Going from noob to pro...
polycounter lvl 4
Hello forum, I'm "ThaSlimShady" here and on NGSH a.k.a. LoNer1 on ModDB a.k.a. Crystalker on Crydev, for the ones who might recognize me who also have an account on many of these listed sites [Millenia, Garyosan] :P
I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong section ... if that's the case, I'd be happy to transport the text to the right forum, and excuse my English, I'm dutch.
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I already posted a similar thread like this over at NGHS but got little response from the community there. I asked for crits on my textures, got some, but it ended very quickly.
Now, after thinking about it, and scavenging the forums a bit, I want to get into professional texturing. I want to be able to create my own textures from scratch, do things for others, maybe even apply for an Indie development studio if I think I'm good enough.
But, I don't how to get started. I've been texturing various guns and props in different games for fun, I got better, but I feel like I'm not even close to the level on these forums. So I'm here for some help from the "Gods", including racer himself. I watched various tutorials, including his/yours. and indeed improved upon my textures, but I still think I can do better, but I wont get better without some professional help.
[I didn't texture the attachments on these guns]
Please ignore the models, these models are very, very old. The UVwrap on these models is horrible, even I know that
Like shown here in red:
Enfield L85:
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L85 diffuse:
Here is my diffuse (highly compressed so i will have the 100% quality file)
And the original from the game:
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AK74 skin:
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AK74 diffuse:
Here is my diffuse (highly compressed so i will have the 100% quality file)
And the original from the game:
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If you looked over at NGHS you've seen "some" of my textures. I've been mainly texturing weapons trough the years, but now I've started a massive texture project for an old game, I'm guessing almost none of you would know the game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow Of Chernobyl. BAC9-FLCL is helping me with the progress, giving me loads of feedback but I'd like to get even more feedback from the community here, if that's not too much to ask.
And if any of you have some links to tutorials which could help me, I'd be happy to read trough them and study them. I think I've reached the age [16] where I should get off my lazy *** and do something productive, instead of re-texturing the same weapon 100 times without any big improvement. I think if I want to get serious, I should get critism of serious people, no matter the consequences / hard criticism ill get, because I'm 110% sure I'll get loads of critism on what could be better with my textures.
I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong section ... if that's the case, I'd be happy to transport the text to the right forum, and excuse my English, I'm dutch.
--
I already posted a similar thread like this over at NGHS but got little response from the community there. I asked for crits on my textures, got some, but it ended very quickly.
Now, after thinking about it, and scavenging the forums a bit, I want to get into professional texturing. I want to be able to create my own textures from scratch, do things for others, maybe even apply for an Indie development studio if I think I'm good enough.
But, I don't how to get started. I've been texturing various guns and props in different games for fun, I got better, but I feel like I'm not even close to the level on these forums. So I'm here for some help from the "Gods", including racer himself. I watched various tutorials, including his/yours. and indeed improved upon my textures, but I still think I can do better, but I wont get better without some professional help.
[I didn't texture the attachments on these guns]
Please ignore the models, these models are very, very old. The UVwrap on these models is horrible, even I know that
Like shown here in red:Enfield L85:
--
L85 diffuse:
Here is my diffuse (highly compressed so i will have the 100% quality file)
And the original from the game:
--
AK74 skin:
--
AK74 diffuse:
Here is my diffuse (highly compressed so i will have the 100% quality file)
And the original from the game:
--
If you looked over at NGHS you've seen "some" of my textures. I've been mainly texturing weapons trough the years, but now I've started a massive texture project for an old game, I'm guessing almost none of you would know the game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow Of Chernobyl. BAC9-FLCL is helping me with the progress, giving me loads of feedback but I'd like to get even more feedback from the community here, if that's not too much to ask.
And if any of you have some links to tutorials which could help me, I'd be happy to read trough them and study them. I think I've reached the age [16] where I should get off my lazy *** and do something productive, instead of re-texturing the same weapon 100 times without any big improvement. I think if I want to get serious, I should get critism of serious people, no matter the consequences / hard criticism ill get, because I'm 110% sure I'll get loads of critism on what could be better with my textures.
Replies
http://wiki.polycount.com/AmbientOcclusionMap?highlight=%28%5CbCategoryTexturing%5Cb%29
http://wiki.polycount.com/NormalMap?highlight=%28%5CbCategoryBumpMap%5Cb%29
SO! I would ask someone that models and bakes guns for a copy of there shit. I looked in the SDK thread for a gun without finding one, but maybe ask Milenia where he gets he's guns? Then you'll get good bake and all that so that you can focus on textures.
Something that's important is shader setup to. Right now you have all the light information in the diffuse. That is something that could pass in an mobile game, not for current gen stuff. You need to learn how to use normal, specular, gloss and diffuse maps together to create a convincing materials. It's good to read about them, but most of the time it's best to have a look at what other people have done. Just look around in the wiki and search the forum.
Good luck!
