Can i have some info regarding preparation of an UI

[Eagle XI]

Lets say i have prepared them in .tga format, now which of the two .blp types in BLPLab i should convert them into ? should i be using BLPLab for this or is there another program specific for this ?
When looking in GIMP the main area and inside minimap is black, must these parts be turned transparent so it functions ingame ? or it works like that treating black parts as transparent when loaded ingame ?

I searched a bit and couldnt find any tutorial regarding creation of an UI so please help by answering or pointing out in the right direction, thanks in advance.

 

[PurgeandFire]

Save them as BLP1. (BLP0 is for Reign of Chaos, BLP2 is for WoW)

It is easiest to use the regular UI tiles as a base. The UI elements are outlined here:
http://www.wc3c.net/showthread.php?p=976391

I recommend extracting the necessary files out of the mpq (for a particular race) and opening the TGA's in GIMP before making your edits. It is cumbersome to do it from scratch.

Transparent parts have to be manually added. It doesn't automatically treat black parts as transparent.

 

[Eagle XI]

Ok, right now im having the pictured problems

picturr

These black parts in main window, at lower part of the ui and around the time indicator frame,
are these lower ones part of the interface model, what can be done about it ?

The portrait part had been turned full transparent yet doesnt show ingame, as you can see ive selected the peasant and his portrait didnt appear in its usual stead.

About the cursor, i didnt do anything on it other than recolor, it came as that when converted to .tga from .blp, yet ingame its showing up like that, why and what i can do to fix ? edit: forgot to say, its been reconverted to .blp prior to import ofc.

Need further guidance plz

edit: hmm, anybody ? someone ?

 

[PurgeandFire]

I don't have much experience with GIMP so I can't help on the specifics. It looks like you don't actually have transparency in those regions, or you have a missing alpha channel. If you have transparency there, try saving it as PNG before converting it through BLP Lab instead. GIMP is weird when it comes to transparency and alpha channels (TGA relies on alpha channels), so it is worth a shot.

 

[Eagle XI]

The cause of the black parts was add opaque alpha channel being left ticked on during conversion to .blp, silly me

Still thanks for the help

current progress:

screenshots

Some minor issues remain like that color difference in green near right edge, an thin black line running along the edge of lower ui part and the tip of the leaf clipping out when displaying inventory, will probably end up erasing that prop.
Fixing the tiles of inventory took up an hour alone (the tiles were too large) and cleaning the cursor itself another.

I need to find something to display instead of black for behind the Elf crest. Tried to make an banner like thing using the original parts, didnt end up well.