Going out on a limb, suffering from total confusion!

Hey all, dont usually ask a lot in forums, but I think I have reached the end of my rope. Is there anyone willing to give me some good pointers on doing shiny leather or mechanical/skinning textures? I have spent countless hours trying to figure this out, and still a blank. I wanted to hopefully use this information to make better avs and such. Kind of hard to do when you cant texture to save your life. Please, Please, email me I'm even willing to pay for advice, in ll$, anyway, its [email]slade.onizuka@gmail.com[/email]
Thanks, and much respect.

Slade, I'd be happy to help, but I'd rather do it here than vie E-mail. Discussing it on the forums helps hundreds of people who may have the same question. E-mailing helps only you. The reason I spend so much time answering questions on this forum, beyond the fact that I have a helpful nature, is that I want SL to look as good as possible. The more people are able to read or participate in these discussions, the better the world will look. In other words, I'd rather teach in public than in private.

Now, as for your questions, could you be a little more specific as to what you need? Since you said you "can't texure to save your life," I'm assuming you need to start with some very basic pointers before you get as advanced as making something like a convincing piece of shiny leather clothing. If we try to put the cart before the horse, I can just about guarantee you that you won't get anywhere. Does "can't texture to save your life" mean that you understand the how-to's but you don't feel you're very good at it yet, or does it mean that you don't yet even know where to begin?

In other words, how basic do we need to get here? Do you understand how to use the templates? Do you understand how to use layers, channels, the various painting tools, etc.? Are you using Photoshop, PSP, GIMP? What version? Are you otherwise artistic, meaning can you draw or paint in RL?

The answers to these questions will greatly affect the ways in which I'll be able to help.

Chosen, good point, I was not trying to get private info, I just dont get a chance to check forums very often, but I do believe this way is best. The more people that learn along with me, the better. I can use the templates to an extent, a lot of cut and paste or rough brush work, not too sure about the ability to use layere, though i imagine it cant be too hard. channels however, I have no idea.Also, I dont have a clue about the painting tools...I'm using photoshop, and every now and again i might do some sketches. I used to draw and paint alot, but that was years ago. I am considering buying a wacom tab as well to help the process. When I said I couldn't texture, well, I cant. Nothing from the ground up at least.
Thanks for Replying as well, looking forward to learning from you.

I'd recommend getting yourself a good thorough tutorial based book on learning Photoshop. There are tons of them out there. When starting from scratch the first step is to learn your tools, what they do, and how they work. After that tutorials can be very helpful and show you how to combine the tools for different effects.

For replicating different types of materials, studying photographs can help a lot. The most important aspect of a material is the way ambient and specular highlights behave on the surface. Metals and shiny materials have high specularity (in other words, large highlight areas). A smooth shiny material will have specular highlights with a hard edge. Rough surfaces will have specular highlights with a diffused edge because the roughness of the surface causes light to scatter across more of the surface. Metals like chrome are defined almost entirely by what they reflect of their environment and specular highlights.

Have you checked out Robin's Texture Tuts located in Benton?

They are the most comprehensive and helpful I have seen in world yet. (The Linden's must agree they asked for a copy for the teen grid )

Robin is a RL artist and have YEARS of experience in both virtual and traditional art.

Check out her website, specifically the SL section to learn more.

www.robinwood.com

http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/SL-Tuts/SLTutSet.html

Good luck to you!

Maybe I am misunderstandind somthing, but when I hear about textures such as, for example, "shiny PVC or leather" I wouldnt use textures at all... the trick is to paint some of the areas of your clothing as if they were reflecting light... that would do the trick. So, fill your cloth area with black, pick a light brush and slowly outline the "shining" areas.. that should od it.
Hope that somehow answers your question, but it also presupposes tht you really get intimate with PhotoShop... or Gimp

Thanks Anna, Ill give it a shot, but first i really need to get intimate with the photoshop program...but I think that will help.

Ill give that a try here in a litle bit. thanks again.