Baking tutorials?

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if there were any tutorials regarding the creation 'baked' textures? I know they'll probably involve tools I don't have yet but I'd love to get a starting point to make my builds more vibrant.

"Baking" textures refers to the process of saving computer time by calculating various texture attributes (color, lighting, etc.) once, and then saving that informaiton with the object, or making it into a UV Map, so that in subsequent renders those calculations can be skipped.

It doesn't really apply to SL, since all the textures here are UV Mapped anyway, unless you are using a 3D program to create the textures, and baking them to an image to use in Second Life.

In other words, if I were doing an animation in LightWave that used a complex Procedural texture I might bake it to save render time. But there aren't any Procedural textures in SL, and no complex textures either, so there's nothing to bake, even if there were baking tools in SL.

That being said, I do bake textures in LightWave to use in SL all the time. Different programs bake things differently; but in LightWave, it's just a matter of using the Surface Baker Shader on the Shader tab of the Surface Editor, choosing what you want to bake (Color, Diffuse, Illumination, and/or Shaders) and selecting the UV Map, resolution, and image type to Bake to.

This allows me to do things like automatically shade stuff, use procedural textures, and change the mapping for the Avatar; then use these things in Second Life.

I made the pillars for the Texture Tutorial build that way, by simply modeling a pillar in LightWave, setting it up with a marble texture and lighting, and then burning the texture onto a cylindrical UV Map that I slapped on a cylinder in SL. Instant, seamless, shaded pillar.

So it's well worth doing, if you have the tools and are comfortable in your 3D programs. But to the best of my knowledge, only the higher end are capable of baking textures, and those tend to run into the hundreds of dollars (or more.) LightWave just got a huge price drop, to $795 US, though (which is about half what it's been,) so it might be affordable soon.

It's not something I'd get if you are just doing SL for fun. But that's me.

Hope this helps!

LOL! Candide posted while I was writing this, and I just glanced at that thread. So, yeah. You can just fake the shadows and things in PS or your favorite graphics program too!

(edited to add last line.)

Absolutely Sinful Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Submitted by: Marsha
http://cookie.allrecipes.com/az/bsltlySinflChcltChcltChipC.asp
Photo by: SDREDFRED

"This recipe was given to me by my grandmother 10 years ago. They were always a HUGE hit at work pig-outs and now my family loves them! A wonderful soft cookie that is incredibly chocolaty." Original recipe yield: 2 dozen.
Prep Time:15 MinutesCook Time:12 MinutesReady In:40 MinutesServings:24 (change)

INGREDIENTS:

1. 2 1/2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
   
2. 1/2 cup butter
   
3. 2 cups all-purpose flour
   
4. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   
5. 1 teaspoon baking powder
   
6. 1/4 teaspoon salt
   
7. 1 1/4 cups white sugar
   
8. 2 eggs
   
9. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   
10. 2/3 cup sour cream
    
11. 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
    

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In the microwave or over a double boiler, melt unsweetened chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally until smooth. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light. Mix in the chocolate mixture until well blended. Stir in the sifted ingredients alternately with sour cream, then mix in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
   
2. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
   

*cough* RGB colours/hue/sat/trans etc are proceedural *cough*

But I know what you mean

Well actually later in the thread Neil Protagonist explains in great detail how to bake textures using a 3D program so it's not only about photoshop.

Ah. I didn't have time to read the whole thread. My day job just took a week off an already tight deadline. (I thought I had until the 11th to finish the whole job, but they decided that they needed more lead time for their part, and it all had to be done on the 2nd. )

So I just skimmed. Really quickly. And now I have to get back to work.

Thank you everyone! You've given me much to consider, particularly you, Robin. I will do some experimentation and will be sure to post it if I create anything worthy.

Thanks!