TUTORIAL: TATTOO'S, FLAGS, AND YOU!

A guide for creating tattoos, flags, sails, and everything else in the world of Atlas.

Getting Started

Hey everyone,

After seeing the great work by u/Mijeman from this thread) and seeing the comment from u/BurlyusMaximus, I felt like I needed to deep dive into the mechanics of being able to upload artwork. (Not everyone is as talented as Mijeman, I mean just look at this.) I've done a lot of customized content for APB (All Points Bulletin), POTBS (Pirates of the Burning Sea), just to name a few... and I'm looking forward to bringing more creations to Atlas as we move through early access and release!

Now please forgive the roughness of this guide and it's images. I really just wanted to put this together so the community had a better idea on how to bring in images to customize their characters, companies, and ships. Please let me know if anything is unclear or if there are questions.

Requirements outside of Atlas:

ARKpnt Editor (Version 1.23 updated June 8, 2018) can be found here [www.voicemacro.net]and on this thread

Photoshop/GIMP/Image editing software

Character template which I made can be found here: Template 1[imgur.com] and Template 2[imgur.com]

Character Template:


So this is a rough mockup I made today. It was a little difficult as anytime I started adding a ton of color the game would disconnect me, I would come back and lost all my progress as well as my dyes. As you can tell it's not really complete, so hopefully we can get this fully fleshed out later.

Alright, let's get to it!

Step 1: Create a paintbrush.

You'll need the following materials:

1 Hide

20 Thatch

1 Wood

Step 2: Create some dye.

I recommend just doing one color initially to set up your templates, then once you get the hang of things you can go nuts with color.

Dye generally requires berries and a fully filled waterskin (100 units). Be sure to have a rain barrel, open the inventory slots of the barrel, place the skin into it, and it will fill (as long as the actual barrel has water available). Each 100% waterskin will yield 5 dyes of your chosen color.

Step 3: Create your base file

If you're going to make a tattoo, you'll need to equip the paintbrush and right click. This will open the bodypaint/tattoo window. Be sure you click 'Tattoo' at the bottom to change over. Go ahead and drag the dye over onto the paintbrush to apply the paint. Once the bar is filled you can then select the brush and start painting on your character. (Remember you don't have to waste a ton of paint or be fancy, we're just doing this so we can save over it.) Once that is complete, choose the 'Save Paint' button at the top. The game will then prompt you to enter in a name, go ahead and do that now and jot it down.



If you're going to make a flag, you'll need to equip the paintbrush and left click your claim flag. It's a similar process so just follow along.

Step 4: Find your file and prepare it in ARKpnt
Remember the name you jotted down? No? Guess you'll have to go back and see what you called it... do you have it now? Awesome! You'll find these files in a folder similar to this path: Steam\SteamApps\common\ATLAS\ShooterGame\Saved\MyPaintings

Go ahead and fire up ARKpnt Editor and click on 'Load ARKpnt file'



Load your basic .pnt file to establish the dimensions. This will be helpful when you go to re-upload the file.

Step 5: Open the character template in your image editing software

I apologize that it's so rough, but you can use this as your base for placement locations on your character. Be sure to take the image you want to use and overlay it where you want it to appear. Once you have your placement set, be sure to hide any other layers besides the tattoo you wish to use.



Step 6: Convert the .png file to a .pnt file
Go back into ARKpnt Editor and click on 'Load Image'. You'll now be using this program to open your .png file that you edited with your tattoo. Be sure to click 'Yes' when it asks you if you want it to reduce the colors (in the few tests I've ran, items just show better when this option is selected.)



You should now see a large grey box and your tattoo! Let's go ahead and now click on 'Save as ARKpnt file'. You'll be using the program to SAVE OVER your base file that we quickly made in-game. Be sure you say that you're okay with saving over the file.

Step 7: Get back ingame and apply your new tattoo!
Go back into Atlas, use the paintbrush on yourself, and now click on the left icon to open the paint file. It should still retain the old name you gave it, but it should now allow you to apply the new design! Be careful, if you added tons of color and fancy stuff- it's going to eat up a LOT of dye. This is why I suggested starting out with something basic/easy.

The game will automatically apply the new design, use up your dye, and you'll be sailing the seas in style from now on!





I hope this makes sense. I'm available on here and the Atlas forums if you have questions or if I can be of any assistance. I hope this helps people out!

[Lebro]

I thought that image looked awfully familiar, Narcotic

[Gravel]

Does anyone do Tattoos for people. It will be another month or so before my new pc is built. I'm on a borrowed pc and cannot download all the programs needed. I just would like to simple tattoos. I can send the pics if need be. Thank you in advance.

[Dragoon_Guards]

I can't seem to get this to work, no problem converting or downloading file, change the name and move it to the folder, deleted old flag file and triple checked the name, but my flag will not change.
logged in and out, restart steam, flag stays the same. Amy ideas? thanks for your time.

[123]

is there any way to save a flag that someone else in the company made? want to be able to have it as a tattoo but whenever i save it it doesn't seem to save the whole thing

[CamTheLitFam]

ok so when i created a tattoo in the game itself and then saved it, everything went well and such, but then i made a new character and wanted the same tattoo. When i Press apply it kicks me off the server back to the home menu. please help i worked really hard on that tattoo RRREEEEEE

[dskpnk]

Are the tatoo permanent or you loose them like in ark ?

[Din Narcotic]

Yikes, okay. I'll try to do a video this weekend of flag creation. I'm going to do some testing for the sails as well as I've been getting a LOT of messages/comments about that. I will try to keep everyone updated.

[Dexter]

Please do a tutorial exactly for the flag. A lot of us are getting our flags stretched out. Step-by-step dummy proof would be amazing! thanks :)

[stubbles]

The medium sail texture that the game spits out is a measly 256x256 - it's a pixely MESS. For a sloop, I'd prefer a 512x512 at the very least. Does anyone harge a larger-resolution medium sail template!?

[Tater Tots]

so im trying to do some painting on the canvas and i cant seem to get it to work. Am i just doing it wrong or is it just broken in game?