I am by no means a professional. I have some experience modding and didn't really start releasing my mods until a few years ago. I don't really make anything "new" with my unit cards. It really just boils down to making everything blend well.

To start I use GIMP. It's free and really user friendly. I tried photoshop recently and just kept making mistakes and couldn't make the program work how I wanted it to.

I use RPFM to edit and extract and create mods.

If you can, it helps to have two monitors so you can have any reference material ready as opposed to changing between windows, but this is a personal preference.

First I decide what I want my unit to look like. What weapon will they use, what armor, shield, etc. I go into the variant editor and create how I want the unit to look and go from there.

When choosing a card, I try to match a unit that is close to what I am making. Also, I personally only make a large card, so only use the cards in the large folders. For this card I am going to remake a unit card for my Spear and Shield Infantry, as I have been updating my older unit cards recently and don't have any new units ready.




This one looks like a good base. Notice there is no shield and the weapon doesn't quite fit, that is ok. It is a little more advanced, but I am going to walk you through how I change these.

I will do a quick run down of the toolbox settings I use. It helps to zoom in plenty. I don't feel I need to explain how to use an eraser. :P





-Free Select
This is probably one of my most used tools. Use it to manually select pieces you want to copy, whether it be to add to another picture or add it to a new layer so you don't accidentally edit the area.








-Warp Toolset
If you right click on a tile it brings up many other tools in that tile. The warp set is big for changing things such as scale, perspective, rotation, etc.









-Brush
I usually don't use this often, and if I do it's just the plain old brush. I have it set to 1, 3, or 6 to do a lot of fine editing. Remember the unit card will be rather small, so your edits will need to be as well.









-Blur
This is a very important tool. I use this more than anything. It helps with blending in minute features and making the smokey cards look smokey. This is usually set to 3 or 6 unless I really want something to vanish.

To begin, I want the weapon to be a spear instead of a Ji. So I use the eye dropper tool and find a pixel near and use the brush to color over the weapon head, leaving the shaft since that can be re-used.






Blur back and forth in an arc like so. It will keep the backround uniform. Zoom out to make sure you don't have any noticeable streaks. I am going to blur at 6 since its the backround and there isn't any detail. Feel free to blend as much as you think it needs.






Next I want to find a spearhead and shield. Go back into the unit cards folder and find cards that fit best in your opinion.









This spear looks nice. Use the free select tool to manually select the part. You can click to add anchors to select from, or you can hold the click to manually draw, I don't do that since I don't have a very steady hand. After you make your way back to the origin point, right click, select copy and go back to the card you are editing.





























Paste the part and add it to a new layer. Right click on the Floating Selection layer and select "New Layer..." Use the warp tools to move and adjust the piece and erase any bits that don't fit. Find new parts and repeat until you are satisfied with how it looks. For each new piece, add it to a new layer so you can edit freely without worry of messing up the base card.































I like this shield, but it isn't quite facing the right way. So copy it to your card, and add it to a new layer. Go to your warp tools and select 3D Transform. I am then going to drag the pointer right to get the right facing. Then adjust the scale and rotation if need be. Make sure to merge layers when you are done!







This card is pretty much done!

Blur


















Here is how I use blur! Generally you want to stick to the contours that already exist. Stretch and merge the areas. After you are pleased then just copy and paste as you had the unedited piece.

This is a quick and basic rundown so far. I can and will add more to this guide if it is popular and people have questions! The bobbleheads are easy, just copy the area you need with free select and paste it to a bobblehead card, then erase the pieces and areas you don't need. They can be a pain in the butt.

I do hope this helps some of you. I am not very good at explaining things or giving directions, so if something isn't clear feel free to ask me. I learn new things pretty much every card I make, so don't be afraid to try new things or apply anything that you already know.

The alternate cards are actually a little easier. Most the stances of the units in the cards are similar, try to stick to the same stance, and mesh parts together as best as possible.

Good Luck and Happy Modding!