help with building/sculpted prims

hello

i know a little bit about building but i dont have much experience with sulpted prims.
i have some pretty cool animations and i bought a few full perm sculpted furniture packs (beds and sofas) on slexchange to figure things out but i find myself not even doing the basics right.

as i learn much faster practicing instead of reading im looking for someone who would like to help me out inworld, just the basic stuff how to use the right textures on sculpted prims and how to make a sculpted prim myself and apply a texture to it so that the builds that i bought have my name as creator. someone who can awnser my questions and show me how to do it.

eventually i would like to create items myself but for now that just too much too ask im affraid

thanks, lesley hyde

What 3D modeling software are you using? While the same basic principles apply to all, specific techniques vary considerably from program to program. It's not possible to know where to steer you without knowing what software you're planning to use.




Perhaps you haven't thought this through. It would be disingenuous, not to mention disrespectful, and arguably illegal, to have something you bought, WHICH WAS MADE BY SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS NOT YOU, have your name on it as the creator. That creator field exists for good reason. The person who made the item originally deserves credit where credit is due.

That said, I've been suggesting for years that there should also be a Modified By field, in addition to the Creator and Owner fields we already have. Ideally, there should be a full mod history. If you put a new texture on an item, it should be noted that you did that. At the very least, we should have a Textured By field, since obviously not every object is modeled and textured by the same person.

But the system is what it is. You shouldn't be trying to, or even appearing to be trying to, take credit for other people's building work. If you want people to know you retextured something, put a notecard in it, or put a comment in the description.

Now, if you really, really, really want your name to be on the thing in the Creator field, even though you know it shouldn't be there, then technically you can. Simply link the object to another prim. If you made the root prim, then you'll show up as the creator. However, all anyone has to do is inspect the object, and they'll get a full listing of who made each individual prim, so they'll know instantly that you only made that silly little cube embedded in the center, not the whole thing. Most people will guess the reason that cube is there is that you're trying to take credit for work that's not your own.




Too much to ask? Why on Earth would you say that? Don't sell yourself so short.

You said you want to know how to make sculpted prims and apply textures to them. That IS creating items yourself.

thanks for your awnser, my response below


What 3D modeling software are you using? While the same basic principles apply to all, specific techniques vary considerably from program to program. It's not possible to know where to steer you without knowing what software you're planning to use.

at the moment i only have been looking in this forum and slexchange too see that there are a lot of programs available. so maybe someone can tell me which program is easy to use
for beginners. i have a little bit of experience with photoshop but not too much, so im really pretty much blanc
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Perhaps you haven't thought this through. It would be disingenuous, not to mention disrespectful, and arguably illegal, to have something you bought, WHICH WAS MADE BY SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS NOT YOU, have your name on it as the creator. That creator field exists for good reason. The person who made the item originally deserves credit where credit is due.

ok let me explain this, ive bought some full perms sculpted furniture packs with maps and textures which are made to use in your builds. Its parts not full items and the creator tells in his notecard:Image maps are included, generate each sculpty, so it says that YOU are the creator!, so that people will not contact him but me when they have questions about the builds. so its not my idea to just copy but more use parts from his builds and modify or learn from.
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i thought to start out with these pre build parts instead of creating all myself
hope i make sense

No such animal. There is a steep learning curve for all. Whatever program you pick, learning to use it is going to take time and commitment. There's no way around that.




In that case, you're basically trying to jump straight to the middle of a book, without even having learned the alphabet yet, let alone having read all the beginning chapters. I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but it's the only truthful one there is. Don't put the cart before the horse.

First, learn Photoshop by doing 2D projects before you even think about texturing. Learning to create digital artwork at all, and learning to create textures for 3D objects are two different things. The latter builds upon the former. It can't go the other way around, no matter how talented or capable you may be.

Second, forget all about sculpties until after you've learned the basics of traditional 3D modeling. Sculpties are oddballs. They don't work the same way most other models do. If you're already a competent modeler first, then understanding sculpties is a cinch. But if you don't have that kind of experience, you're almost guaranteed to be all kinds of confused. You won't know enough to know what you don't know, if that makes sense.

Again, if you want to do this, it's going to take time and dedication. It doesn't have to be years, but it will be several months, at least, before you're somewhat proficient. If you can make that commitment, you'll do fine. This stuff really isn't very hard. But if you try to take it out of order, you'll trip over your own feet at every turn. There are no shortcuts, period.

Bottom line: patience, Grasshopper. Take it slowly, one step at a time, just like the rest of us did, and you'll do just great.




Ah, let me apologize, then. If the creator actually WANTS you to have your own name on the stuff instead of his, that's a whole other thing.

Just rez a prim, set its type to Sculpted, and apply the map. That much, you probably knew already.

As for creating your own textures or modifying existing sculpts, again, those are skills that will take time to develop. You won't have much immediate success. Don't be discouraged by that.

Hate to wade in and contradict, but I sell sculpties and sculpt maps full-perm with the express intention that people be able to use them to make their own products with their names on them as creator. I am fortunate that many people have done just that, and have started and grown businesses in SL. I am delighted to be able to provide sculpts, which are difficult to produce, so people can create and earn their own incomes.

Trying to guilt people into making their own sculpts? Should I make all my own textures, forcing talented texture makers out of business? How about animations and scripts and all the other in-world services I pay for and other people earn for? Why? We don't do this in RL. Why should we start from first principles on everything in SL?

