Need help with custom book cover

[DrSeptimus]

Spoiler

 

 

I wanted to create a custom book cover for my mod but I have no idea how to do it and there is no tutorial about making custom book cover. So far search at youtube and google only shown these video, but none of it provide what I want.

 

Spoiler

 

I would like to know if there is anyone willing to help me convert this book cover to dds files so it can be used as book textures and provide a tutorial video on how to do it.

[Hex Bolt]

1 hour ago, DrSeptimus said:

I wanted to create a custom book cover for my mod but I have no idea how to do it....

I did that last year, though to be precise I used a modified copy of the existing Boethia book with a custom image.  I made a DDS file for a texture set and a custom model that uses my image.  If an example like that might help, it's in my Submissive Lola mod.  See vkjBook ("Submissive Lola").

 

Edited yesterday at 04:06 AM by Hex Bolt

[DrSeptimus]

30 minutes ago, Hex Bolt said:

I did that last year, though to be precise I used a modified copy of the existing Boethia book with a custom image.  I made a DDS file for a texture set and a custom model that uses my image.  If an example like that might help, it's in my Submissive Lola mod.  See vkjBook ("Submissive Lola").

 

 

So what software you use to make DDS files? paint.net?

 

Do you have video tutorial about it?

Edited yesterday at 04:36 AM by DrSeptimus

[Hex Bolt]

2 hours ago, DrSeptimus said:

So what software you use to make DDS files? paint.net?

I use GIMP, but Paint.net will work too.  It's usually just a matter of pasting the image you want for the diffuse texture and exporting it, selecting the desired compression and toggling on saving mipmaps.  If you have to create your own normal map, that gets more involved.

 

2 hours ago, DrSeptimus said:

Do you have video tutorial about it?

Unless you're doing something complicated, pasting "How can I create a DDS file for Skyrim with paint.net?" into Google or Chatgpt should give you a step-by-step guide.  That's how I usually learn techniques for editing DDS files (adding transparency, removing excessive glow, things like that).  I prefer a text guide to having to watch a video.

Edited yesterday at 07:04 AM by Hex Bolt

[Silver437]

For editing .dds files, use either gimp and/or paint.net . They can directly edit & save in .dds format

 

You also will need Nifskope for this

 

 

For the book itself, you need to copy both the nif file of a vanilla book , and the .dds file of the front of the book. You can see the location of the .dds file inside the book's nif file in nifskope.

 

Open the .dds file of the cover inside your program of choice - gimp or paint.net . I recommend gimp. Do your edits. When ready to save, go to file > export. Select type .dds file. Make sure compression is BC3 type. Make sure "all layers" are selected. 

 

One rule for any texture in skyrim is that it has to be a multiple of 2. Common sizes are 1024x1024 , 2056x2056, 512x512 , etc. For a book cover I recommend either 512 or 1024... (If in doubt, just use the same size that the file already has.) If it asks to export mipmaps, I don't think it makes a difference... you can but you don't have to. 

 

Next place your texture somewhere in your game folder (or mod organizer folder.) Make a path inside textures, so its like 

Textures/SeptimusBooks/MyBookTexture_d.dds

 

First, rename your .nif file before opening it to something unique, so that it does not overwrite the vanilla books. 

Open nifskope on the book nif. Click the front cover and find BSShaderLightingProperty, expand it and find BSShaderTextureSet. In the first field you will see the path of the diffuse map. Swap this out with the texture you just made. Save in nifskope. 

 

Generally, the first 2 textures in the list are the only ones you need to be concerned with. First one is diffuse texture, second one is normal map. For now just do the diffuse texture.

 

Place this file anywhere within data/Meshes , I would do data/Meshes/SeptimusBooks/MyBookFile.nif

 

Next open creation kit. In the object window, go down to world objects. Select static. Right click and make a new static object. Name it whatever, leave the checkboxes as they default to. In the file path, click edit and then select your book .nif file. 

 

Finally, go into the book record that you want to change the cover to. There will be a dropdown selector where you can set the image to the static object you just made. After that, also click the "edit" thing in here and then select the same nif file as in the prior step. Save and you will be good. If all goes well it will work.

 

If you open the game and the book is purple, it means the texture file name path is wrong. 

 

I just put out a mod here that you can use the nif and dds file of the book cover if you like as a template

Femboy Bibles

 

 

Once you do this, changing the book's normal map will be easy. Gimp has a tool under the filters menu to make a normal map out of your image. 

