Photoshop Textures Question

Please direct me to information on how to create textures in Photoshop (other than for clothes) and then upload them for use on objects in SL.

I'm pretty new to SL, but I've read a lot. I understand that it's possible to create textures in Photoshop and then upload for use on walls, carpets, vehicles, etc., etc. . . . but I have been unable to find a tutorial or step by step instructions. (I don't plan to learn how to make clothes at this time.)

For example, can I take an RL photo of a stucco wall or polished wood and turn it into a texture for use in SL?

Thank you for any help!

Your question is impossibly broad. Asking "how do I make a texture" is like asking "how do I make a painting". The obvious answer, "you make a painting by painting it", doesn't actually teach anything. And it's not the answer's fault; it's the question's fault for not being at all pointed.

If you want the equivalent of "you paint it" in SL terms, here it is, but somehow I suspect this is not what you were looking for:

1. Start with a picture of anything. This can be a photo you shot with a camera, an image you found somewhere (copyright permitting), something you've scanned, something you've made from scratch by using any or all of the hundreds of image creation tools available in a paint program like Photoshop, or any combination of the above.


2. Make sure the image is an acceptable size and format for SL. See the sticky at the top of this forum for a list of usable sizes and formats.


3. In SL, go File -> Upload Image, pick your image file, and click OK. It will cost yuou L$10 for ecery file you upload. The image (now called a texture) will end up in your inventory in your Textures folder


4. Right click on a prim, select Edit from the pie menu. The editor window will open. Click More to expand the editor, and then click on the Texture tab. Use the texture picker to select your texture and apply it to the prim. Use the listed parameters to adjust the texture's placement on the prim as you see fit.


That's the process, but as I said, it doesn't tell you anything beyond the obvious.

There can be no response to "teach me to texture in one forum post", just as there can be no response to "teach me to paint in a forum post". You learn to paint through years of practice, and you learn to texture the same way. Just like any other art form, texturing takes investment of lots of time and effort to get good at.

The real learning process happens as you go by doing specific projects. For example, if you want to make a brick wall from scratch, you'll learn to use things like marquees and/or vectors, some filters, measuring tools, and a few other things. From that point on, you'll know how to use those same tools for any other projects that require them. After you've made a lot of very different things, you will likely have spanned the entire basic tool set, and you will have developed a working knowledge of what all the different tools do. From there, it's up to you to use them for what you want to make.

Search these forums.

Search Google.

Read.

Practice.

The sooner you make your first 5,000 mistakes, the sooner you will improve.

I highly recommend a book called 3D Game Textures by Luke Ahearn.

Seconded. Great book.

Thanks very much to you who replied to my question with so much valuable information. I'm confident now that I can carry out the process. It was good of all of you to take the time to answer.

Take a look at the SL wiki, there is a page with a list of resources to get you started:

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Texture_Tools

Indigo, thank you very much for that URL.

Since we're talking prim textures here, I think it's of great value to go looking for ways to make something tileable, so you can really smoothly apply the image repeatedly over a single surface. Googling "Photoshop tileable filter" sent me to http://www.redfieldplugins.com/filterSeamlessWorkshop.htm, which on first impression, appears to be what you should be looking into. (I haven't tried it; I just use the GIMP.)

I've started toying with doing photography for textures and making them tileable. So far I've determined that use of flash is to be avoided when not necessary. That is, generally avoid uneven lighting over an image that you want to repeat.

Al Sonic, thank you! I can tell that your information about making textures tileable is going to be very valuable to me. I'll follow it up.

Sorry it took me so long to answer.

Also search for programs that do that for you. They are handy in a pinch.