White outlines for a cast member

Date:    Wed, 9 Nov 1994 10:07:53 -0800
From:    Scott Addison Flowers <flowers@ECST.CSUCHICO.EDU>
Subject: Re: White outline for a cast member

>Could anyone explain to me how I can create an object with a **white**
>one-pixel outline around it without redefining an existing color 
>to white in the palette?
You'll either want to:
  1. add a 1-pixel off-white border to your object, or,

  2. create a duplicate cast w/ 1-pixel larger border all 1-bit black and use the mask ink effect (the new mask castmember needs to be next to the sprite castmember.
To create a 1-pixel border around an irregularly-shaped sprite, duplicate it (can be done within the same Paint window via option-drag of selection) and fill the duplicate with a solid color, i.e. black. Then select this black image with the rectangle tool, noShrink. You'll need some room to grow. Select "Trace Edges" from the Effects Menu.

To use this border for method 1, above, set the destination color in the top-right color chip in the Paint Window to off-white, i.e. the lightest gray in the System Palette (#245). Set the foreColor chip to the current border color (the eyedropper tool is handy for this [shortcut tip-> control key]). Select "Switch Color" from the Effects menu to change the border color to off-white. Then use the lasso tool to select and position your original object over the gray border. It may be difficult to see well enought to position correctly, so you may wish to choose select color after you position your object over the border. Make sure that your border color does not exist in the object, else you will corrupt it when you perform the next step.

To use the border for method #2, copy the black image into a new, adjoining cast position. Assuming your original castmember is 8-bit, use Transform Cast from the Cast Menu or double-click on the color depth indicator button in the Paint window to switch to 1-bit. Then set Mask ink in Score wherever your sprite occurs.

With either of these techniques, be sure to reset your registration point(s).