Texture Help on Adobe photoshop

Hi

I was wondering if anyone could help me please with just pointing me in the right direction to how you make textures look very realistic in photoshop.

your help will be really appreciated how you make them look so professional.

thanks

Like so many that have come before it on the same topic, your question is impossibly open ended. There's simply no way to answer it.

You might as well ask "How do you cook good-tasting food?" There's no answer to that. But if you want to ask something specific like "What's a good recipe for chocolate cake?" or "What's the best technique for making Panang curry without scalding the coconut milk?" those would be answerable.

By the same token, if you want to ask something specific on texturing, like "What's a good way to make realistic bark for my oak tree?" or "What's an efficient procedure to make realistic looking plaster for my living room wall?" those would be answerable. But just saying "How do I make realistic textures?" is not.

The bottom line is that there is no magic "make it look realistic" button. So if you really want an answer to your actual question, it is this: spend a few years learning to become a skilled digital artist, and then you'll be able to make all the realistic textures you want. The way you do that is by asking specific questions to get specific answers. Over time, all those little specifics will add up into one big general. Make sense?

A good place to start is with a book called 3D Game Textures: Create Professional Game Art Using Photoshop by Luke Ahern. Follow the tutorials in the book, and you'll learn a ton about procedures involved in making good textures. Actually making them look "realistic" or not though will be up to you as an artist.

easy!! a simple question only needs a simple reply. I can't locate the effects menu if you could tell me please where to click to bring up the options and faders ill die a happy man.

in reply to your type question well how long is a peice of string? its how long mrs miggins cut it! ...after her strawberry sunday she eats every fortnight on wednesday evenings after listening to tina areanas hit "chains" while wearing her favorite bdsm leather sitting on a rocking horse shouting " larger larger larger larger"............of course

If you mean the Filters menu, that would be on top, between Select and View (CTRL T to bring it up if you don't feel like clicking). You can see the whole list of filters/effects there. If you click on Filter Gallery within the Filter menu, you will see all the filters at once and see what each one does without having to apply/undo for each filter.

A lot of times, the filters themselves look like crap on their own but with a little creative use, you can come up with really interesting effects.

Have fun creating!

Yes, filters are our friends

You could also try Googling "Photo Shop tutorials" for any specific types of texture you're looking for (leather, satin, denim) and there are many out there...like this one: http://www.rnel.net/tutorials/Photoshop

Another method is using brushes along with the filters and then changing the blending properties for that layer. www.ObsidianDawn.com has some wonderful fabric brushes just to give you an idea.

Best,
~Ari

Betty, Arikinui thanks! your wicked, cheers for the help really appreciated! Just the info I needed to get me started
take it easy!

Not a book fan, Donnie? Trust me, that game textures book is worth a thousand times its weight in gold.

The best way to make textures look realistic:

* take digital photos of the actual texture you want. Make sure they are evenly and properly lit. If the texture is a one piece cover...you are good to go (other than a few standard levels and contrast manipulations). If, however, you want to make this texture 'repeatable' or 'tileable' you have to search a tutorial for that--it's an art form on its own.

* custom shadow and lighting maps

* corrosion: adding 'dirt' maps (layers) on top of your main texture can add a much needed layer of real-world appeal. Work with the amount and opacity of these maps...use sparingly.

* bump mapping...do this outside of SL...don't use SL's bump feature unless it fits perfectly.

* Hi-lights...how would light reflect from the object in the real world? On those edges, corners, or areas add a specular hi-light to the texture.

* experiment with creating textures in other programs like Maya or Max...and importing the render as a texture. This works well with matching light and shadow maps.


These are just a few examples...swing by my studio (Glowbox Designs) if you want to see examples of these things...have fun creating!

Explain this one. Is there a tutorial for bump mapping and how do we use bump maps in SL?

Thanks

Bump mapping in Second Life is activated via a pull-down menu in the texture's tab. It gives you a few options of bump-style.

I guess it's the only way to get 'true' bump mapping in SL (using your video card), however, the effect is pretty low standard which is why I prefer to create my bump maps outside of SL via Photoshop or Max.

That doesn't explain how to use user made bump map textures within SL, only how to use the default bump maps which I never liked, they never looked good on anything I've ever made.

Guess I should have made it clear that I meant custom made bump maps...

Yes, you made it sound like you wanted to know how to use the SL bump mapping.

As far as actually teaching you custom bump mapping outside of SL...that's a pretty extensive set of tutorials--I can't explain that in a post. I was only letting it be known that it can and should be done.

*shrugs*

I love imagesynth for making textures.

http://www.luxology.com/whatismodo/imageSynth.aspx