As promised, here’s a quick rainbow-masking tutorial. It’s actually quite simple:
STEP 1: What do you want to rainbowficate? I’m only doing one single item, so let’s do a wolf. Because, why not a rainbow wolf?
STEP 2: To get the seamless full-color effect I usually need around seven or eight gradient squares, which means you need eight copies of the wolf item to mask them onto. I like to make each one a different line color, makes it easier to keep track of them all.
STEP 3: Start adding your gradient squares! Orient them however you want, in this case since we’re doing a horizontal rainbow effect, I turned the item 90 degrees. Then start placing them side by side so that the colors line up (putting the Line Color’s alpha at 0%). I usually use the following color set up: (darker-red/red, red/orange, orange/yellow, yellow/green, green/blue, blue/purple, purple/darker-purple)
You may have to resize your item, or the backgrounds (be sure to re-position them if you do or the colors won’t be perfect), to get the right proportions.
STEP 4: Now you can start masking. Easy process, mask a square, bring it to front, send the item you masked onto all the way to the back layer. Repeat until all squares masked.
STEP 5: Once you’re done, it’s a matter of refining the details. Masking these gradients isn’t always perfect (this is a beta version of HM after all), you can see how the base white color of the item leaks through the masks. Just click on the item that’s right under the masks and color him all black, easy fix. We were fortunate in this instance but sometimes the mask can cover up some of the line work on the item self. (Also an easy fix, take one of the items bring to the very front on top of all the masks, reduce the alphas of Color 1 and Color 2 to 0% and leave the Line Color at 100%) Once you’re satisfied… BAM! You got yourself a rainbow wolf.
