Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2

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Full Colour on Conscientious Objectors!
By orang and 1 collaborators
Full Colour on Conscientious Objectors in Team Fortress 2

This guide will show you all, step by step, on how to get full colour on your conscientious objector signs in TF2 using a decal tool!
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What you'll need in order to get full colour!
  • A software called paint.net (Be sure you get the free version and not the paid one)
  • A specific file directory (Will provide it later on in the guide)
Step 1.
Step 1.

Save any image where ever you'd like that you'd like to put on a conscientious objector, for this guide, I'll be using this image!

P.S. Find an image that's more of a square for the best results, rectangular images will be squished (Reason will be explained in further steps)

Step 2.
Step 2.

Assuming you've now fully downloaded paint.net and got it up and running, you'll now be able to open the images in your files and open it with 'paint.net'.

Step 3.
Step 3.

Once you've clicked on open with paint.net, it should open up your selected image. This is where we will resize our image!

The image MUST be 128x128 or it will not work!

Also make sure to UNTICK the "Maintain aspect ratio" box or you will not be able to make the image 128 by 128!

When you go to save the image somewhere, make sure to click OK and don't just close it down or it will not work!






Step 4.
Step 4.

Now you must make the following file directory in the exact places I've put them and with the exact same names or it will not work!

Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > Team Fortress 2 > tf > custom > userstuff > scripts > items > custom_texture_blend_layers

Once you're in the custom_texture_blend_layers file, save the image as paper_overlay.png

MAKE SURE IT'S A PNG FILE (No other formats will work!)

You'll always have to save the image in this file and with the same name, so you must replace the image every time you make a new sign!

Step 5.
Step 5.

Now once it's saved, open TF2 and click on your decal tool and apply it to a conscientious objector!



Go to the file directory I showed in the previous step and find the paper_overlay.png image that you created with your image!



If all is done correctly, your image should be coloured when you go to the next part on the decal tool system in game!

If it hasn't worked, restarted TF2 and it should work when you get back in the game! :D

128x128 Template
Edit 2020: I've just made a basic bordered square for you to perfectly size your preferred image onto a sign without wasted background space!

The white square on the provided image is exactly 128x128. Just save into the directory given in the previous steps and it'll still work!

Hope this helps with better quality signs!



Edit 2021: Turns out this doesn't seem to be the correct measurement despite checking it, I think uploading anyway just reduces the size so I'd recommend against the use of this unless anyone can provide one otherwise! If you can, I'd love to use it and give you credit on this guide! I thank you in advance :)
Congratulations! You did it!
Well done! You've now got yourself full colour on a conscientious objector!

One thing to bare in mind is that, if your selected image has no background colour, you'll have to do the following:

Drag the little grey bar all the way to the left and match the colours with the other option on that drop-down box just below the colour palette! This will give you a white background on the sign!

Thank you!
Thank you all for reading my guide, I hope it has helped you all on how to now fully take advantage of your decal tools!

Leave any comments down below and I'll respond to them asap :)
274 Comments
orang  [author] Jan 5 @ 12:15pm 
I'd suggest to double check the exact spelling of the file names and giving TF2 a restart as well! Couple other things to check are if the picture is 128x128 in size and saved as a png file

Also, does the picture you're wanting to add have no background?
Krill nye the seafood guy Jan 5 @ 12:14pm 
doesn't work
orang  [author] Dec 21, 2023 @ 7:39am 
:lario:
Cold༄❄ Dec 21, 2023 @ 7:33am 
ohh, thanks! :D
orang  [author] Dec 21, 2023 @ 6:58am 
Thank you person who posted a gordon emoji after their kind sentence - in return, please accept this lario: :lario:
Cold༄❄ Dec 21, 2023 @ 6:23am 
Nice guide :gordon:
orang  [author] Jun 2, 2023 @ 8:58am 
Ah I see, it'll just be the optimal size for the best signs in-game so that's why I imagine it's that restricted anyway
Eco Jun 2, 2023 @ 7:41am 
i meant for the full color, i tried this with a 256x256 and it didn't work
orang  [author] Jun 2, 2023 @ 4:43am 
If it can be 256x256 then by all means go for it! I think 128x128 may generally be the go-to when it comes to quality of images or big resizes, otherwise use either :)
Eco Jun 2, 2023 @ 4:07am 
i still can't wrap my head around why it has to be 128x128 when it can be 256x256