Texturing

swarmedia83

hey all. A primary hinderance i've had in modeling has been texturing. By no means am i some expert in modeling yet (though i dont think anyone can truly master it, just get better each time), but ill always feel my sculpts/models will be incomplete if i forego texturing.

ive been holding off on it because theres just too much technical stuff that goes into it. I feel now though with my demo reel class looming closer its necessary to learn this.

So ultimately my question, which is the best resource to learn this? i mainly use zbrush then retopo and move on to headus then maya. I would prefer polypainting but im not sure how to incorporate that into maya and it look proper. Also for skin texturing how would i go about that in a zbrush to maya workflow? is it better to just do the skin in maya? or is there a way to polypaint it and maintain a realistic look?

I apologize for questions which are all over the place, but im just that confused when it comes to this whole process. Im surprised i passed my texturing classes to be honest. Any input/advice would be incredibly appreciated asi plan to incorporate the knowledge i gain indefinitely.

Thanks again!

Synaesthesia

You're in college studying modeling and you're just now learning how to develop textures right before your demo reel presentation? You've got a lot of catching up to do. It'll be difficult at first but I imagine you'll figure it out.

Before you start using programs like Headus, I would master - or at least have a great working knowledge of the UV tools in your software package. If you've barely done any texture work yet, search around for some beginner texture development tutorials. There's lots of books that cover the subject, and Digital-Tutors has some great videos that will help you.

swarmedia83

Well like ive mentioned i took two classes in texturing, and ive really tried my best to look up info on texturing here and there. i did however focus heavily on getting better at sculpting/modeling as i tend not to retain much information if my focus is scattered.

ive looked in digital tutors though im not sure how much is actually covered and how much is overlooked. As for books, im very visual and its the best way for me to take in information. I tend to misinterpret information if im reading it only.

swarmedia83

Another aspect ive come to realize i dont understand as much as i had originally thought it the concept of baking. I thought originally it was just getting a normal map from zbrush, connecting it on a material in maya, change some settings and thats that. I dont believe thats right. Seeing as the times ive done it the model sometimes has seems from the normal map that shouldnt be there, and its just not clean.

Sorry if im not explaining myself properly, but the who subject of texturing/rendering is perplexing to me.