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Thank you Chohole and Scott for the information ...
Scott ... The recap on where to put things was very helpful in making sure I did have a handle on it. It also told me where to put a Transmap as that one I had not learned yet. So thanks bunches for that!
I did have most of it wrong on what level of gray dose what in my last questions as chohole made clear for me:
Thank you so much as I would have done it backward!!!
I actually just did not make myself clear in what it was I did not understand in the other question. My confusion is based on the white pattern for the texture and the "functions" of the bump and displacement maps themselves.
I know that a bump map and Displacement map are separate image files from the textured template.
I know from last month that they have specific loading locations in DS surface tab.
My question was more pertaining to their "functions" so that I was clear as to how to make them and what I would achieve in the textured image with them when they were loaded into the proper places on the surface tab of DS.
I do believe I am understanding the "function" of the displacement map. How to make one and what should be defined in it, as per choholes explanation of what the levels of gray do. If I find as I work that I am wrong I can always revisit this.
Here is what I am still not able to wrap my mind around.
Gray on the white template dress will make those areas translucent depending on the shade of gray (light to dark) If I am using gray to make the fold lines, then those areas are being designated as semitransparent.
Somewhere in here I have to assume that the bump and/or displacement map changes this designation of semitransparent in one way or another, otherwise the folds would not be defined in the final texture product.
This is what I am trying to understand so that I don't have to do the process over and over till I figure it out.
I have not tried yet to place a texture over the white pattern where I have placed folds .... have no idea if that translates over to the pattern or if I will need to do more. Again the link in the tutorial did not connect anywhere so I have had to learn most of this with experimentation. Sadly, I may need more help when I get to the texturing phase.
Don't put the folds on the layers that are going to make up the transparency map. You only need those on the layers that are going to make your actual dress map, the texture map.
I think you may be getting confused because I made my demo dress in white.
So one texture map for transparency, in sheds of white, grey and black
one bump map using shades of grey to define the bump
One displacement map similar to the bump map in shades to define the displacement
one texture map to add the texture.
So an average textures set will have 4 different maps to build the textures up on the surface of your model.
Some have more, but we won't get into specularity or dedicated reflections, because that is getting quite involved.
Easy way to remember. If its grey the it plugs into the bump channel. If its black and white it can go into Displacement and specular. If you wanna really play around you can add the white which raises the surface to the bump channel or black to increase the depth of the bump and not have to use the displacement channel at all.
My displacement maps tend to have black white and shades of grey. to give nice gently smooth displacements.
I prefer displacement to bump, mostly, it is more realistic, but that I guess is a personal thing.
Again Chohole thanks for being so patient with me. I know it can be terribly frustrating trying to explain something you do from years of practice to someone with no clue, so I do appreciate the perseverance on your part!
I think it is starting to make a some sense to me with your post above, and I actually might be doing it right.
I am going to continue building the different maps for my pattern, then I will show examples of each and you can tell me if I actually did get it ..... if that is okay with you.
Frank thanks for the input, and I copied down that info as well .... but it is baby steps for me right now and I don't want to get confused trying to understand a different way. BUT ... once I have this down pat I will try doing it the way you described because the more I learn the better I will be.
Thanks so much all of you for being patient with me.
So now I have a cut orange to go with the whole one, not too sure about the spec map I have though, when I render unless I crank down the specular in Daz Studio it gets way overblown....
lol...and I just saw the post about not getting into spec maps....oops
Here is half of my front skirt design with folds added.
Of the 4 maps you listed (by chohole above) which one would this fall under? And please feel free to critique and tell me anything wrong with it ... I really want to know.
Notes on Bump Maps, Displacement maps and Specular Maps.
For the best quality in DAZ Studio, IMHO, all three of these maps should only be made as 256 color grey scale images. Yes even Specular Maps should be grey scale as they will apply the Strength of the setting by color depth if the Map is loaded into the Specular Strength channel, you then only need to adjust the Specular Color with a basic color added to the channel and not need a map for that channel. All Maps for use in DAZ Studio should be saved in PNG format as it will not lose quality when Copied or Opened and Re-saved in 2D art programs. JPG format can and will degrade from use and saves. Which can cause errors in your maps over time or multiple edits.
