Textures and stuff

DestroyerGR

Hey everyone!I am glad to meet you all..I started modellin' 5-6 months ago,and i think i am getting better But i really s*ck when it comes to texturing..I resentrly created these 2 items :

This item was created to match the original thor's hammer and to be given at void ^_^
And i have this little item

But i cannot rextures these..So if anyone is willing to texture them,i can send the high and low models,and we will get 50/50 when the item is over..
Tell me your opinion about these items too,but dont judje me too hard :]
I am glad i became a part of this community

DestroyerGR

So is everyone that busy,or nobody likes them? )
Come on guys!

Spudnik

Both of these items have way too much small detail. It's going to be absolutely lost in the final model. Instead, focus more on the shape and silhouette, making sure that they are interesting and readable at game resolution/game camera distance.

The hammer for example has a very uninteresting silhouette and relies on the detail too much, and therefore it wont really work well in game.

DestroyerGR

Spudnik wrote: »

Both of these items have way too much small detail. It's going to be absolutely lost in the final model. Instead, focus more on the shape and silhouette, making sure that they are interesting and readable at game resolution/game camera distance.

The hammer for example has a very uninteresting silhouette and relies on the detail too much, and therefore it wont really work well in game.

Thanks for the feedback..I tried to make it look like thor's hammer..
I tried to texture it myself and as you said the final thing was bloody wrong..I couldnt see these small details..I will improve this items..Thanks!

DestroyerGR

Need some item ideas :X

Spudnik

Putting runes on everything does not make it more interesting

reallymadmaveric

I agree with Spudnik remember that the files will be compressed If you are working on x4 textures remember that they will be compressed down. Things below 3 pixels can become lost. Use most of your polys to make smooth interesting shapes really smooth out any curves( if there are not enough vertices on the curves you will notice that in game). You can paint in the finer effects but don't overcrowd it or you end up with a mush of colours once its imported.

DestroyerGR

Thanks for all the comments..What lacks of this community is tutorials..Since i am a new modeler i have been looking for a guide on how to create the ''ropes'' in the grip of every weapon as seen in the most models..
I am trying to make items but i lack of ideas..Some 2d pics would help!

Nannou

Dont forget the wiki and the tutorial thread.

vlad_the_implyer

DestroyerGR wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments..What lacks of this community is tutorials..Since i am a new modeler i have been looking for a guide on how to create the ''ropes'' in the grip of every weapon as seen in the most models.

What lacks in this community is the ability to actually look up things they want to know.
I did some simple wraps here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=173155729#135550
Just look through the pictures and videos, you'll get the picture.

DestroyerGR

Quickly made a sword for abaddon(?)(Ignore the bottom of the handle)Still have no clue about texturing

motionblur

As Spudnik pointed out: the most important thing - especially on a top down game - is a strong silouhette. Sketch your ideas out before you jump into ZBrush. Look at your idea from a distance or scale it small enough so that it's only 2 - 3 cm in size on your screen.

If you want to prototype in ZBrush: set your Dynamesh to a very low setting and do NOT increase the deinsity unitl you would be ready to put your item nearly as is into the game. Only then can you start detailing. If a shape gets lost when viewed from a distance you should consider either enlarging it or merging it into another larger element in your design.

The most interesting weapon so far is the twinblade in your first post. Try to go on from there and don't be afraid to exagerate.

DestroyerGR

motionblur wrote: »

As Spudnik pointed out: the most important thing - especially on a top down game - is a strong silouhette. Sketch your ideas out before you jump into ZBrush. Look at your idea from a distance or scale it small enough so that it's only 2 - 3 cm in size on your screen.

If you want to prototype in ZBrush: set your Dynamesh to a very low setting and do NOT increase the deinsity unitl you would be ready to put your item nearly as is into the game. Only then can you start detailing. If a shape gets lost when viewed from a distance you should consider either enlarging it or merging it into another larger element in your design.

The most interesting weapon so far is the twinblade in your first post. Try to go on from there and don't be afraid to exagerate.

