Texture question

i just started making outfits using PS, and im wondering where i should get my textures.. do i find some on the internet.. or do i get textures from SL (if so, how do i do this)

thanks

I acutally make my textures in photoshop. Most of them have just been from rendering clouds, then playing around with filters. I've even taken real photo of things and used filters on them. For instance, I took a close up of a tire tread, and applied a few filters and made it metalic looking, and it became the bottom portion of a wall.

So it just your imagination.

im having difficulty finding textures that look good on clothes. i tried findinf a leather texture online and it ended up looking like the back of a crocodile, cant find any sleek leathers

For clothes, the texture is where all the creativity and skill happens. Have you looked at the clothes making tutorials? If not give them a read and perhaps bring a photograph of an actual clothing item into Photoshop and tinker with it.

Have fun.

For a simple base texture I take a base grey RGB 128 128 128, and add random noise at 50%, Greyscale it then bring it back to 24k colors, and then add motion blur. Tint as desired, or add a light effect and then mirror horizontally and vertically (take the piece and make four mirrored tiles so they match up when you tile them) and you have a nice metal base. Or just do a websearch for texture tutorials.

Here are some great sites/tutorials on how to make textures:

http://www.rnel.net/tutorials/Photoshop

http://www.tutorials-photoshop.com/abstracts/fabric-folds2.php

Here is a great place to find different types of brushes:

http://www.obsidiandawn.com/brushes/index.shtml

You may just want to try out different stuff within PS like the texturizer, or playing with the noise/motions/distortions as previously suggested.

If I can't make a texture I really, really want for a specific outfit (or don't have the time)...I just purchase it

Enjoy!

~Ari

You need to read every post on these forums about textures. You will learn a lot.

For example, sleek leather is not a texture. It is more like a drawing of sleekness. That is, the sheen and the shadows need to be artfully drawn on. (Not that I can do it, but I know that is what needs to be done.)

For me, the art of finding, manipulating, and creating textures for my clothing is both the largest battle and the greatest accomplishment...as well as the most time-consuming portion of the process. Since I too am a beginner, I'll share some of the things I've been doing:

1. Search the 'Net for fabric store sites, trim, lace, leather, wallpaper etc. Use Yahoo and search for the keywords in the "images" category, so you can see a preview of the picture. Then filter to "large" size images. Some of those photos (assuming they are free to use) are great sources for base textures. With enough manipulation they can be modified for color, size, scale, and then tiled seamlessly.

2. Renderosity is a great source for textures that I use often...some of them I use as-is, though many become baselines for new custom textures, as above. Many people sell fabric and lace packs, trims, jewel packs, etc. for under $6, for dozens --sometimes more than dozens -- of textures. Almost all are merchant packs so free to use and resell your items as long as you don't just re-package the texture pack.

3. Try some of the other stock photo sites, and/or search for the keyword "textures." This is sometimes a more expensive approach though, because a single texture can cost a dollar...or many dollars. I usually only resort to this when I have something VERY specific I am looking for, and nothing else will do. Not usually necessary for fabric textures.

4. Got some old fabric or trims lying around your house? Scan them in using a scanner, or tack them up on a board and take a digital photo of them. Scale and then create a repeating tile out of them. Lots of work, but extremely satisfying...and definitely gives you a unique texture source.

Anyhoo...good luck and happy browsing!!

Oh...one more thing to mention...when you find a fabric or other texture you really like, it can often have it's hue changed so you end up with several different-colored versions of the same pattern. If you use Photoshop, be sure to learn how to use Adjustment Layers and the Hue/Saturation, Brightness/Contrast, and other image adjustment tools. This was one of THE most useful things I learned in PS, and it's saved me hundreds of hours of work. This is especially a MUST if you plan to create clothing designs in multiple colors to resell.