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NITRO1250
09-11-2007, 04:58 PM
Ok, I have been comissioned to make a train for a company based out of Houston Texas. I have the train modeled and I was expecting textures to come in from the place, but nothing came in. Instead, I have to pull textures from some pictures of the train online... the only problem is that those pictures aren't in nice angles and are generally on 45* angles showing only the front compartnemt. There are a few pictures of the train coming head-on, but they are not closeups.

This is what I have to work with: http://www.pccmph.com/hcmta.html

Like I said, the train is modeled already, I am just REALLY stuck on how to pull textures from these photos.

Any help would be REALLY appreciated! I don't know how to proceed from here.

Thanks to anyone who could help!
soulburn3d
09-11-2007, 05:21 PM
Well first off, what 3d software are you using? I personally wouldn't go the route of grabbing textures from the actual photos, most of the materials on the train look pretty simple. You seem to have a green glass material, a chrome/brushed metal type material, a black shiny plastic material, and then a few specialty things like lights and a few graphics. So I think once you have your 3 main materials all setup, the rest shouldn't be too hard. Here's a few tutorials you may look at for inspiration, difficult to give you more detail without knowing what 3d app and what renderer you'll be use...

http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/brushed_metal/brushed_metal.htm
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/chrome/chrome.htm
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/flat_metallic_surfaces/flat_metallic_surfaces.htm
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/glass/glass.htm
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/glazed_pottery/glazed_pottery.htm
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/overbright_card/overbright_card.htm

- Neil
NITRO1250
09-11-2007, 05:24 PM
The software my company is using is Multigen-Paragim Creator. It is for realtime simulations and is why we don't use Maya or Max... although I think otherwise...

I'm going to take a look at the links you provided and I appreciate your response! This is looking more promising than 30 min ago! But, I still have to find sutable textures and figure out how to layout everything on the sides...
soulburn3d
09-11-2007, 06:11 PM
The software my company is using is Multigen-Paragim Creator. It is for realtime simulations and is why we don't use Maya or Max... although I think otherwise...

Wow, never heard of that one before.

Well, maybe some of the overall ideas in that tutorial can be helpful, although I have no idea how to create appropriate materials in that piece of software.

But, I still have to find sutable textures and figure out how to layout everything on the sides...

Well, that's just it. 99% of your look will come from the materials, not from textures. The only thing I'd recommend using textures for are like the signs on the side, and yes, you'll need a way to get those. Any chance you can pester the company again for them? Or you may just have to sit down in illustrator and recreate the graphics as best as possible.

Honestly, if this is the best reference the client can give, I'd avoid working with them again.

- Neil
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