WIP - texturing process

biggest_kid

Hey guys recently modeled this building, its a civilian house for a desert themed map for the UDK. Now i wanted to ask u guys to review my texturing process and perhaps give it some constructive criticism, if you could please.



(All images can be enlarged by clicking on them)

Now here is how i got to that current texture.

-Add the base concrete file to the image, duplicate 3 times, remove any seams if necessary, merge into one layer

-Added the plaster file to the image
-Went into the menu Select > Color Range
-Chose the white color of the plaster

-Pressed delete twice
-Duplicated this edited plaster layer 3 more times and arranged over concrete, merged into one layer

-Reduce the opacity of this newest layer to 50%
-Went into the menu Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation
-Enabled colorize, changed hue to an earthy brownish-red, changed saturation to about 45


So any criticism guys? Any suggestions as to how i can make this better?

Thanks

ZacD

Let me give you a big tip, the most important part of texturing isn't the images you use, its more important to work with the the existing geometry.


Maybe they have clothes that they hang over the door in case of a sand storm, they just unroll it to cover the door. Or maybe there was a dry spell and it started to rain again so their new plant life, or there's some stains and wear from age. High light exposed edges and darken corners.

Quick paint over to give you some ideas.

biggest_kid

Well yeah i havnt started with the more subtle details yet, i am just looking for constructive criticism about my base colour/image work. I also havnt added a normal or specular map yet.

But thanks for the post ZacD, will keep that in mind when i do move onto the grunge effects.

So anyone else? Can i improve on this part of my texturing so far? Is there anything you would change or do differently in the method i posted in my first post?

Thanks

cholden

Don't worry about it. The base texture doesn't really matter as it's the final lowest frequency details. Secondly, there is nothing about your base beyond Google image searching "tan stone". It's everything around it that makes it work; a solid mesh, shading, weathering, sun damage, and so on.

biggest_kid

Oh ok. Well in that case, anyone got some tips on how i can do some effective grunge on a desert building?

ZacD has already told me about lightening up exposed edges while darkening corners. Any other sorts of grunge on a desert building? (Remembering it is just clay, there is no bricks in this building)

And also, how would i achieve these effects? Im not the best with photoshop as you can see.

Thanks

SouthpawSid

this books did wonders for me. It's really good.
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Game-Textures-Second-Professional-Photoshop/dp/0240811488/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275516092&sr=8-3[/ame]

Quack!

That book is long outdated. It's reliance on Photoshop filters gives a false sense of ability and will only inspire knockoffs. Learning traditional art, and religiously following the copious amount of information on internets forums such as Polycount, will simply yield a greater understanding and a more competent use of your skills.

My two pennys.

P.S. I have this book. It was borderline ok 4 years ago, not so much anymore.

[Edit]

It looks like he tacked on a Normal Map section for the 'second edition' which I don't own.

biggest_kid

umm i dont have any money to spend on books as im only a kid sorry guys.

Anyone else?

kdm3d

About your workflow. One of my biggest pet peeves working in the game industry is getting a hold of a texture someone else worked on, and having layers erased, or painted on and collapsed, etc. The BIGGEST thing for me is non-destructibility. Instead of using the erase or delete keys, ALWAYS use layer masks. Instead of merging your layers... well... dont. You can achieve all the effects you need while texturing by keeping layers intact. This way, when you or someone else has to change something, you have the full flexibility to do so without recreating everything. Photoshop has layers... use them:)

About your texture. Research AO maps and how to bake them, as well as normal maps. Those will add 1000000x the texturing you currently have. once you have those in your texture, you can paint your details around them. Adding cavity maps (if you want) and other details... you got yourself a game texture:)

Avanthera

look at the other threads around the forums, look at the polycount wiki,
We dont have any money either, even if we are adults, the economy sucks.
more looking, less asking.

biggest_kid

kdm3d wrote: »

About your workflow. One of my biggest pet peeves working in the game industry is getting a hold of a texture someone else worked on, and having layers erased, or painted on and collapsed, etc. The BIGGEST thing for me is non-destructibility. Instead of using the erase or delete keys, ALWAYS use layer masks. Instead of merging your layers... well... dont. You can achieve all the effects you need while texturing by keeping layers intact. This way, when you or someone else has to change something, you have the full flexibility to do so without recreating everything. Photoshop has layers... use them:)

About your texture. Research AO maps and how to bake them, as well as normal maps. Those will add 1000000x the texturing you currently have. once you have those in your texture, you can paint your details around them. Adding cavity maps (if you want) and other details... you got yourself a game texture:)

Ok thanks for the heads-up about layers, will do that from now on.

