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Geuis Dassin
Filming Path creator
Join date: 3 May 2006
Posts: 565
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10-23-2006 07:31
Wanted feedback on this. Can alpha textures be applied as skins for partial-transparency effects? For example, better hair prims are made when texture's w/ alpha transparencies towards the ends make the hair more "hair-like" by fading out.
just wondering if anything at all can be done with alpha textures as skins.
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Ceera Murakami
Texture Artist / Builder
Join date: 9 Sep 2005
Posts: 7,750
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10-23-2006 07:58
Yes. As a matter of fact, most of the highest quality skins that I have seen do have a small amount of transparency. This allows you to use the appearance sliders to modify your complexion slightly, adding blush to cheeks, changing lipstick, and going from pale to lightly tannned.
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Chosen Few
Alpha Channel Slave
Join date: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 7,496
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10-23-2006 08:25
Just to clarify, yes, you can use alpha textures on skins, as Ceera said, but they won't turn your avatar transparent, if that's what you're after. The transparency in the skin texture will allow you to see through to the base skin (naked avatar) layer, not all the way through the avatar model itself. To hide part or all of an avatar, you need to use an invisiprim.
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Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.
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Namssor Daguerre
Imitates life
Join date: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 1,423
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10-23-2006 10:30
32 bit texturing on skins (as Chosen mentioned) does not give a transparent effect to the avatar, only to the skin texture. The only portion of the avatar that appears transparent in places is the eyelash area on the head. That is defined in the client with the head_alpha.tga file. (Edit: That file can be changed, but will only affect the eyelashes).
The more transparent a skin the flatter it will look in detail and sharpness, and the more you will see the default skin pigmentation bleed through the transparent skin texture. The effect is a trade off in skin detail for adjustability. If done right, the skin can look very natural and still be adjustable. Makeup and tattoos mostly use complex alpha channels, whereas skins will most likely use a uniformly transparent set of alpha channels when the intent is to allow skin pigmentation adjustments with the client. One exception to this rule might be the use of alpha channels with the default skin texture to color body hair features. In that case the areas with hair would be mostly transparent, transitioning into the skin area which would be mostly opaque. Adjusting pigmentation and hair color separately in such a manner would not be possible without extra (full coverage) texture layers. That is why additional texture layers (if indeed they ever get addressed) would make just about all of SL's texture artists VERY happy.
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Geuis Dassin
Filming Path creator
Join date: 3 May 2006
Posts: 565
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10-23-2006 15:17
thanks for the answers. yeah, it was in relation to hair and tattoos and such. invisible avatar parts would have a variety of uses, but I already knew that  |