Texturing an In-Game Object?

Earlier today I crafted a wolf head as my first sculpt. Now I am trying to figure out how to skin it. It was made in-game, and is not at all similar to the human heads (a Helper told me to try it... haha no.)

How would I go about making a map of this to texture?

There are several methods. One would be to throw a test pattern onto the model, so you can see where every part of the canvas falls onto it. Take a bunch of screenshots from various angles, as many as you need, to use as references. Then use the test pattern itself as a template, and paint your texture right on top of it.

Another way to go would be to bring the sculpt map into any 3D modeling program capable of interpreting it (I think Wings and SculptyPaint can both do it), and then export the model as an OBJ to a 3D paint program and/or to a full-featured 3D platform like Maya, Max, or Blender, where you can create and bake a proper texture.

As for making a map, don't bother. All sculpties have the exact same UV layout, a perfectly uniform grid. There's absolutely nothing to be gained by UV-unwrapping a sculpty.

Look for Domino Marama's Blender scripts on this forum, you can save your .tga sculpt map out of SL, then import into Blender resulting in a 3d object that is fully useable in Blender.

-why

"There are several methods. One would be to throw a test pattern onto the model, so you can see where every part of the canvas falls onto it. Take a bunch of screenshots from various angles, as many as you need, to use as references. Then use the test pattern itself as a template, and paint your texture right on top of it.

Another way to go would be to bring the sculpt map into any 3D modeling program capable of interpreting it (I think Wings and SculptyPaint can both do it), and then export the model as an OBJ to a 3D paint program and/or to a full-featured 3D platform like Maya, Max, or Blender, where you can create and bake a proper texture.

As for making a map, don't bother. All sculpties have the exact same UV layout, a perfectly uniform grid. There's absolutely nothing to be gained by UV-unwrapping a sculpty."

How would I export the sculpt from Second Life? And are there any free or at least cheap programs to import it into?

If I were to just make the pattern directly in game, what would I want to start with? Just a grid?


@ Whyroc: I can't seem to get his scripts to work.

You created the sculpty; surely you have the sculpt map, right? Or does whatever in-world utility you used to create the sculpty not give you the map texture? It's pretty silly if it doesn't.

Assuming you do have it, double-click it in your inventory to view it, and then click File -> Save Texture As.

If you don't have it, there are ways to capture it, but since describing any of them would directly encourage theft, I'm afraid I'll have to refrain from doing that. Hopefully everyone else will as well. Sorry.


Of the programs mentioned thus far, Blender, Wings, and SculptyPaint are all free. I have to assume you already knew that about Blender, since you said you've been trying to use Domino's scripts.


If by "pattern" you mean texture, you can't make one in-world. SL has no texturing tools whatsoever. You need to use a paint program like Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, or GIMP, to paint a texture, or else use a 3D application like Maya, Max, or Blender to generate and bake one (or both).

I have the original image... but it didn't save a texture for it, not that I can see. How would I go about finding it? I just have the thing in my inventory that says "Head", which is what I named it.

What do you mean by "original image"?

Exactly how did this sculpty-creation tool you used work?

The normal work flow is you first model your sculpty in a third-party 3D modeling program like Maya, Blender, Wings, whatever (there are dozens of available choices). Then you use a specialty script or plug-in to export a sculpt map from that program, upload the map to SL as a texture, and apply it to the a sculpt-prim in-world. In that case, you have to have the sculpt map. There's no way not to have it. (Not that it would actually matter in the first place, since you'd also already have the model itself, which is what you're trying to achieve here.)

Whatever tool you used obviously worked in a very different way. What were the steps?


In any case, when you examine a sculpty's attributes on the Object tab in the editor window, you'll see the sculpt map image on the right hand side of the window. Click on it there, and the texture picker will open. If you have the texture in your inventory, it will be selected in the picker. At that point, you'll know its name, so you can find it in your inventory.

I am starting to wonder if I am using all the wrong words here. So I will resort to screenshots and long descriptions.



I made this yesterday in SL using prims... a combination of spheres and cones. It still has a bit to be added to it. Basically, I want to know how to skin it. How to make this wolf head become a 3-d SL avatar of my character, who has complex markings (http://valdyrfenrisdottir.deviantart.com/art/Valdyr-v4-quot-Sneak-Peek-quot-2-89493011). However, I cannot figure out how in the heck to do so. I know that the human faces have their own image (what I have been calling a map) that you take into photoshop and, essentially, draw on.

If you can tell me exactly what I need to do to get this thing from SL to Photoshop so I can color it all pretty, it would be massively appreciated.

