First try to create seamless handpainted texture

Kyuzo

Hi all!

This is my first try to create seamless texture and amm... first try to create texture at all. I tried to make it like Blizzard art style, but looks like something went wrong. I'll be appreciated for any advice
here are the texture

and render on model


i'm not an artist at all, just started modeling and got confused with awfull look of my models with/without my textures, and decided to spend some time learning drawing. Right or wrong way i have choosen?

PS: sorry for mistakes, i like dog, can read but cant write properly

Butthair

It's a very nice looking texture style, and good idea to go with something that's cool and successful. A bit yellow and bright, maybe tune down that color a bit, the texture can always be tweaked in engine through the shader and such.

So, I'm guessing this was made in photoshop, maybe all or maybe some, not too sure, but I see some smudge brush action in some areas (could be zbrush too, dunno).

I would imagine you've used the Offset filter to fix the tiling seam issue.
The only thing that makes it stand out is the vertical that you have, it's quite easy to pick that pattern out because it's unique. It's still really good for a first attempt. (Me, not so much <.<)

PogoP

You have too much shadow in your diffuse map. Don't try to fake lighting, let the normal map do that for you. You should be able to easily generate a normal map from that diffuse.

Also, what do you mean by, 'i like dog'?

Kyuzo

Thank you for response!
ahm, sorry, everything was done in photoshop with smudge tool,

2PogoP. this is a problem of all IT people, i can easily read in english, but have problems with write and speak sometimes google translate assist's me :poly121: (dog looks at you, u can think that he understand everything, but can't speak )

Fake lightning... i tried to make texture in blizz-looking style, something like this


but when i trying to copy style, i fail, and better results obtained when i work without reference, i can't get result like shown in this post, maybe i have to practice more and play more with colors, and also try to examine more Photoshop tools, not just Brush and Smudge...

The only thing that makes it stand out is the vertical that you have, it's quite easy to pick that pattern out because it's unique.

you mean areas marked here?

if yes, there are was last pieces that i made and didn't looked on end result, and didn't seen this when made grid have to in futher

I would imagine you've used the Offset filter to fix the tiling seam issue.

No, i just resized canvas from 1024 to 1500 with guides placed like on images below, made grid copy and just paint stones. After completing 1 side by vertical and horisontal i just cut by guides and move to proper place on parallel side.



http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/1226/stonewall0102.jpg

Wells

using offset will simplify your life greatly. set it to a hotkey and do it often to check seams and tiling artifacts. it will allow you to focus on painting, and not on copy-pasting parts to insure tiling

your texture is a little odd... if this is meant to be cobblestones, they've got huge gaps between the surface you walk on which would make for a terribly uncomfortable road.

pattern looks pretty good, but a few parts stand out in the pattern. mostly the two largest stones you have right next to each other dead center. i think they need to be separated - they're a common error when making tiling textures without constant spamming of offset. main features painted in the center of your canvas with the tiling edges being 'filler'.

There is a serious need for some color in this as well, but I'm guessing this exercise is more about the tiling aspect and workflow.

Jeff Parrott

What Sectaurs is saying is really good stuff. I'm not sure the material.

Look at actual reference along with the WoW reference. I twill help a ton.

The color definitely needs to be worked in. I didn't do that in the paint over I was trying to rush to get this done. But Shadows should have some color, same with the highlights. Maybe Purple shadows to balance the yellow stone.

You have a real lack of contrast in the texture as well. Make sure your highlights and shadows have a large range between them.

You're lacking surface definition on the stones themselves. Start to work in some surface changes instead of just flat color.

Fingus

Also your color scheme is pretty much monochromatic. Remember: Cool colors for your shadows, warm colors for your highlights.

Kyuzo

Sectaurs, jeffro
thank you for helpful response

@Sectaurs
omg, i released what Offset really is, my tiling technique now looks like perversion :S

your texture is a little odd...

it meant to be a kind of wall, but i painted it without any reference, by my own feelings, when i try to look at blizzard textures i get confused and result looks too bad... have to try looking on actual references, last vacation i made ton of shots of different surfaces

This exercise was to paint seamless texture and to paint at all. Had painted first stone for about two hours and last for smth like 15 min. I tried to add some details, but after looking on paintover... ahm :poly132: have to work more.

