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Textures on boots and what not |
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Nella Drillon
Registered User
Join date: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 49
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01-06-2010 07:18
I have been trying to get put some realistic textures on my boots. I have found that now with all the maya users baking and with the better photoshopers putting their kind of textures on the boots, my boots do not sell unless they look "real". My question is, is there any tips or tricks on how to put textures on sculpted prims? Tutorials? Also, I have seen some creators have this grid texture on their sculpts, any idea where to get that?
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Chosen Few
Alpha Channel Slave
Join date: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 7,496
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01-06-2010 09:27
The grid pattern you may be referring to is this one: /109/45/214824/1.html
As for tips for making your boots look real, that's a pretty big question. There's no "make it look good" button in any program, as I'm sure you know. It comes down to knowing your tools, and to good old fashioned artistry. The tools we can help you with here, at least to a degree. The artistry, well, unfortunately forums are not very good platform for art lessons. For that, I'd recommend you take some classes at a local college or whatever other adult learning centers are in your community. As you probably know, there are basically three ways to make textures: hand painting, photosourcing, and baking. All three are HUGE subjects, none of which are mutually exclusive. To get really good at any one of them requires a lot of study and a lot of practice at the one, as well as at least some level of competence with the other two. What software are you using? You mentioned Maya. In the context you brought it up, it's tough to tell if it's what you're using, or if you cited the name simply because you believe Maya users are somehow automatically generating better baked textures than users of other programs. If the latter is the case, I can promise you, Maya doesn't have that "make it look good" button either. It can do some incredible things, sure, but only when in the hands of a skilled artist who knows his or her craft. You also mentioned "the better Photoshoppers". The response to that one is easy (at least, easy to say). If you feel your Photoshop skills are subpar in comparison with those of your competitors, well, get better at using Photoshop. The reason those guys are good is because they've put in years of study and practice. Until and unless you do the same, you won't be as good as they are. There are no shortcuts, no quick fixes. It's experience, experience, experience. I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear, but it's the only truth I've got. Speaking generally, what makes or breaks the realism of an object in any art medium is the placement of light and shadow. I constantly recommend that all artists of all levels, beginner through expert, do drapery studies. Hundreds of them. No matter how good or bad you are right now, drapery studies WILL make you better (which is why the Renaissance masters all did them practically every day of their lives). Throw a bedsheet over a chair, and draw what you see. When you're done, pick up the sheet, toss it down again, and draw it again in its new configuration. Rinse, repeat, ad nausium. Approach each study simply as a problem of light and shadow. Don't worry about whatever shapes you think you're looking at. Do NOT overthink this. Simply replicate the light and shadow you're seeing, and the shape will take care of itself. If you've never done this before, or even if you have but it's just been a while, your first few studies will suck, whether you're already a good artist or not. But as you do it more and more, you'll get better. Just keep going. You're probably wondering what the heck does drawing bedsheets have to do with boots. The answer is nothing, and EVERYTHING. By training your eye to interpret how light and shadow fall on a drapery, you're developing a very critical skill. If you can do it for fabric, you can do it for literally everything else. You may also be wondering why draw, when texturing isn't about drawing. Again, the answer is, no, it's not about drawing, but YES, IT'S ALL ABOUT DRAWING. By drawing, you train your eye and your brain to be in sync. Once you've developed that skill, you'll then be in a position to think critically about why exactly does Object A look more realistic than Object B. From there, you'll know instantly what needs to be done, visually, to correct the problem. (And you'll find that in 99.99% of cases, it's a simple matter of light and shadow, as I mentioned a minute ago.) After that, it's simply a matter of knowing your tools inside and out. You've identified the problem, so now it's just a question of what procedure to follow (or invent) to put the light, shadow, color, etc., exactly where you want it all to be. Again, the solution there is study and practice, study and practice. If all this sounds daunting to you, GOOD. There's a reason why most people in the world are not artists. We're all born with the ability to become artists, should we choose, but the cold hard truth is there's far more work involved with it than most people can stomach. Artwork is hard. If all you want is a fun escapist hobby to dabble in, then fine. There's nothing wrong with that. Enjoy it. Just don't expect your stuff ever to looks as good as what the pros are making. If you want to get the same results the pros are getting, then you have to put in the exact same work each and every one of them put in in order to get to where they are right now. As for the tutorials you asked for, it's unlikely you'll find anything specifically dedicated to sculpted boots. But there are thousands out there for the kinds of things that would make up many of the components of a boot. For example, a tutorial on making rope or knitted fabric would help you with the laces. A tutorial on replicating polished metal would help you with the grommets. Etc., etc., etc. But again, all of that is secondary to learning how to see as an artist. In this context, the actual button-pushing is an end, not a means. _____________________
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Nella Drillon
Registered User
Join date: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 49
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01-06-2010 10:47
Thanks for the long reply and the grid.
I started SL 3 years ago, basically taking bits and pieces of real clothing and making a bikini out of it. (I had over 80 bikinis.. ) That only latest 5 months I think then I started doing texturing a different way, basically no shades or wrinkles. Oh they sold, but that was 3 years ago. Now the times have taken off in SL, people want more sculpted, wrinkled, shaded items. My skills in photoshop were just fine back then, but then I woke up one day and changed everything. Yes, I actually did wake up, look around at my shop, changed the name, and put all my old items in a section marked "discontinued" and deleted all those and never looked back at them. Now, I'm still learning, my skills are NO were near great, I have studied how the pros make wrinkles how some prefer shades. I will stare at a RL image for 15 mins just studying it. When I mentioned "how the pros do it" I didn't mean to should harsh, it's just that, I don't have time to put into my designs what I wish I could. I have a family to take care of and a job, which are all priority. No time to myself =/. I do with my free time what I can. I wish to always see SL has a hobby, maybe one day, it can be my full time job and I will be able to spend the time necessary to better my skills. Maybe I can talk my pocket book into getting maya and taking some classes lol. THOSE textures are the ones I'm talking about and how GREAT those sculpts look. Of course it's not just maya that puts them out. Thank again, I haven't given up, I'm sure every designer gets to the point that the object they are working on isn't working out the way they wanted. I got off, took a nap, and now I'm back with fresh ideas. Oh and yes, I can understand what you said about the drawing of the drapes in different ways. This grid will definitely help! |
Chosen Few
Alpha Channel Slave
Join date: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 7,496
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01-06-2010 11:55
I don't have time to put into my designs what I wish I could. For whatever it's worth, I feel exactly the same way. The amount of unfinished stuff lying around my place is downright embarrassing. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've EVER really finished a project in SL that wasn't work related. Also, just like you, I've got plenty of product that looked great five years ago, but is nowhere near up to par now. I really should take those old vending machines down. _____________________
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Nella Drillon
Registered User
Join date: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 49
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01-07-2010 19:14
haha, I looked at some of my old designs from 3 years ago and found so many things wrong with them. Next thing I knew I was hitting the delete button.
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