Ah, that explains it! Yes, we've been talking about two completely different things this whole time. When you said "sculpt" I got the impression you were talking about sculpted prims (sculpties), while you in fact were talking simply about having made a sculpture from regular prims. Big difference there. I'm glad we got that sorted out.

As you've probably figured out by now, it's best not to use the word "sculpt" for anything other than sculpties. To avoid potential confusion, I'd suggest using the word "model", or the phrase "prim model" or "prim-based model", or something to that effect. It would cut down on confusion.

Since I thought you were talking about sculpties, when you said "map", I thought you meant a "sculpt map" (also called "sculpt texture", which is a specific type of image used only in the creation of sculpties. You were simply talking about textures in general. Your usage isn't necessarily incorrect, since the kind of textures SL uses are properly called diffuse maps, but SL users just call them textures. The kind of image you mentioned in your face example, what people paint on top of to create skins and clothing textures, is in SL terms called a template.

OK, let's get to your actual question. Forget almost everything I've said up until this point. Very little of it is relevant to what you're really trying to do.

Basically, you've got two options:

1. Apply a test pattern texture to each prim, so you can see exactly where every part of the canvas ends up as it wraps around each surface. Then use the test pattern as a template, on which to paint your textures.

You can find a good test pattern at /109/45/214824/1.html. Apply that image to each prim, and carefully note where each numbered square ends up on the surface. If you want a particular feature to be in a particular place on the model, take a look at what square is in that location, and then paint that feature on the same square on the template. For example, if the dark purple 3 happens to fall where you want the corner of the mouth to be, make sure you paint the corner of the mouth over the dark purple 3 in your texture image. Make sense?

When you're a little more advanced, for maximum efficiency, I'd suggest you use the repeat and offset settings to display a different part of the canvas on each prim. That way, you can put everything on one texture, rather than having a separate texture on each one. (I call this "poor-man's UV mapping".) Hold off on trying that until you've got more of a feel for what you're doing, since it will be a bit more complicated than just giving each prim its own separate texture. But when you're ready, that's the way you'll want to go.

It will take some practice to learn how to think in 3D as you're painting in 2D. Don't expect overnight success. Good texture artists have lots and lots of practice under their belts. You're just starting out. Don't get discouraged. It will likely take a while before you're able to achieve the results you want consistently. That's perfectly OK.


2. The other option is you could rebuild the model in a 3D modeling program, and generate your texture(s) there. Specifics on how to do that will vary from program to program.

If Blender is your tool of choice, you might want to check out Jeffrey Gomez's prims.blender plug-in. It replicates SL's tool set inside Blender. Use it to create the same prims with the same measurements, and you should be able to make the exact same model (or make a slightly different one, which prims.blender will be able to recreate for you in SL, via script). You can find prims.blender on the Building Tips forum.

Once you've got the model, you can texture it directly inside Blender (or whatever other full-featured 3D platform you might be using), or you could port it to a 3D or 2.5D paint program such as Zbrush or Photoshop CS3 Extended, and texture it there. Again, instructions for how to do that will vary (highly), depending on what programs you're using.



Again, I'll throw out a reminder to be patient as you proceed. 3D modeling and texturing are arts & sciences which take time to learn. There's no way around that.

Haha, yeah, I kind of realized that I was using all of the wrong lingo XD

One question though... I attached all of my prims together, and I am going to guess that that is a bad thing?

Nope, doesn't make a difference either way. If the prims are linked, and you want to work on one at a time (or a few at a time), turn on Edit Linked Parts in the editor. You can then click on individual prims to select them. Shift-click to add or subtract from the selection. To work on just one surface at a time, or a collection of shift-click-selected surfaces, turn on Select Texture. This will work whether the prims are linked or not.

Besides, you can always unlink them if you really feel the need.

So is it better to have them all linked when adding textures, or to texture each piece individually?

And thank you so very much for all your help XD Sorry I was a bit confusing earlier.

I think our terminology might be breaking down again.

For something like that head, you will be texturing each piece individually, in that each part will have its own distinct texture, or at the very least, its own distinct section of of a master texture sheet. This will be equally true whether or not the pieces are linked or unlinked.

The only difference as you work would be which toggles are turned on in the editor. If the pieces are linked, you'll probably end up using Edit Linked Parts a lot. If they're not, you won't. That's it.

Okay, I am pretty sure I follow you. Now to give this a spin... ahhh, I have a feeling there will be lots of swearing at my computer tonight XD

Thank you very much, once again.

As always Chosen, you are the epitome of class and helpfulness!

Valdyr.. congrats sounds like you are on the way to becoming a texture-aholic like many of us here in SL!

-why