And yes i know about normal maps, but shouldnt i get my colour/grunge effects worked out before working on a normal map?
And also, as im modeling for a game engine, should i even bother doing an ao map?

And the main problem im having, that no1 seems to have answered yet, is im just not that good with photoshop. I dont know how to paint details and all that onto my textures. Do i use brushes? Filters? How do i combine brushes with the diffuse so that they look subtle and effective?

Thanks for the help so far guys.

ZacD

You start by blocking in details, texturing is done is passes, first figure out what detail your doing to add, and then once you got anything blocked in, you refine it, you can use a combination of hand drawn and painted stuff along with photos.

biggest_kid

Ok, so what sort of details should i add for an environmental building in a harsh desert environment?

roosterMAP

Well, the desert is known for having a lot of wind. wind = wheathering, holes, that sort of thing. then think of thing pple would use to decrease the effects of weathering on their homes. cloth?

Calabi

One thing that was pointed out to me in one tutorial I read, is break down the material you are trying to emulate.

Write a list of everything you can about the material you are wanting to emulate.

What colours is it?
Are the colours in a predicable pattern or are they random?
What is the texture of the surface? Bumpy or smooth.
Where are the shadows?
Is there dirt?

All the things you can think about that describe the surface.

Then go through each element of the list emulating them as best you can one at a time.

Kevin Albers

The UDK supports normal maps etc, so I'm assuming you would want to build a nice shader texture collection (diffuse, normal, specular textures). If that's the case, probably the first big step to take before starting the actual textures is to create and bake out a high poly version of the asset. Add interesting detail such as the ones ZacD mentioned as part of the high poly version. Use the ambient occlusion and normals you bake out as a key starting point for the final textures.

biggest_kid

Well i have already done a high poly version of the model and baked a normal map from that, though its in a few separate pieces and i have to combine it in a paint program(most likely photoshop) first.

And yes i am planning to do a normal and specular, but want to get the diffuse done before starting these, unless i should do these first for some reason?

Ok so ive sort of thought it out a bit. Being in the desert, this building is going to have a lot of sun damage right? That means cracks. Weathering will cause holes and chunks taken out aswell. And i guess there would also be a bit of dirt/mud build-up in the corners such as where the windows join onto the model.

So thats cracks, holes/chunks and dirt/mud buildup. Now i need to know how to achieve these effects in photoshop. Can anyone help me out?

kdm3d

Normal maps first, than AO and diffuse. Your normal mapped model will give you a guide as to where to paint your detail. If you have exrta ridges or cracks or something in your normal map, than you will want to paint your details based on those. Typically the very LAST thing I do is paint the diffuse map...

The dirt and mud build up in the cracks should be part of you high res bake, the cracks can be or added later in photoshop using crazybump, xnormal, or just the nvidia normal map filter. All of your details other than color need to be there in a "gray model" first, with no diffuse. Than, the color just adds to the illusion.

cholden

biggest_kid wrote: »

So thats cracks, holes/chunks and dirt/mud buildup. Now i need to know how to achieve these effects in photoshop. Can anyone help me out?

In photoshop, select the brush tool (b), in your swatches pick a brown color, and start paiting that in (I suggest) a new layer.

Brushes will be your god now. There's a brushes thread in the tech talk section, you can google tons of free ones or make your own. I make my own brushes all the time based on good reference photos.

But seriously man, no one is going to sit down and step you through this. Most of us learn this by trial and error. Get in that editor and get dirty. Click around ever feature.


I also suggest the eat3d.com dvd's (the earlier unreal texturing one would be great for you. This one in particular would be perfect for your situation;
http://eat3d.com/texturing

biggest_kid

Ok well i will go and do my normal map first in that case, then maybe an AO if my dev team leader allows it, and then ill continue on with my diffuse.

Also sorry i was a bit unclear, by dirt/mud buildup i meant a mouldy effect, not a buildup sorry.

kdm3d

your AO map is typically embedded in your diffuse texture... if they allow you a diffuse, put it in there.