How to Create Icy Tower Characters (Advanced Palette Editing)

(If you already made a character, go to step 6)Let's start by downloading the right programs., When you downloaded (or already) have the game, go to the folder where it's installed (most of the time it's c:\games\icytower13), Locate the folder...

32 Steps 3 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: (If you already made a character

    First, you need the game of course.

    The latest version (1.3.1) is the best to get.

    You can find the link in the introduction. ,, We're going to work with this one., Then open up the template.bmp file in it.

    You can use the Paint program for it., Just don't forget to stay within the purple box, don't affect it.

    If you want a better tutorial for the basics, try this one: ,, It's a 30-day trial, but it's full, not a demo.

    We use NeoPaint because it has easy palette editing.

    You can download it here ,, You will also see a lot of light blue blocks.

    We're not going to use these right now.

    First we will try the font color., You can edit these by going to Picture
    -> Edit Palette..., Now locate the rainbow colors mentioned before.

    I want to make it a black-red gradient.

    You can do this by selecting the block one by one and dit with the sliders, but you can do it easier.

    Just press the button in the toolbar, located on the right, to make a gradient from two colors.

    WAIT, first make the color block located at the top right black, then the last color in the row red (use the sliders for this).

    Now you can go to the gradient button. , Now click OK and you will see a gradient in the blocks. , Choose the first option, then press OK.

    Now save your bitmap, and open up Icy Tower.

    Select your character, and look at your freshly edited font colors.

    If you don't like the results, just change it again.

    Hint:
    You can make a reflected gradient by using half of the row black-red, and the rest red-black.,, You will notice a black-white gradient with a trace of blue on the left bottom.

    This is the gradient for the walls and the background.

    We want to make... it green.

    So we will try green.

    Just go to the edit palette option and edit.

    But this time it's a little harder, because the 16 blocks are for the walls on the side AND for the background., Make the last color light green, for example.

    Then make a black-light green gradient.

    Back-up and save, and try it out.

    Just experiment with the sliders.,, Now we will try modifying the floor colors., I can show you 3 of them, the rest you need to do on your own., Locate the 4block brown gradient, next to the colors we've edited before (level colors).

    This is the 3rd floor (the wooden one).

    Most of the floors only contain 4 colors, so that makes it easier to locate., For example make it green.

    The other two I know are for the fourth and the fifth floor.

    There are others in the palette, just find out and experiment., Check out the tips wrote down in the Tips section.

    These are really useful(you can find most of them in the steps too).
  2. Step 2: go to step 6)Let's start by downloading the right programs.

  3. Step 3: When you downloaded (or already) have the game

  4. Step 4: go to the folder where it's installed (most of the time it's c:\games\icytower13)

  5. Step 5: Locate the folder characters\template.

  6. Step 6: FIRST make a backup of the entire template folder

  7. Step 7: just to make sure.

  8. Step 8: When opened up in paint you can edit freely.

  9. Step 9: These are the basics

  10. Step 10: now for the advanced editing.

  11. Step 11: NeoPaint We use NeoPaint for this.

  12. Step 12: When downloaded and installed

  13. Step 13: open your Icy Tower character bitmap with it.

  14. Step 14: You will notice the color blocks on the left

  15. Step 15: this is the palette.

  16. Step 16: The colors of the blocks are the 16 rainbow colors on the right.

  17. Step 17: Once opened up

  18. Step 18: you will get a window with same sliders and the color blocks.

  19. Step 19: Now select the recently edited colors as color 1 and color 2 (Doesn't matter which one first).

  20. Step 20: Now press OK. You will see a window pop up first.

  21. Step 21: Now let's try the tower itself (!WARNING: This is hard to do

  22. Step 22: always make a back-up first!)

  23. Step 23: Go back to your image and your palette.

  24. Step 24: You need to experiment.

  25. Step 25: Hint: Just as I said at the font color step

  26. Step 26: just try out a reflected gradient by splitting it in half.

  27. Step 27: now we have changed font colors and changed level colors.

  28. Step 28: This part is a little harder

  29. Step 29: because there are about 27 floors.

  30. Step 30: Go back to your character and the palette.

  31. Step 31: Just do the same thing you did with the rest.

  32. Step 32: That's all I know about Icy Tower palette editing.

Detailed Guide

First, you need the game of course.

The latest version (1.3.1) is the best to get.

You can find the link in the introduction. ,, We're going to work with this one., Then open up the template.bmp file in it.

You can use the Paint program for it., Just don't forget to stay within the purple box, don't affect it.

If you want a better tutorial for the basics, try this one: ,, It's a 30-day trial, but it's full, not a demo.

We use NeoPaint because it has easy palette editing.

You can download it here ,, You will also see a lot of light blue blocks.

We're not going to use these right now.

First we will try the font color., You can edit these by going to Picture
-> Edit Palette..., Now locate the rainbow colors mentioned before.

I want to make it a black-red gradient.

You can do this by selecting the block one by one and dit with the sliders, but you can do it easier.

Just press the button in the toolbar, located on the right, to make a gradient from two colors.

WAIT, first make the color block located at the top right black, then the last color in the row red (use the sliders for this).

Now you can go to the gradient button. , Now click OK and you will see a gradient in the blocks. , Choose the first option, then press OK.

Now save your bitmap, and open up Icy Tower.

Select your character, and look at your freshly edited font colors.

If you don't like the results, just change it again.

Hint:
You can make a reflected gradient by using half of the row black-red, and the rest red-black.,, You will notice a black-white gradient with a trace of blue on the left bottom.

This is the gradient for the walls and the background.

We want to make... it green.

So we will try green.

Just go to the edit palette option and edit.

But this time it's a little harder, because the 16 blocks are for the walls on the side AND for the background., Make the last color light green, for example.

Then make a black-light green gradient.

Back-up and save, and try it out.

Just experiment with the sliders.,, Now we will try modifying the floor colors., I can show you 3 of them, the rest you need to do on your own., Locate the 4block brown gradient, next to the colors we've edited before (level colors).

This is the 3rd floor (the wooden one).

Most of the floors only contain 4 colors, so that makes it easier to locate., For example make it green.

The other two I know are for the fourth and the fifth floor.

There are others in the palette, just find out and experiment., Check out the tips wrote down in the Tips section.

These are really useful(you can find most of them in the steps too).

About the Author

J

Jonathan Rodriguez

Enthusiastic about teaching cooking techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.

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