Yes, I've followed many, many tuts and watched many video's, including Millenia's vids. But when you're like me re-texturing already textured guns, you dont have the luxe of those 2 maps
Yes! Thanks
Xray, the engine, doesn't support gloss maps, so the only solution is to bake the lightning on the diffuse or hand-paint it, like I do. The engine's originally dated from 2004
And it doesn't support normal normal maps either. Normal normals as in the output you get from Ndo2 or Nvidia Normals in PS. It needs an inverted green channel normal to work, something like this;
Instead of;
And thanks, ill try to find some needy modelers or just people who want to help me out here
it's all about the lighting. don't add wear or anything until you have lighting down.
This exactly, I like painting the lightning on the diffuse. And one thing the engine does well is something I haven't seen in many engine's, namely, adding gloss on the diffuse by transparency of the diffuse, in-game.
So, if i cut the barrel of a texture out, put it in a new layer, put the transparency on 233 or something along those lines, the engine will automatically interpret that as gloss for some reason, or spec. Either way, it adds to the glossy look of the material in-game.
And wow... racer, himself!
Yeah, but he seems to be doing stuff in a sort of stuck-in-the-middle way, models with plenty of geometry but going into a weird engine that only sort of half-supports modern shaders.
I would suggest going all out low-poly with diffuse only
OR
Full on current gen with highpoly based normals, proper spec, gloss, etc. There are a lot of shaders/engines that support this.
Yeah, I already looked at different stuff I'd be needing to do this. I wonderfully got my hands on the CS5 "Mastersuite" something from Adobe, legally ofc. Student license, non commercial for learning purposes I guess.
I was also looking at the Ndo2 Professional pack (I think 1 license is 96$?), seems like a fair deal to me? I mean, it's what the Nvidia's plugin does, but better, right? And, money is not a problem in my case. I already made a ... suitable system for the job with my dad. Its nice to have a dad in the computer business fully supporting me
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So, I have set my eyes on CS6, Ndo2 but as far as modeling programs go, I can't make up if Maya would be better than 3Ds... Many people recommend Maya + Muddbox because of maya's interface ... But I'm more familiar with 3DS (2009 version tho :P) And I've seen that if I want to go even further and make my own Indie or F2P games I'll need ... idk "World Machine" too? The world builder package? Anyone familiar with it? I've seen it in wenda's tutorial over at CGsociety i think.
That's as far as software goes, I thought, if I'd be able to get most of these tools ill be able to create anything in any engine
School might get in the way, but again, if I put equal attention in that it won't become a hassle
[I think] I'm constantly going off topic here... I am just kinda excited...
EQ's 5 step program for great success
1. Model a lowpoly pistol, 1911 or similar: 1500 tris, 512x512 texture
This will teach you basic modeling, uv, and material skills
2. Model a lowpoly rifle, ak47 or similar, 2500 tris, 1024x512 texture
This will refine said skills
3. Model a simple prop, like a grenade or knife with current gen specs, 1500 tris, 512x512 texture, normal/diffuse/spec/gloss
This will teach your hard surface highpoly modeling, and baking skills
4. Model a pistol, 1911 or similar with current gen specs, 3500 tris, 1024x1024 texture, normal/diffuse/spec/gloss
This will refine said skills
5. Model a rifle, ak47 or similar with current gen specs, 6500 tris, 2048x1024 texture, normal/diffuse/spec/gloss
This will further refine said skills
For each #1, you will post on polycount for critique before moving onto the next stage.
For 1-2 the stages are: Lowpoly modeling, UVs, Materials.
For 3-5 the stages are: Highpoly modeling, Lowpoly modeling, UVs, Bakes, Materials.
If you make it through to #5 with 5 finished assets, your abilities will show tremendous improvement. GUARANTEED OR YOUR MONEY BACK.
But first I need to find a Modeling Program ... And idk what to start with. Maybe blender?
If you have experience with Max already I would stick to that, Max is used in the majority of game studios, though not by a wide margin over Maya. XSI would be third, and then there are a variety of lesser apps like C4D, Lightwave, and Blender, and some strictly modeling apps like Modo(though it does a bit more these days), Silo, etc, not to mention the sculpting apps like Mudbox, Zbrush and 3d coat.
Personally I do the majority of my modeling in Modo, and use Max/Maya (depending on project/client) and mudbox for any sculpting work. There really isn't any need for you to use an app like Modo though, I would stick to max to keep thing simple. Sculpting is a whole other issue and I wouldn't think too much about it until you've got the basics down in max.
I believe Max and Maya have educational licenses for free/very cheap.
And I'm guessing adding Vray for model showcase for my portfolio wouldn't hurt? I've seen many models from friends and people over the Internet going trough Vray and they look amazing. Especially with cars and other vehicles.
Ill look into the page a bit, I hope to find something that will not cost me 3000$ aka 2800.- euro's :P
Thanks for all the answers man, when I'm done setting things up ill post again, following your exact steps
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Scarp the vray idea, i cant buy it because im located outside of the USA
Usually its best to display game assets with a realtime shader. 3point Shader for max, Marmoset Toolbag, or Xoluil's max shader are all good options. You get experience using shaders similar to what would be used on a real project, and your presentation is more realistic as to what it would look like in a game (as apposed to using a bunch of fancy render effects that you wouldn't have in realtime).
That indeed is true...
I found a license, "Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite Ultimate 2013 -Student and Faculty Pricing" - 233,70
But that's not free
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Hey man! Who are you? :P