Lesley, if you're using any of my sculpts in your products, please feel more than free to continue. Put your name on your products. Enjoy your creativity.

Read the third and fourth posts in the thread, Rusalka. We've already cleared this up.




Quite obviously, I didn't understand at first the way you and presumably other sellers of sculpt maps are doing business. But after the OP (politely) explained the situation, now I do. There's simply no need for this question.

But since you did ask, the answer is not at all. What I am trying to do is protect the hard work of ALL content creators, including you. Guilt, or lack of guilt, is not a factor in that equation in any way. It's about simple right and wrong, nothing more, nothing less. When a build is the fruit of multiple contributors, all parties involved should be given proper credit. That's all I was saying.

If a contributor doesn't want credit, which apparently you don't, that's different, as I said in post number 4.




Not necessarily. But if you use someone else's texture, you should freely acknowledge that that's what you did. Again, credit should be given where credit is due.

That said, I personally believe a builder who does not do his or her own texturing is only half a builder. But that's just me. Obviously, not everyone agrees with that philosophy, and that's fine.




Those have the creators' names on them, by default. Sculpt maps don't. That's the difference.



Actually, we DO do this in RL. Watch the closing credits of a movie some time, or read the liner credits of an album, or take a look at the construction records of a building. There will be dozens, if not hundreds, of names in each. Everyone who made the project happen, from the principal creators to the assistant who got coffee, will be listed. This concept is hardly new or unique to SL.

As a professional in the field, you better believe I give credit when other people contribute to my projects, and I likewise receive credit when I contribute to other people's projects. That's been the standard way of doing things for centuries.




Again, we already established that that's exactly what Lesley will and should do. Next time, it would behoove you to read the whole thread before you reply.

Chosen is absolutely correct. I see it all the time in RL, I'm not sure where your belief to the contrary comes from. Even online, I see it a lot. Ever been over to Deviant Art? A TON of the resource creators there ask that you credit them when using their work, even if it's just a single brush for photoshop!

And to Lesley, you may not be ready to take the plunge into doing 3D work yourself yet and buying one of these programs, but why not nab a few demos, read the help files, associate yourself with the tools, and begin a foundation so you can begin to work in 3D?

Maya has a great demo, it is fully functional (Chosen, correct me if I'm wrong), but creates a watermark on exports so that you can not use them commercially.

Zbrush has a great fully functional demo that works for 30 days and happens to be a very good price if you decided to buy it at around $600USD for a copy of the full program. I happen to think that if you are coming into 3D brand new, Zbrush is where you want to start. Having said that, though, you must keep in mind that modeling/sculpting in Zbrush is very different from using something like Maya. I do think, though, that one of the many areas where Zbrush shines is its ease of use and just jumping in there and learning through doing instead of having to pour over help files before getting started (I don't recommend never touching help files though lol. Even with Zbrush, you'll eventually run into areas you will need help with, but I was just sayin' that I was able to jump right in fresh into working in 3D).

No matter what route you chose to go, I wish you luck. As far as using sculpties goes, it is so wonderful to be able to create your own. I've been creating sculpties since they were first introduced in world (pretty much), and it is so fun! AND what could be better than having your own unique building set?.. Something no one else has because YOU created it? I think that has a nice little ring to it myself Not to discredit full perm sculpty makers, I'm just sayin'.

There are a number of modeling tools one can use to make 3D models. Blender is a high end free modeling tool. It is not intuitive and requires some time to learn. But, it is free and there are loads of tutorials. You can create anything with it. Wings and Sculpty Space are simpler programs but limit advanced builders, imo.

Photoshop CS4 Extended has a feature that allows you to import 3D models and paint them. The textures can then be used in SL with the model. If nothing else Blender can be used to convert most 3D models to the needed model type for use with PS. (If you are completely new to 3D models then understand that programs like 3DMax, Maya, Blender, etc., save the models in their own file formats. To move a model to another program often requires a file conversion.)

The biggest problems for new sculpty makers is the nature of a sculpty in SL. Sculpties are limited to shapes with a specific number of vertices and faces. That can be arrange in an infinite number of shapes but the count must be right. Also, there is a thing called LoD or Level of Detail. You have probably seen seen things in SL change shape as you move away or get closer. LoD is at work in those cases. It exists in SL because it improves render performance giving you more frames per second, or less accurately said 'less lag'.

To aid in getting models with the right number of vertices Domino Marama has made Primstar a plugin for Blender. See: http://dominodesigns.info/ (free - donation based)

To learn how to use the plugin and Blender for use with SL sculpties watch Gaia's tutorials & videos. See: http://blog.machinimatrix.org/ While there check out JASS (Just Another Sculpty Studio).

MachiniMatrix has several excellent tutorials in video form. You should probably check them out to get a sense of how complex you think Blender and the sculpty creation processes are.

About a year ago, Autodesk discontinued Maya PLE (Personal Learning Edition). So the free-for-noncommercial-use option no longer exists. Maya now has the same trial policy as other Autodesk products. The trial version is fully functional for 30 days, and then it stops working.

While it's unfortunate that noncommercial users of Maya no longer have a permanent free option, for budding sculpty makers this could actually considered a boon. There's no longer any watermark in the renderer to prevent sculpt maps generated in the trial version from being usable. The obvious downside is you now only have 30 days to decide if Maya is for you, rather than forever, but at least everything works for those 30 days. No more watermark, no more restrictions on script functions. Except for the 30-day kill-switch, it's a 100% functional copy of Maya.