The more I build for IMVU the more I challenge myself to find ways to create textures that include elements that I might be able to use in a variety of ways. For the recent Santa's Workshop bundle, I created a holiday themed brass machine texture for several of the Steampunk inspired furniture items.
Although this example includes a pine tree motif that I wanted to use sparingly, it is the top 1/3 of the texture that had the most promise for re-use. The bands of metal with the brass bolts become something that I could wrap around a myriad of edges, and plaster on surfaces. I even isolated the bolts for accents here and there. Whenever possible, try and find ways to stretch your texture budget... your customers will thank you for it, even if they don't understand the technical gymnastics you went through to make sure their IMVU experience remained a smooth and un-laggy one. ~Don
11 comments:
Matt, would you consider giving some hints and tricks to effectively creating seamless textures? I know a lot of texture artists struggle with this. ~Sean
Good idea sean. I would love to see that as well.
Great suggestion. I will work on that in the coming days.
It's ironic that most (cheap and cheerful) derivers don't want meshes to be textured 'properly' because it makes their life more difficult precisely because of what you said in that posting ;)
Katsbits,
That is interesting... tell us more. What defines "cheap and cheerful"?
~Don
A good 95% of developers want a quick and easy route to getting content into the catalogue, and, the number one 'complaint' meshers receive is that their models are hard to texture. So, meshers separate out their image slots or develop thinking that's how things are done because others in IMVU do it (I've observed an odd phenomenon in IMVU that can be summed up with the phrase "Walled Garden", but that's another issue).
The No.1 reason for this being said is that they don't understand the 'proper procedure' (there is one, as mentioned in the blog) that's used to make content for anything to do with interactive media...
... and that's because that 95% of the user-base have no prior experience with nor do they come from a 'gaming' background (modding, modelling, level design etc.. etc..), they simply don't understand the reasoning behind 'proper' optimised texture usage and good well managed poly count as a result, even, sadly, when it's explained to them - 'quick' and 'easy' overrides 'correct' and 'optimised'.
It's a harsh 'truth' about the way content is produced in IMVU, that personally, I'm trying my best to fix with 'education' (certainly from a Blender point of view).
Katsbits,
I agree with you, and your site is proof that you are dedicated to helping developers by bridging that gap between the experienced game modder and the passionate beginner.
~Don
Don, may I ask what you did with each surface? Did you cut out & resize small chunks of the texture or recreate those small bits using the same colours? I ask because I've been told off for doing just what I 'think' you've done there....chopping up/playing with a single texture & using it in as many different ways as possible. I love playing with textures & doing 'odd' things with older ones that might seem a bit dull etc....what i've found tho' is that it helps me to create a co-ordinated look even tho' my 'look' isn't anywhere near what some might call the 'norm' & I prefer the pics that books give me to those that come from games simply because they're entirely between myself & the author & there's nobody to come & say "Oh no, it's not like that!!" & so on....I think when it comes to creativity, imagination should be given free reign & in virtual environments we don't have any of the physical problems that've held the sci-fi film industry back, for instance, as we don't have to make it...we just have to be able to think of it & draw it....bit like Escher really }:D (Escher famously drew impossible rooms & buildings, some of which were used in videos for Mike Oldfield's Tubular bells album - he's worth a Googgle anyhoo)
Hi bou,
That is exactly what I do. When designing a texture I often think about how I can use it in multiple places. Depending on the game platform, developers will make demands on their artist that limit how they build their meshes and apply their textures, but where's the fun in that? Although we have to keep in mind the limits of both the engine and the CPU power of our intended audience, that shouldn't constrain out artistic explorations. This is our opportunity to really test the limits of the medium and see if we can bring the richness we find in traditional illustration to the 3D environment. Although one could argue that designing in a low poly environment is a little like recreating the Mona Lisa in crayons, I say, “Bring on the crayons!” and lets just see what we can come up with!
My texture folder is an absolute nightmarish mess because of exactly this. Okay, perhaps a slightly different tangent than you were talking about? But similar process. I am constantly taking bits of this one and adding to that one. I always tell myself I need to go in and section things up, as I have some very clearly defined categories (ie, wood, stained glass, leather, etc). HOWEVER, having them all open and staring at me when I go in for a particular texture forces me to try things I normally wouldn't have thought of. They're all sitting there shouting "pick me! pick me! no no no pick me!". To the point that absolutely every mesh I derive from ends up with some really oddball textures thrown on it...'just to see'. And I'm never sorry. One of 3 things usually happens...1. I find something surprising that works perfectly, or will with just a couple tweaks. 2. The funky texture didn't work, but it showed me a quirk about the mesh that saves me a lot of time when building the new texture. 3.Perhaps it didn't work at all, but it gives me an idea of something that WOULD that I wouldn't have even considered had I not tried it.
I think there can be a fine line between ease of use/flexibility and redundancy in meshes. I can understand people wanting certain things separated out into different textures so they can make one little change to get the look they think they want. BUT, if you're simply adding the same wood or plaster texture to 10 different areas, that all meet, and all NEED to be the same...what is the point? It makes no sense. People still ask for it. I too appreciated it when I started out. Now I find it annoying. I find it so much more satisfying when I manage to tackle a 'proper' mesh, AND do something different with it. It forces you to look at it differently than you would have if you were just painting it by number. Challenge = inspiration. And inspiration is a very exciting thing.
Re:'Bring on the Crayons'..I've seen some amazing things done with crayons!
Re: seamless textures- my technique isn't perfect, but I do a LOT of copy/paste/flip-ing. The details of exactly how differ with each type of texture and how much repeat it already has, etc. But that is the basics. Having seams on a surface that should be perfectly smooth, especially, is a huge pet peeve of mine.
~Nightfahl
I also make my base textures so they can be used for multiple purposes/meshes. Don't let any one tell you Bou that being a professional and having a 'library' is in some way not correct.
I think katbits raised a good point - I work with LilithOTF a lot and she creates her maps for people like me, who like ultimate customisability and many people stay away from her meshes because they can appear 'complicated' ..thus equalling sales loss -that's hard to compete with. I occasionally post some mini tuts in our group to show members just what they can achieve if they have those options but the 'game' is somewhat 'split' now and customisability is a niche market. I love imvu's meshes a huge amount now because of the way the maps are set out - I used to find this cumbersome at one stage but now enjoy the multiple options in one map. I likewise LOVE LilithOTF's meshes because she offers opacs on just about everything she can. But again, I do recognise personally that I love those things because I am at the stage where I don't mind being challenged for what I see as a good cause - yummy textured products :) Many others who are starting out don't have that motivation or energy yet - the trick I think is inspiring that goal. If only a place like this blog was *the* content creation area...maybe that goal would be in sight. But I think its up to all of us to inspire that :)
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