How to Create Custom Sprays for "Left 4 Dead"

A spray in "Left for Dead" is a graffiti-like tag players place on in-game environments. They're created with a graphics editor program like Photoshop then converted into a format the game can recognize. Photoshop CS5 was the latest capable program as of 2010, but earlier versions of Photoshop as well as other programs like Paint Shop or GIMP can produce similar results. Any graphics editor that supports the TGA format will do.

• 1

  Double-click the Adobe Photoshop CS5 shortcut on the desktop or in the "Start," "Programs," "Adobe" folder.

• 2

  Click "File," then "New." Set the width and height measurements to pixels. Set an equal number of vertical and horizontal pixels, with the maximum you can (and should) set being 256 by 256. Click "OK."

• 3

  Create the custom graphic with Photoshop's tools.

• 4

  Click the "Channels" panel (next to "Layers") and select the Alpha channel. The Alpha channel determines the transparency of part or all of the image. At an alpha value of 100 percent black, the image is totally transparent. At 100 percent white, it's opaque. Modify parts of the image's alpha channel separately to set different transparencies.

• 5

  Click "File," then "Save As" when you're finished modifying your spray. In the Save As window, select Targa or .TGA. Check the box marked "Alpha Channels." Navigate to the desktop, name your file, then click "Save."

• 6

  Open the VTFedit program. (If you don't have VTFedit, download it from the link in the Resources section.) Click "File," "Import," then select your TGA file and click "OK." Adjust the transparency and quality settings in VTFedit as needed. Click "File," then "Save as," then save your file as a .VTF on your desktop.

• 7

  Open the game. Click "Options," then "Multiplayer," then "Import Spray." Select your VTF file and click "Open."