@jeffro

The color definitely needs to be worked in.

You mean adding some colors to composition for not flat looking? i tried to make this by smudge different tones of same color. As i said, i'm not an artist and last painting exercises was about 12-14 years ago )) If you can recommend something to read about colors, color combinations and shadows, i would appreciate. (atm looking at http://lookcolor.ru/, site in russian about color combinations)

I thought that shadows have to be same color as surface, but more dark and desaturated..

You have a real lack of contrast in the texture as well. Make sure your highlights and shadows have a large range between them.

Meant that shadows atm too dark, but mid-shadowed sides too light? as i can see in paintover.

and by surface you mean cracks, bevels and bulges? really have to look at real world references...

and one more stupid question, what tools mostly used in texture painting? I found that Smudge and Brush are most useable tools for me, i try to paint stones one by one and each stone in single layer (stone layout on another)

Jeff Parrott

Yes adding colors to the texture will help a lot. Making shading the same tones of the textures makes it look very flat. The yellow is fine, maybe stick with complimentary colors and work in some purple shadows.

Cracks, and chips really need to be worked in. Just look at real world reference for ideas.

Some people use smudge to push things around. When I do that textures look muddy. I usually just put base colors in then eyedropper select colors to blend.

Kyuzo

I'm back with a little update, this is maybe first try where a got something that i want to see, but still bad :S painting with brush is more complicated than work with only smudge :S
Here are only work with details

And also i still didn't understand how yellow stone can have purple shadow, i spent couple of hours while painted shadows, but it looks awfully... it's need to be a ~10% opacity purple brush strokes on shadowed side?

Jessica Dinh

Yeah, don't use completely opaque purple, that will definitely look bad haha. Just brush some purple down lightly on the yellow and then color pick from that and use it to paint.

Wells

i have paintover fever. and there is only one cure.



i did this pretty quickly, but i hope it gives you an idea of where you could take this


I think this bright, super saturated yellow you've chosen is an extremely odd choice, and will be hard to make look good as a stone. so first thing i did was go to variations and tone it down.

then i defined the shapes and volumes. you had some odd, undefined shapes that weren't reading correctly so i tried to address those, keeping in mind where the light source is and what colors i wanted in the shadows. i also tightened up the cracks - you had a lot of random ones that didn't make much sense. i kept them sharp and angular to help sell this as being a very hard material.

there was a lot of long edges that looked uninteresting so i went through chipping and adding angles

and for the lulz, i did a sloppy pass adding highlights to pull out the forms and add a bit of style to it.

Jessica Dinh

oh wow, that is a really good paintover! I do agree with Sectaurs that your yellow is really too saturated haha.

Baddcog

Decent start, and a lot of good suggestions above.

But yeah, the first things I noticed were
1: too yellow, just nothing but yellow.
2: no real darks or lights.

I think that one spot really stands out in the til e too because there are several vertical lines in a row, it really grabs the eye.

Typically shadows are generally blue, not purple, though with more cartoony stuff you could get away with a more purple hue.

Kyuzo

Thank yo for responses? i really appreciate it

Sectaurs, oh man, it's a way i have to go... atm looks like long way ) Very cool paintover, or, i'd say total repaint. I have to learn how to define shapes and volumes... so... practice beats all.

About randomness of cracks and too saturated yellow.. i tried to make different type of cracks on one single object without any system. and choose of color was a bit random...
But this does not change the fact that I should focus on end result and work more on details.

Again thank you all for your posts and advices, i'll come back when the result will look closer to Sectaurs )

Jessica Dinh

Just look at real rocks and see how the cracks work - there will be some kind of sense to it, even if there isn't a completely set system. For example, if its cracked on the top, near an edge, the crack will probably follow down the edge to the side of the rock too.

As for the color choice, I wouldn't be completely random about it. If you are painting rock, look up typical rock colors and use those for your base first, then you can throw some yellow in the mix if you want. Or whatever color you like haha.