Where do I start?

[LavenPillay]

Hi there werg !

I know what you're sayin' about the "challenge" of making your own textures. I've also felt pretty daunted when i realise that i need to make my own, but how ?

I won't give you steps, per se, but rather advice.

What it comes down to is :
- Having LOADS of practical knowledge in terms of what makes surfaces look the way they do, understanding specularity, diffusion etc in the real world. What makes a ceramic surface matte, for example.

- Know your image editing software!
Whether you use Photoshop, PaintShop, GIMP etc, it always helps to know what the tools can do and how you can use them together

- Know your 3D software
Understanding how you can use shaders/textures etc in the software will help you create materials faster, more efficiently, and more creatively

For example :
To create a brushed metal diffuse texture, you can create a blank image in Photoshop, whack on a noise modifier to get lotsa little dots and then apply a motion blur in one direction and all the little dots will get pulled into streaks which creates a "brushed metal" surface ! (obviously some tweaking may be required afterwards)

The point is, that (I feel) there are two areas to gain knowledge in :
- The software aspect - The Tools
- The "knowledge" aspect

You can pick up LOADS of tricks and techniques by looking at Photoshop tutorials that you'll be able to use in almost any work afterwards.

As for the knowledge, you know the deal, study EVERYTHING around you and ask other people how they'd solve a certain problem. You'd be surprised how often theres a simple solution for something you thought was gonna be tricky.

Hope that helps at least a little bit.
I will try to get you some more specific info as soon as i can.

[werg]

Thanks alot for the advices! I'm looking forward to the new info!!!

[LavenPillay]

Hey there, werg.

Sorry dude, but i only have Internet access at work, where I have to .... work. ;)

Here are links to a few Photoshop tutorials.
They're zipped HTML files.

Although the actual subject of the tutorials may not be what you want, I sent them anyway because by doing them you can learn more about the tools in Photoshops and how you can use them to create an almost unlimited amount of effects.

Abstract Brushing
http://www.darkness.co.za/tutorials/photoshop/Abstract%20Brushing.zip

Aged Photograph
http://www.darkness.co.za/tutorials/photoshop/Aged%20Photgraph.zip

Chaotic Brushing
http://www.darkness.co.za/tutorials/photoshop/Chaotic%20Brushing.zip

Eye Texture
http://www.darkness.co.za/tutorials/photoshop/Eye_Iris.zip

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