When Terraria Becomes an Input Method...

The article is translated using AI.

Turn your Terraria character into an input method!

1. Preparation

1. Photoshop
2. Terraria
3. Sogou Input Method Skin Editor (pinyin.sogou.com/skins/design.php)
4. GIF capture tool (PixPin used here)

2. Tutorial (PS)

1. Enter the game, on the character selection screen, capture the character's movement animation as a GIF. Note that size is not important, but width and height must be equal (square), otherwise PS cannot read it.
2. Import the GIF into PS. The frames of the GIF are converted into layers. Check each layer one by one, starting from the frame where the foot lifts. Delete duplicate frames. The entire animation has 14 frames; keep only these 14. I personally prefer the input method on the right, so I mirror the image horizontally to make the character face left.
3. Use the magic wand to remove the background (a brute-force method).
4. In PS, go to Window and enable Timeline.
5. In the timeline that appears at the bottom, each frame corresponds to a layer (select a frame, and the corresponding layer is shown in the Layers panel while others are hidden). Select all frames, click the small corner icon, set the delay to 0.07s, then right-click the selected frames and set the disposal method to Automatic.
6. PS: File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy), then save.
7. Record another set of Terraria outfits in the same way (to distinguish between Chinese and English).

These are my two characters (

3. Tutorial (Sogou Input Method Skin Editor)

1. You can create a new skin, or use the one I provide below, which is an input method skin made from my skin.
2. Click the status bar settings on the left. For Chinese normal state, set the GIF you made; for English normal state, do the same. For the background image, use a transparent image.
3. If you want special effects for mouse hover or other states, you can add outlines to the character, etc. Here I use the character's idle standing state, but it's fine to skip this.
4. For the typing image, in my input method I created an effect similar to the Terraria input method. You can import my skin and modify it, or create your own. Choose an image as the base, find a repeating segment in the image to extend the input method.
5. Save the skin, and it's ready to use. Switch between Chinese and English to see different characters.

4. Conclusion

1. Here, the Chinese/English toggle button is used as the skin, not the background image.
2. A sudden idea to use Chinese/English icons as the background, just for fun.
3. Initially, I didn't use characters but Terraria trees (different trees for different states), but later felt they blocked the view.
4. My skin link: https://wwo.lanzouq.com/i4wxa206nn3i