Just some Tips I found.

Recently with the new clothing preview I have found out some neat things to help the new starting Clothng makers.

#1 on all the templates do not ignore the green band that says bleed over. (considering some of the older attire that I have in world this is one of the keys I have learned is dont neglect that bleed area)

#2 Bottom templates: If you have a texture that you want for both a top and bottom remember the bottom template texture size generally needs to be 75% of the top template.

3# Pixel Depth: there was a long discussion previously about how SL brings those textures in. Just remember if you have a template bigger than the original 512x512 the texture uploader will resize it and in the process the Alpha channel may no longer match your image creating ghosting. (Always remember to make it 512 x 512 prior to uploading.

#4 Skirt lineup: Remember the skirts do not attach directly to the bottom of a shirt. This is one I cannot exactly describe in words but its one you will have to experiment for your self.

#5 Templates: for the new designer it is best to take the orginal templates from Linden lab and make an avatar with those as the skin. This helps tremendiously with Line up and understanding where and how the textures stretch on clothing with an avatar.

Some may ask why I am posting this but here is the thing. This information was garnered through many trials and errors in the old system.

Pahoa and I have made countless articles of clothing and spent tons of money on uploads out of love for the world.
We enjoy people buying the clothes and being excited with what they have bought. Each time we have learned something new and New ways to fix things.

I hope this information helps and if you ever need any advice in Paint Shop Pro 8 Pahoa and I will do our best to help you out if we can.

Sincerly, Shadow Weaver

I forget who, but someone is making an inworld library of things like this. Maybe make a notecard of it so that the information is available in world?

Good tips, Shadow. Thanks. Just wanted to add something about the minimum bleed area. The only thing filling the entired bleed area does for you is keep seams from showing before the texture is fully rezzed (since the textures load progressively). Once the texture is fully rezzed on the avatar the bleed area does nothing for you. You don't need to fill it to not have seams on fully rezzed clothing.

I agree on this Chip and I should have mentioned that previously when I posted however it is unfortunate though that with some video cards this bleed area can stay semi rezed over a long period of time.

Its true once it rezes its of no value at that point however depending on someones refresh rate on their video card this can show up infrequently..

Shadow

since this is a "tips" thread, I'm new to the place (as of a couple days ago) and am baffled by how people make those "accessories" like wings, tails, wristbands etc...

are these just like, square objects that appear as sunglasses because everything that isnt sunglass texture in the uploaded texture is a black alpha channel? or do you make the items with several different shapes ingame?

Hi Iggins,

The answer is yes. These things can be either/or a combination of both.

If you have an external graphics program like Adobe Photoshop, Paint shop pro, or Gimp, you are set to work with alphas. There are threads around these forums with a whole bunch of alpha-ing tips, including clothing.

You might want to try an in-world Linden class, such as building, texturing, or avatar customization.

fen-