How to make straps look good.

Is there a way to make straps on tops look good on a female? Or just trial and error? I've drawn lines on the templates, and uploaded those to take screenshots. Redrawn, and redrawn. I know they won't be perfect, but some outfits I've seen look a lot better than what I've been making.

Any suggestions?

like you said, trial and errors ^_^ be strong, you will make it.

I'd suggest grabbing the subdivided templates, either Chip's or Robin's (there are links to them in the sticky at the top of this forum), and uploading them as textures. Wear them on an avatar, and take screenshots. Draw your strap lines on the screenshots, and pay attention to how they overlap the various UV lines. Now draw the straps on the templates, making sure to hit the same lines at the same points. With practice, you'll learn comfortably how to replicate what you see from the 3D model on the 2D template.

Thank you. I did that.

And were you successful? Do tell.

Straps can be a real bugger. You usually have to set them farther out towards the shoulder than you might want, or closer in to the neck. There's a nasty crease in the mesh where the polygons that move with the upper arm bone meet those that don't, causing an overlap. It'd be interesting to hear people's opinions on what placement they prefer. Do you like them placed so that they mostly avoid the crease or would you rather have them placed more realistically even if part of the strap gets hidden with certain arm positions?

To save yourself the upload fees, you can view the textures on a model in a 3D app. You can download the SL avatars as obj models from the Developer Resources page, and then use some free 3D app to view the model with your texture on it. You'll still be doing trial and error to get the texture to look right, but at least now you'll be doing the trial and error outside of SL and only uploading the texture once.

i found this list of packages http://www.amazing3d.com/softfree.shtml

what packages are people round here using?

Milkshape is a good one, although the list is mistaken; it's not free, it's like $15. I'd recommend LithUnwrap, the free precursor to Ultimate Unwrap (although if you're cool with buying it, I'd really recommend Ultimate Unwrap, since it has automatic updating of textures which will save a lot of time doing the trial and error.) Lithunwrap is no longer supported, but you there is still an old download of it here:
http://files.seriouszone.com/download.php?fileid=198

Y'know, tonight I might write a tool for this purpose. It'll be very limited to just previewing textures for SL, but I imagine SL clothes designers would find that very useful.

Yeah, I've been playing around with it. Ended up without much time so far this week. I should really be able to get a handle on it over the weekend. But for the few things I worked on, they are looking better. Just a few more tweeks! Thanks

Thank you so much for the suggestions on the software. I will definately look into those over the weekend.

Hello I have been playing with MS#D for YEARs back since the old unreal tournament days (pre 2000) and love that program. But you know I havent messed with it since I start Sl...

Question: will Items made in MS3D be compatible with second life?

Objects made in Milkshape are not compatible with SL. I was suggesting it as a way to preview your textures on the SL avatars without needing to go through the rigamorole of actually bringing your textures into SL.

And as I also said, I'm working on a standalone previewer for that purpose. I'm away all weekend so can't work on it, but I should have it done early next week.

If I can have them closer to the neck without destroying the look of the garment, that's the way I go. Otherwise, I tend to stick to the natural position. The trickiest for me is to get bras right, because straps tend to make or break that kind of outfit.

Well that's what I've done for my grand total of three strappy tops, anyway.

At the risk of lots of double entendres... having played with myself a bit, and my bra straps and other strappy tops, there are positions that partial hide the straps IRL. Some of them causing looping, but SL isn't up for that yet.

I don't make enough SL clothes to comment, but generally I like ones with straps in the "right" places and accept the limits on the mesh hiding bits sometimes. Just like I accept (most of the time) that my shoulders and buttocks aren't pointy when flexed, although in SL they quite often look that way.

I find that most of the distortion takes place on top of the shoulders. I usually see it like the skirt fronts, something we have to live with. Since, I have clothing from the top designers in SL that do the same thing as my clothing do, I don’t feel so bad. I do find that the skinner the straps the less they distort.

It did disgruntle however, a week or so ago. I drew up this beautiful Roman-Greco looking deep V top that had coiled-twisted shoulder straps. After spending hours to get the shading to look real, SL flattened it into a mess. Oh well, I am getting better at drawing in RL.

Jen

I do realize that in certain poses, the straps are going to get distorted. But in just a general pose, arms down to the sides, my straps were very zig zaggy. Looking at other people's work, it wasn't like that. So having uploaded several line samples, I realize that I cannot draw a straight line on the 2D, it actually has to be zig zaggy line in order to come out straight in 3D. I've actually been tweeking the lines a bit, and they are coming out straighter in 3D. YAY!

Just to let you know, I wrote the little previewer app and started a thread for it.