Texturing tutorials

[smellyjelly 0]

Well, I'm almost finished with my first model, (a car    ), though I have no idea how to texture. If someone could provide me with a complete tutorial, from making the textures to applying them then I would really appriate that.

In the mean time I'll be searching google.

[fabiantronc 0]

Select the face than you will texture, press A button and draw a box around the face, load your image (paa) when you have finish it and want apply the texture to image press B button and the texture will be in the face.

Greetings

[[aps]gnat 28]

Find info in part of Lesson 1 (meant for OFP but similar)

http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/brsseb/tutorials.htm

But keep in mind, ArmA addons expect all the different parts of the texture to be on 1 or 2 main files, not 1 file = 1 face like OFP

You are likely to be able to start with a TGA file (O2 will convert if for you).

[smellyjelly 0]

So that's it? Is that "UV Mapping"?

How should I get the texture? For someething very large, like the side of my car, is it best to manipulate a picture from Google to fit? Then for small peices like the windsheild wipers or pedals I should just make my own?

Also, [APS]Gnat, I'm not sure what you mean by:

Quote[/b] ]But keep in mind, ArmA addons expect all the different parts of the texture to be on 1 or 2 main files, not 1 file = 1 face like OFP

You are likely to be able to start with a TGA file (O2 will convert if for you).

Finally, is there any reason to choose TGA rather than PAA or PAC?

[abs 2]

You need to UV map the addon first. I'm not sure what it's like in o2, but I use 3ds max and then export the model into o2. I do all my work in 3ds max, including uv mapping.

Once you've got it mapped, you can then begin texturing. What Gnat was saying is that you shouldn't have more than two or three different texture files for your model.

No reason to choose TGA over anything else as far as I know....but I save as tga in photoshop, load the tga file in o2, and when I load Buldozer, it converts the files automagically!

Abs

[Sennacherib 0]

i use this topic for my question because i search also a tutorial

someone would have advanced tutorials to create plastic: for a weapon and for the magazine. thx

[Praelium 0]

You need to UV map the addon first. I'm not sure what it's like in o2, but I use 3ds max and then export the model into o2. I do all my work in 3ds max, including uv mapping.

Once you've got it mapped, you can then begin texturing. What Gnat was saying is that you shouldn't have more than two or three different texture files for your model.

No reason to choose TGA over anything else as far as I know....but I save as tga in photoshop, load the tga file in o2, and when I load Buldozer, it converts the files automagically!

Abs

So I'm going to take a wild guess here, and say that to texture I do something like this, and UVmapping is just defining where each peice goes?

What types of mapping are valid for the textures? Stuff like Bump mapping, Normal mapping, ect, and how do I do it?

[Messiah 2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping

simple explanation of UV mapping. Its possible to do in O2, but other programs are far better designed to achieve the same result, and thus are much quicker and easier to use (although I uv unwrap my stuff in O2). For efficient texture panels, and efficient addons, you really do need to do this.

Normal and specular mapping is the norm (as well as diffuse too of course). For normals your can either hand draw them (greyscale images where a mid tone grey represents a level, black is recessed, white is extruded) and use the nvidia normal map plugin for photoshop to create the normal map. Google normal maps for some tutorials.

[Praelium 0]

Hmm, is it possible to model and texture in XSI 6 demo version and then import into Oxygen?

[blackjack-VS- 0]

Yes you can Praelium. Export the mesh from XSI in .obj format. then import it in o2.

[Praelium 0]

So what can I do in XSI rather than Oxygen?

Making the model (obviously)

Texturing

Animating?

Making LODs?

Then I'm assuming that stuff like defining like where the wheels touch the ground, player positions and all that stuff must be done in Oxygen.

[blackjack-VS- 0]

XSI is a professional tool and o2 is a ofp/arma game content creator/editor. So there are hundreds of features/techniques that you can't do with o2, because that is not its purpose.

If i remember the demo version is fully featured for 30 days, but there's also XSI Mod Tool that is a "light" free version of the software. You can model, texture (UV mapping) and animate. The render features are disabled for sure.

My advise if you're in the will of trying XSI for serious, is to get the Digital Tutors training kit " Introduction to XSI 6.0". It was free for those who own the software, and it was in the website to, not sure how's it is now.

BTW today 7.0 version was released live in the web, but that's another topic...

[Praelium 0]

Well, my brother has been using XSI for a few months so I thought I'd give it a try. I asked him about version 7 and he said he didn't care, though I would be interested in knowing what was changed.

[max power 21]

Well, my brother has been using XSI for a few months so I thought I'd give it a try. I asked him about version 7 and he said he didn't care, though I would be interested in knowing what was changed.

The ICE system is new in version 7. This is a node based programming environment where you can basically make XSI do what ever you want if you have the logic skills. You can also save your programs, what they call ice trees, and upload them to an online community, and also download anything anyone has uploaded. You can also lock them so you can sell your ice trees to other users, I think. The ice tree interface is exactly like the interface for the node based compositor or the render tree. It promises to be super powerful, and I hope that it's a great success, because I've seen it in action and it's like nothing I've ever seen (possibly because I've never seen Houdini).

This ICE business shouldn't really affect your decision as to whether or not it's a good program to model with, unless you wish to create your own pipeline or tools.

[Praelium 0]

This ICE business shouldn't really affect your decision as to whether or not it's a good program to model with, unless you wish to create your own pipeline or tools.

In other words, it's not worth the switch?

[max power 21]

This ICE business shouldn't really affect your decision as to whether or not it's a good program to model with, unless you wish to create your own pipeline or tools.

In other words, it's not worth the switch?  

Based on ICE, I would say no. But maybe you can go onto the ICE repository or whatever and find some uv unwrapping tools that don't suck bobo. I hate unwrapping in XSI.

[blackjack-VS- 0]

I would say that any version of XSI would work for you...From what i understand you are just starting in this 3D stuff, so every extra button will only confuse you. So any 3D package of any version would work for you. Just choose one software and go all the way with it. Avoid switching softwares at the middle of the learning. Once you learn the basics of every chapter, then you can change softwares...

About the unwrapping, indeed XSI can be a bit laborious, but there are some nifty tricks not so obvious that work wonderful.

I've only found them, after dozens of hours around the same difficulties...when i got tired i went to the web and found some great videos explaining the tricks. Now i don't use any 3rd application for the unwrapping.

[Praelium 0]

Well, I've been making mods for a long time. I started with making an island for GTA3 using sketchup, but stopped because of an issue with the collision boxes. Then I moved on to making maps in CSS using Hammer, and eventually got bored and haven't messed with it since. Nothing was finished or ever released. infact, everthing I did has been deleted.

Now I want to mod Arma so I tried Oxygen. It was really simple and easy to learn, but in the end I felt that there weren't enough features and too few tutorials. That's why I want to try XSI. Yes, it's much more complicated than anything I've tried before, but it also has a lot of support, so there are countless video tutorials I can follow along with to learn.

Another plus is that with Oxygen, I can only make models for BIS games (I assume), but with XSI, I am able to import my mods into any game that supports it.

Right now I'm following a video to make a pistol, and I'm defintally going to watch more when it comes to texturing and optimising.

[iceman77 18]

Hi all! Mabey iam blind or just ignorant but isn't this thread about "tutorials"..if so i haven't seen any for Arma posted here..everytime i get tutorials pertaining to OFP there's always a "catch" i guess you could call it..in that you can't go exactly by the tutorial because SOME things are diffrent..iam a noob here and it would be easier for me if I could get my hands on an Arma only tut... ...

Regards,

  Iceman