Next gen texturing techniques
Hey guys, I'm looking for a tutorial or some sort of rough guide to get me up and running with todays tech's for texturing. As far as I know you have your diffuse, spec, normal map and sub dermal and all that.
I've been using max for quite a long time (3 years later - Ever since I was thirteen. That is the reason I'm just now looking into the proffesional techniques)
I'm just not exactly sure how to go about creating the specular maps. I know what they look like but not sure of how to make them. I can do diffuse obviously, normal maps, Ambient occlusion but I'm not sure how to do specs. Is there a rough guide with somones workflow or anything?
Thanks again.
I've been using max for quite a long time (3 years later - Ever since I was thirteen. That is the reason I'm just now looking into the proffesional techniques)
I'm just not exactly sure how to go about creating the specular maps. I know what they look like but not sure of how to make them. I can do diffuse obviously, normal maps, Ambient occlusion but I'm not sure how to do specs. Is there a rough guide with somones workflow or anything?
Thanks again.
Replies
Worth a shot if their other stuff's anything to go by.
here we are
http://eat3d.com/texturing
its pretty cheep too
Spec maps control the shine on something, its a mask. The shine in games is a crappy representation of a reflection, normally meant to fake a specific light source. You can sometimes use a color map to tint the color of that shine, but by in large the tint comes from the lighting.
As for how to make those masks, it really depends on the material and the model. Because there are different types of specularity, there are different techniques and tricks that get used. Even within the category of "metal" there is a wide range of specularity that you have to recreate.
The best technique I've seen anyone use so far, is to research the object and recreate it's properties as best as possible. Nothing really makes up for experience and practice, except... experience and practice. There are a few things that help along the way but they're just nudges.
As a general tip, it can help to increase the spec on the edges of objects like on the edges of raised plates on a metal object. Even though "mathematically" the spec should be the same, it really helps highlight the edges and sell the normal map.
Also here is a great walk through for hard surface texturing.
http://www.game-artist.net/forums/spotlight-articles/42-tutorial-hard-surface-texture-painting.html
So once you dig into it more it will be a question of "how do I make a spec map for XYZ object?"
Amen Vig, I been hearing the next gen thing for over 10 years now, never liked it .. Unfortunately .. there is no stopping the next gen .. so it seems :S
LoM, did you check out racer445's weapon creation tutorial? (I'am not 100% spec is handled in there but I think it is). And as Vig said, greatly dependent on the material definition.
(that eat3d dvd looks pretty nice btw)
That's just me, though.
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/cg_education.htm
Specifically this one:
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/metal_and_refs/metal_and_refs.htm
After that, understand that different materials reflect light differently (looking at some photos or going outside is good for this).
Thanks agan tho. : )
Asking for specifics + not knowing what spec is = fail.
Before you start creating, you need to first understand what it is you're trying to create. Until you get that under your cap I suggest leaving the spec pure black.
I'm listening to what your saying, Vig, I don't mean to be rude. I'm gonna read everything you guys have linked.
No, that's my way of thinking too.
By doing diffuse only you force yourself to define your materials manually and put in everything that the texture needs for it to look good, instead of just letting the fancy lighting do everything for you. Once you learn how the material acts, the same stuff you did to define that material can be adapted to work with spec maps etc.
I think a lot of people jump into the new stuff with the fancy shaders and whatnot too soon without actually learning how materials act, or learning any of the basics.
uh-huh. this is art man, use the paintbrush.
best way: paint a diffuse map. then copy this picture into a new one with _spec at the end,
and adjust brightness contrast until you got a nice specular base. then further adjust the parts that will be more shiny, and the ones that won't. all brightness contrast.
but really, if you don't understand how specular works, prepare to be
put very bluntly, your work will look like shit.
also, sharpen is your friend.
You can't create proper specular maps without understanding what specular light is and how it works. Once you've done enough research to have a decent grasp of lighting concepts and theory, then you should try creating some specular maps for a few different materials. At that point people can give you specific feedback, but not before.
Besides, memorizing a process without understanding the theory behind it will stunt your growth as an artist. For something as fundamental as specular lighting you need to learn the theory first and then work on how you apply it.
Fire up photoshop.
Press Ctrl-N.
fill in the height and width with 512 pixels each.
hit OK.
Press D.
click and hold the gradient tool, scroll down to the paint bucket tool, release.
Click anywhere on the scene.
Save as name_specular.tga
Seriously, there is no "knobs and dials" that gets you a spec map. You can quickly make one if you build your diffuse map so that all the materials, wear, etc, are broken out on different layers, so you can quickly adjust each one, rather than needing to paint and isolate them.
were can i find dl link 4 brain app plz tell me!1
Or just use Vig's technique.
plz giev torretns
Mark
fine and all but in this generation we have sort-of advanced machines and on the other end of the spectrum we've got the Wii which is more like the year 2001's news from a GFX-technology point of view. to discern between those we still use the term next-gen all over the office for everything PS3/X360 related. i think it's still valid, no new machines announced anyway. what would a more catchy alternative term be like?
The next console generation hasn't been teased yet but we all know it's coming. Better to drop that problematic phrase now than start getting mixed up once there actually is another generation of hardware to talk about.
http://www.iddevnet.com/quake4/ArtReference_SpecularMaps