Edited yesterday at 06:05 AM by Silver437

[jib_buttkiss]

For simplicity, you could use a texture set applied to an existing item instead of properly editing the .nif:

double-click on the the texture in the model panel to assign one to a copy of an existing book.

 

 

For DDS's I use paint.net, and to make sure the settings are right I take an existing Skyrim DDS file as a base and edit it.

[DrSeptimus]

 

3 hours ago, Hex Bolt said:

Unless you're doing something complicated, pasting "How can I create a DDS file for Skyrim with paint.net?" into Google or Chatgpt should give you a step-by-step guide.  That's how I usually learn techniques for editing DDS files (adding transparency, removing excessive glow, things like that).  I prefer a text guide to having to watch a video.

 

 

I type "How to make skyrim custom book cover" into search engine and this is all they provide. I am complete opposite, video let me learn faster.

 

3 hours ago, Silver437 said:

For editing .dds files, use either gimp and/or paint.net . They can directly edit & save in .dds format

 

You also will need Nifskope for this

 

 

For the book itself, you need to copy both the nif file of a vanilla book , and the .dds file of the front of the book. You can see the location of the .dds file inside the book's nif file in nifskope.

 

Open the .dds file of the cover inside your program of choice - gimp or paint.net . I recommend gimp. Do your edits. When ready to save, go to file > export. Select type .dds file. Make sure compression is BC3 type. Make sure "all layers" are selected. 

 

One rule for any texture in skyrim is that it has to be a multiple of 2. Common sizes are 1024x1024 , 2056x2056, 512x512 , etc. For a book cover I recommend either 512 or 1024... (If in doubt, just use the same size that the file already has.) If it asks to export mipmaps, I don't think it makes a difference... you can but you don't have to. 

 

Next place your texture somewhere in your game folder (or mod organizer folder.) Make a path inside textures, so its like 

Textures/SeptimusBooks/MyBookTexture_d.dds

 

First, rename your .nif file before opening it to something unique, so that it does not overwrite the vanilla books. 

Open nifskope on the book nif. Click the front cover and find BSShaderLightingProperty, expand it and find BSShaderTextureSet. In the first field you will see the path of the diffuse map. Swap this out with the texture you just made. Save in nifskope. 

 

Generally, the first 2 textures in the list are the only ones you need to be concerned with. First one is diffuse texture, second one is normal map. For now just do the diffuse texture.

 

Place this file anywhere within data/Meshes , I would do data/Meshes/SeptimusBooks/MyBookFile.nif

 

Next open creation kit. In the object window, go down to world objects. Select static. Right click and make a new static object. Name it whatever, leave the checkboxes as they default to. In the file path, click edit and then select your book .nif file. 

 

Finally, go into the book record that you want to change the cover to. There will be a dropdown selector where you can set the image to the static object you just made. After that, also click the "edit" thing in here and then select the same nif file as in the prior step. Save and you will be good. If all goes well it will work.

 

If you open the game and the book is purple, it means the texture file name path is wrong. 

 

I just put out a mod here that you can use the nif and dds file of the book cover if you like as a template

Femboy Bibles

 

 

Once you do this, changing the book's normal map will be easy. Gimp has a tool under the filters menu to make a normal map out of your image. 

 

I try it and preview it at nifskope, seems like I mess up the edge....

 

Here is the cover if anyone want to take a look.

Cover.rar

[DrSeptimus]

1 hour ago, jib_buttkiss said:

For simplicity, you could use a texture set applied to an existing item instead of properly editing the .nif:

double-click on the the texture in the model panel to assign one to a copy of an existing book.

 

 

For DDS's I use paint.net, and to make sure the settings are right I take an existing Skyrim DDS file as a base and edit it.

 

Yeah, I did try that and this was the result...

 

Edited 23 hours ago by DrSeptimus

[Hex Bolt]

6 hours ago, DrSeptimus said:

Yeah, I did try that and this was the result...

Path names for files should be relative to Skyrim's Data folder.  Don't use c:\users\...  Instead, start with textures, like you're doing with the normal map.

[DrSeptimus]

49 minutes ago, Hex Bolt said:

Path names for files should be relative to Skyrim's Data folder.  Don't use c:\users\...  Instead, start with textures, like you're doing with the normal map.

 

Yeah, I know about that.. I am just showing the preview of how the book gonna look in the game.