Post by Creelien on Sept 13, 2019 9:10:06 GMT
Original post by LucasRaven
In this topic we'll discuss texture editing pointers, the usual mistakes we make when we edit textures and how to avoid them. Feel free to ask questions about how to achieve the result you want. Post your tricks and pointers and we'll add them to the first post (with credit to you of course).
Let's get started.
BM Textures - Base (Color) Maps:
BM textures are the color map of the models. Most of you probably associate them with the word texture.
Example: pl000_majinArm_BM (Nero's Majin Arm)
Let's say you want a red/black color scheme. Here are the usual mistakes:
1. Using just a simple color instead of a texture. This causes loss of detail.
2. Using too bright/saturated (or both) textures and colors. Also using very different and contrasting colors. Let's say you want to combine Red, Green and Blue. This usually hurts your eyes and doesn't look good in the game.
Some BM textures also have an Alpha channel, which looks like this -Link. These alpha channels are always in grayscale and serve as Transparency Maps. The black is the transparent areas and the white - the solid. You may experiment with that - for example gray gives a 50% transparency.
Note: If you try to add/edit an alpha channel of a texture that doesn't already have it (if it's not there or it's white) you'll end up with black instead of transparent model. So keep that in mind.
MM Textures - Specular Maps:
MM textures are these so called specular maps. Basically they determine how much light the model receives, reflects and/or refracts (depends on the surface and the material).
Example: pl000_majinArm_MM (Nero's Majin Arm)
The bright areas of these textures show the spots which receive and reflect more light.
Q: What is it used for?
A: Make things metal. Make Nero's clothes leather (like Dante's).
Note: These textures don't have alpha channels.
NM Textures - Normal Maps:
NM textures are normal maps. What normal maps do is making the model look more detailed. Basically they trick the light so that the model looks more detailed (not a real geometry).
Example: pl000_majinArm_NM (Nero's Majin Arm)
If you know how to edit these textures and how to match them with the other two types you will mostly achieve great results. As you can see they're not as easy to edit as the other two types, mostly because of their "depth".
Note: NM textures always have an alpha channel. And you need to edit both the RGB and the Alpha to get them work properly.
TM Textures - Light Emit (Glow) Maps:
TM textures are glow maps. They show the game which parts of the model need to emit light.
Example: pl000_majinArm_TM (Nero's Majin Arm)
The white color shows which parts will glow in the game. Using brighter/darker gray will end up with higher/lower glow intensity. Play around with it until you get the result you want.
Note: Most of the objects in the game don't have TM textures. Also these textures don't have alpha channels.
In this topic we'll discuss texture editing pointers, the usual mistakes we make when we edit textures and how to avoid them. Feel free to ask questions about how to achieve the result you want. Post your tricks and pointers and we'll add them to the first post (with credit to you of course).
Let's get started.
BM Textures - Base (Color) Maps:
BM textures are the color map of the models. Most of you probably associate them with the word texture.
Example: pl000_majinArm_BM (Nero's Majin Arm)
Let's say you want a red/black color scheme. Here are the usual mistakes:
1. Using just a simple color instead of a texture. This causes loss of detail.
2. Using too bright/saturated (or both) textures and colors. Also using very different and contrasting colors. Let's say you want to combine Red, Green and Blue. This usually hurts your eyes and doesn't look good in the game.
Some BM textures also have an Alpha channel, which looks like this -Link. These alpha channels are always in grayscale and serve as Transparency Maps. The black is the transparent areas and the white - the solid. You may experiment with that - for example gray gives a 50% transparency.
Note: If you try to add/edit an alpha channel of a texture that doesn't already have it (if it's not there or it's white) you'll end up with black instead of transparent model. So keep that in mind.
MM Textures - Specular Maps:
MM textures are these so called specular maps. Basically they determine how much light the model receives, reflects and/or refracts (depends on the surface and the material).
Example: pl000_majinArm_MM (Nero's Majin Arm)
The bright areas of these textures show the spots which receive and reflect more light.
Q: What is it used for?
A: Make things metal. Make Nero's clothes leather (like Dante's).
Note: These textures don't have alpha channels.
NM Textures - Normal Maps:
NM textures are normal maps. What normal maps do is making the model look more detailed. Basically they trick the light so that the model looks more detailed (not a real geometry).
Example: pl000_majinArm_NM (Nero's Majin Arm)
If you know how to edit these textures and how to match them with the other two types you will mostly achieve great results. As you can see they're not as easy to edit as the other two types, mostly because of their "depth".
Note: NM textures always have an alpha channel. And you need to edit both the RGB and the Alpha to get them work properly.
TM Textures - Light Emit (Glow) Maps:
TM textures are glow maps. They show the game which parts of the model need to emit light.
Example: pl000_majinArm_TM (Nero's Majin Arm)
The white color shows which parts will glow in the game. Using brighter/darker gray will end up with higher/lower glow intensity. Play around with it until you get the result you want.
Note: Most of the objects in the game don't have TM textures. Also these textures don't have alpha channels.