Texturing Tips for the non artistic?

[PlasmaDynamics]

I am really bad at this, so I want as much advice as I can get. I have Photoshop CS6 as my art program if that helps.

[joedude69]

I don't condone stealing IP buuuuuuut look at other peoples textures and get your mind going.

[frizzank]

I condone giving, take a look at NovaPunch and FASA and tell me if anything in there might help. If there is something in particular you are trying to do just pm me I will see if I can help.

[Jahulath]

Hmm I'm bored so I'll run through the VERY BASIC technique I use to make near passable stockish maps. All this information is gathered from several sources and whilst it is not a great way to do things it has been working for me.

Firstly I use Gimp, it's free and I'm used to it so we will stay VERY basic even though PS can do oh so much more (like Random seed your brush for example) but that's not what I'm doing.

So I start with Grey - r155 g155 b155 (

) and use that as a background. You will want to add a tiny bit of noise to this with a filter like HSV Hurl.

Next I add new layer and start painting shadow by hand (something not too dark as it wants to be subtle) and messily with my mouse until I'm happy that all concave bits are done. I use an airbrush tool but I don't worry about nice clean gradiants. This layer will need a major dose of gaussian blur like 20pixels or more for a 1024* image!

Next, new layer. About this point I have looked at the UV enough to have an idea what I plan to do with it. I only put detail in blocks so either pick the Magic Select tool (less good due to pixelisation on any angled selection line) or the free line marquis tool and trace out some choice blocks from the UV map. Make sure your new layer is selected (to transpose your selection from the UV layer to your blank layer) and then use the bucket tool to fill the selection with the same grey as your background (r155g155b155 more "Magic Grey") you will be very pleased to see nothing change. Now with those blocks selected run "Bevel" and see your new panels spring forth from the background!

Now back to shading - Add new layer and add detailed shading around the panels you have made. This will also need a 20pixel Gaussian blur and please note the effects of putting this layer above or below your panels as you can get a good effect either way.

Nearly done! - Add new layer and add highlights to the edges as they need it, I use something light but still grey (I think it's ~r191g191b191) and I try to keep this layer to the bare minimum.

Last layer - I have been tending to use "splatter" as a brush to just add some gruffness to the leading and trailing edges. In my minds eye this is caused by small impacts like bees for example and just acts to messy it up a little.

Putting it all together:

I am a messy git so I will tend to have layers everywhere and none of them named - it's not good practice but I'm not being payed so hey ho. You will want to get your layers arranged like:

Background - 1

Panels - 2

Shading (both layers) - 3

Detail - 4

Having them in this order makes it super easy to vary the opacity on your upper layers until everything looks right.

Tinker with it and you are done! I tend to try and brand stuff with a JonzCo'ness but JonzCo is such a new company that their corporate style is still in flux and we don't even have a proper Logo!

Tips: Keep it subtle, even the very tiny noise you added to your base layer will be really visible in game so bare that in mind.

If you are planning to make a Normal Map then you can make a functional one with the filters available in Gimp or PS, just remember to save as copy and don't use the shading or background layer you added noise to!

There is no such thing as "too many layers" but there is such a thing as "crap I can't adjust that without effecting this"

I think that's all - I don't think I make good textures but I do make consistent poor ones which is a start. The process I have described is literally just what I do, some is robbed off Neil Blevin (Soulburn3D) who I encountered last year when I was abusing 3ds max and Vray.

and I went back and found it for you so you can get horses mouth goodness. Edited August 14, 2013 by Jahulath

[Van Disaster]

Random tips. I'm strictly an amateur.

* Use layers. Lots and lots of layers. Layers for everything! Learn about blending options and adjustment layers, and masks. Group and label them so you can find the right one later...

* If you can't seem to get a particular effect, browse some art sites ( even DeviantArt ) and see if there's a brush that will get nearer.

* I'm not going to talk about actually creating textures because there's tons of tutorials around who can do it way better than I can. Get to know some texture sites, you might find some tileable texture that's 80% of the work already ( but beware licensing, etc ). Given we're creating outdoor textures look up some guides to weathering too, quite a few of them around also.

* Your texture is probably oversaturated and too light. use an adjustment layer at the top of the layer stack rather than flattening and adjusting.

* Turn your brush opacity & flow way down, and patiently build rather than trying to do it all in one stroke.

* Do it in a new layer!

* If your exporter needs a flattened image - the dds one did last time I used it - record a macro that will save the file, flatten it, open the exporter, and unflatten it again no matter if you exported or not. Reflexively saving the flattened psd will have you punching things.

* The path tool is awesome. Less awesome than doing it in Illustrator, but I don't know how to use Illustrator.

[Ohfive30]

I think most of these tips have been covered already but I'll list mine anyways.

- Make extensive use of the layer system.

- get to know your layer effects, inner and outer glows along with drop shadows can help add depth to mechanical parts if used with some subtlety.

- Build up a texture on a part as it would have built up in life. for example, start with a base colour / texture then add markings, then add shading and weathering.

- build up paint slowly with a low opacity and / or flow. never go 100% unless it's a base layer or some sort of markings painted on the part (eg. serial number, lines text etc.)

- look at reference for the type of surface you're trying to simulate, if it's weathered metal, find some images of weathered metal to look at. if it's shiny paint, check out some pictures of shiny paint.

- make use of the brushes in photoshop, photoshops customisable brush system is very powerful.

[Dispatcher]

If you UV wrap using a 3D modeling app, you can paint your model from within the app or export the image to an image editor. If you are doing stand alone textures without skinning a model, make your textures tile-able, or seamless. Most image editors have that functionality built in.