The Bump Map in DAZ Studio: This is, in normal use, a Template based map for the item to simulate extra depth on a mesh without altering the shape of the mesh. The Bump map will add shadowing and highlights to a items texture based on the color depth of the map. Lighter area's of the map will appear to rise form the texture and darker areas will appear to lower. The shape of the item does not change, the effect is best seen on areas facing the render camera and will not effect areas on the item that are farther from the render camera. That means your Bumps that raise the surface will not show on areas on sides of items as seen from the camera. The function of the Bump map is determined from the color depth of the grey scale image plugged into the channel. A 256 color map gives a value range from 0, 0, 0, Black in the RGB scale to 255, 255, 255, White in the RGB value. The default FLAT value or in the case of a DAZ Studio the value of the map surface equal to the texture or mesh of the item is 127, 127,127, Mid Range Grey in RGB. All areas with a value higher than 127,127,127 will appear to raise the texture higher from the surface, the lighter the color the more the Bump Map control values in Min and Max will seem to rise. All values below 127, 127,127, or darker will appear to lower into the texture or Mesh of the item as set by the Bump Map control values of Min and Max.
The Displacement Map in DAZ Studio: This is also in most uses a Template based map for a item. The major difference from the Bump map is that a Displacement map WILL change the Shape of the items MESH at Render time. The Function is the same as a Bump map and the values used are the same. The fact a Displacement map does alter, at RENDER time only, the shape of the mesh your Bumps will follow around corners and show in the render from the Render Camera as a raised or lowered part on the item. A big part to keep in mind with Displacement maps is the mesh count of the item. Most Sold and Free items have a high enough mesh division to show good displacement. For primitive items made with the Create Menu in DAZ Studio the number of divisions will effect how well a Displacement Map works.
The Specluar Map in DAZ Studio: This one is a bit different. Here your values from 0,0,0 to 255,225,255 will control the strength of the effect shown on the texture, ranging from zero to full 100%. This can also be controlled with the Value set in the Specular Strength channel. You can control with a Specular Map the areas of your texture that will respond to your lighting as to how hot or cool the areas on your map will be.
This is a Brief over view and I hope this helps you the User as you design your textures for this contest.
LOL, that was for Firefly, really
I struggle a little here, because I use Poser and most people here will be using DS.
firefly43:
Hi there, here is a small hint about your last draped/folded map: to make it even more real looking, consider a progressive softening/blurring of the drapes towards the upper and right edges. Doing so the '3d' effect will kick in smoothly from the top and become stronger towards the bottom, and the right edge will look more natural as well (or even seamless in case you plan to mirror the map).
Wow ... finally got some time to work on things again and popped in here. You folks are all really great! I know it sounds like sucking up but believe me it is not. It is sincere, you folks amaze me every time I need help.
Jaderail .... Wow thanks so much. I am just one of those anal retentive folks that analyze and over think things, and need to understand why things works so it will sink in faster. It dose eventually sink in without it (which means there is hope for me ... LOL) but it takes much longer. Your explanation just opened up a whole new understanding of what I should be doing with these. I cannot say thank you enough.
Chohole ... again your patience is so appreciated. My only excuse is it was late when I posted and asked which map. After reading my post .. even I went ... "really I had to ask". Thanks for not saying it!
Kesh ... Thank you too! I was so focused on the folds I never even looked at the edges. I will work on those and take them through some softening and blurring.
I really would like your opinions though on the quality. I know as a beginner I am not going to kick out stuff that looks perfect, passable will do for now, and I am rather thick skinned so critiques are not going to rock my boat, just give me fuel to do better, and more input to use later.
Once again thanks to everyone who takes the time out of their busy days to help me!
So here is the overall scene I'm working on, not too sure if I'm happy with the pattern on the dress, but I do like my transparency map on it, I'm getting some weird shadows on the outer edge of the blanket, but that might be a modeling issue, I'll have to check that out in Hexagon as well as figure out the splotchy specular on the stockings...
@Jaderail thanks for the info....not that it matters a lot but for some reason I thought the mid value was 128,128,128...again not a huge deal at all, but good to know, and know I have an idea of why my spec map wasn't working for me.....