The point is that i need some guidance from ppl with more experience than me,and so far i have received none..

hopgood

It looks to me like you have used a sculpting brush for your Runes on the blade there. You should consider using masks and an inflate deformation to get some smoother edges and more control over the shape or reduce the Zintensity on your brush if you choose to keep going that way.

A problem with newer users with Zbrush is they want to rush in and start adding all of the smaller details like runes, damage and such first. You need to start thinking in steps when you work. Start forming the shapes at a lower subdivision level and then refining and continuing to work on them as you move up. If you instantly jump into working at a high subdivision level to add surface detail, it will end up "blobby" like your sword blade is.

DestroyerGR

hopgood wrote: »

It looks to me like you have used a sculpting brush for your Runes on the blade there. You should consider using masks and an inflate deformation to get some smoother edges and more control over the shape or reduce the Zintensity on your brush if you choose to keep going that way.

A problem with newer users with Zbrush is they want to rush in and start adding all of the smaller details like runes, damage and such first. You need to start thinking in steps when you work. Start forming the shapes at a lower subdivision level and then refining and continuing to work on them as you move up. If you instantly jump into working at a high subdivision level to add surface detail, it will end up "blobby" like your sword blade is.

Well,i did this blade in a rush,i created a better looking one..
But the problem with me is that i cannot get the details i create ingame..I bake the normal maps using Xnormal but nothing,the weapon appears as if it has no details or cuts(which i added)
One more thing is that i cannot texture well,and thats why i keep asking for a sort of collaboration.W/o textures i cant really look at the actual item,and i cannot improve at all..

GhostDetector

The details are gone because they are too small to see ingame(it resizes to 256x256). That's why you don't bother on the very small aspects of the mesh.
If you can make the details bigger, do it.

DestroyerGR

well i've created many testing meshes but the problem is that i cannot complete the texturing process..
so any help or guidance will be appreciated,and since i am a quick learner it wont take you long guys..

GhostDetector

The best information i can give is to just look at the dota 2 guide they provided us.

motionblur

DestroyerGR wrote: »

The point is that i need some guidance from ppl with more experience than me,and so far i have received none..

If you look for good information and guidance on design in general this might be the place for you: http://www.ctrlpaint.com/

Sukotto

To get a nice clean base to start texturing, I normally bake 3 maps:
-Green channel of an Object space/bent normal map
-AO map
-Cavity map(this can be baked in Xnormal or take your normal map into Crazybump and make one there)
-Additional bakes, such as a point light bake, can be made too, heres a link for that: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=183672148

hopgood

You can also check out the picture I posted in my thread for the set up I use in photoshop. The pointlight tutorial above is pretty similar to what I use and all the other maps are achievable through Xnormal.

DestroyerGR

Hm,maybe one of you can record the process they are doing on their next item..It will help a lot!

identikal

DestroyerGR, you're asking us to spoon feed you content. Like vlad pointed out earlier there are HEAPS of videos in the stickied tutorial and guides thread already that do exactly what you are looking for. Look through those videos and learn the different workflows people use until you find something that works for you.

There's also the Google Hangouts for dota asset makers and quite a lot of people share their screen so you can get a live feed of them working which is quite interesting and a good place to ask questions.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122452&page=8

Please do your own research and homework too otherwise you wont learn anything.

DestroyerGR

Well i am trying to,but every video in the tutorial section stops right before the texturing procedure..

DestroyerGR

Any texturer who's willing to collaborate?

hopgood

I'm no expert on the Zbrush materials but I have heard you should avoid using the default Red Wax one. It doesn't give a good sense of depth so many of the details you make wont be an accurate representation of how they come out in the normal map.

Clyptic

hopgood wrote: »

I'm no expert on the Zbrush materials but I have heard you should avoid using the default Red Wax one. It doesn't give a good sense of depth so many of the details you make wont be an accurate representation of how they come out in the normal map.

^This.

There are plenty that come with Zbrush, but you can find some really nice ones Here

DestroyerGR

Yeah i am not using the default one either..I just opened the Ztool in a hurry to take the screenshot.

If anyone is interested pm!