual "font" for these game may not get you anywhere. A Google search might get you a high rez transparent .PNG image of the title/logo and then you're all set. But what do you do if you just can't find a game title/logo anywhere?
One trick that I use is to load up the game in Steam then use the "screenshot" feature to capture a frame of the game title/logo. This image is saved to your hard drive as a .JPG. You can then use any image editing program to erase the background and just keep the logo. The reason I recommend this is because most game titles are put up against a static/neutral background. It's then usually easy to isolate and remove the title/logo from the background.
A few tips if you decide to use this method:
1. Make sure you have the game resolution set very high. If you don't the image will be blurry/pixelated. I use 1920x1080. This size is very large and looks sharp when I shrink it down for my cover.
2. Make sure you capture the screenshot when the title/logo is nice and large on the screen and isn't moving. This may or may not be difficult depending upon the game. Some titles/logos jump or flicker across the screen. You may have to capture several screenshots before you get the right one.
3. Make sure you capture the title/logo against a background of opposite color. Again, this may or may not be difficult depending upon the game. A dark title against a dark background will be more difficult for an image editing program to isolate. If the title/logo has a moment where it is flashing or fading in intensity you should wait for the right moment to capture a screenshot.
This may not work for all games. You will have to experiment. I hope this helps you with your covers. Good luck!
One trick that I use is to load up the game in Steam then use the "screenshot" feature to capture a frame of the game title/logo. This image is saved to your hard drive as a .JPG. You can then use any image editing program to erase the background and just keep the logo. The reason I recommend this is because most game titles are put up against a static/neutral background. It's then usually easy to isolate and remove the title/logo from the background.
A few tips if you decide to use this method:
1. Make sure you have the game resolution set very high. If you don't the image will be blurry/pixelated. I use 1920x1080. This size is very large and looks sharp when I shrink it down for my cover.
2. Make sure you capture the screenshot when the title/logo is nice and large on the screen and isn't moving. This may or may not be difficult depending upon the game. Some titles/logos jump or flicker across the screen. You may have to capture several screenshots before you get the right one.
3. Make sure you capture the title/logo against a background of opposite color. Again, this may or may not be difficult depending upon the game. A dark title against a dark background will be more difficult for an image editing program to isolate. If the title/logo has a moment where it is flashing or fading in intensity you should wait for the right moment to capture a screenshot.
This may not work for all games. You will have to experiment. I hope this helps you with your covers. Good luck!