@Chohole, no worries....right now if I looked at Poser I would be lost, not that I don't sometimes feel lost in Studio :-)
@Firefly43...I'm jealous of your folds....so far my attempts have looked....well....bad. Great start on them.
Okay that does throw users off and it did me as well. I believe the value 0,0,0 is NOT included in the calculations.
0 to 255=256 different values, divide 256 by 2 = 128. As noted by many, BUT if you open a PA Bump or Dis map and use a color picker it is set to 127 for Flat. Once I figured that out it all just started working for me. So as far as DS and 3DeLight go 127,127,127 is the value to use.
Thanks!! Yours looks good too! Wish I could slap them out that fast!
But I can't take all the credit. Without the help of Chohole and Jaderail I could not have gotten that far. Unfortunately I had to start all over again because when I copied and reversed and then set the two maps together to make the skirt front it looked stupid.
Gravity dose not go sideways .... Duh ... So I had to start again and redirection the folds downward. I also had to rework my design to make the downward flow look right. Almost done with the new one, and I even discovered some new tricks by experimenting. Now that I am getting the flow I am hoping the remaining pieces go faster.
Lot of work, but I am having so much fun with starting from the scratch and creating my own pattern! Hopefully I will finish before the contest end .. LOL.
The learning experience has been awesome ... and now that I know how to make the other maps I am hoping when I'm done it will look fairly decent for a beginner.
Edit
It did not occur to me because, personally, I figure I am the last person to tell anyone how to do something ... LOL. But if you are interested I have no problem sharing with you what I am doing to make the folds, if it will help you. I am not sure how anyone else does it, and most was just me playing around with different tools, so it may not be the right way. Let me know if you'd like me to share and I will be more than happy to.
This is looking great so far!
Just thought I would post an update. I know I need to retouch one of my textures…ok might have to hit all of them up again. But my main issue is I am getting this weird seam on my textures. Thing is I went past the pattern on all of them but it is still showing up…Under the arms and upper thigh. Help. please.
you probably already did this, but if you're using a bump or displacement map try going past its lines as well....been caught a few times myself
JesterVII, are you still trying to fix those seams? If it's not caused by the bump or displacement as mcjam24 suggested, check your shading rate (on the render settings)...sometimes texture seams will show up if the value of the shading rate is too high. Do the seams still show up if the shading rate is 0.2 or lower?
Also, is that the Supersuit? If so, make sure the suit's morphs aren't causing those lines (in other words, maybe parts of the suit are pushed in or out more than they should be).
Shader rate fixed most of it. The rest is due to my inexperience as a texture artist. I guess thats why this is a learning contest….lol. Thanks Scott
I wish these silly people would stop putting stuff on sale so I could come over here where I need to be......Trish
I'll second that.
And the tweaking never stops...and it almost feels like the time spent on the zipper was kinda wasted....oh well....its still been fun
and with some more work on bumping and displacing
All of these are looking pretty cool. I'm afraid I won't have the time this month to create an entry, but I hope to come back to textures later. Have fun!
Time has eaten up my time as well. Or rather, I can find time to make renders, but I can't sit down and try to get this started with all the stress that is around me right now. I have to admit that I get a bit lost when trying to follow Choholes tutorial, which I assume is mostly because I am feeling as stressed as I do at the moment and I am also not quite as used to my Photoshop as I probably need to be, so like Tobias I will come back with a ... hopefully ... fresh and rested mind later on :)
On another note... Good luck to all of you in here :)
As we may or may not know I am not very good at explaining stuff......That said.....What I want to know is how the computer views and separates this example into clothing....The dragon is a bust way too hard for a first time deal.... maybe later ...I want to make a new clothing set here for this... is it going to be really hard???? Have I picked out something hard again??? Thanks Trish
Well, the PC does not make the clothing from a texture. First a modeler makes the clothing as a mesh obj. Then they select areas on the mesh as material zones like cloth front and cloth back. Then they UV map the mesh, this is a FLAT (most times) image of the Material zones and Mesh of the clothing. That is a template. They then color that template and it's a texture. The PC takes the Texture and UV's or WRAPS it around the MESH because the UV is built into the Mesh and knows where it all came from, and TA DA you now have clothing with a texture on it.
You make it sound so easy
Just like that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2-U8kV2oA0 :coolgrin: