Question about making textures

LAX2489 · Post #1by **LAX2489** » 10.11.2003, 03:48

What programs and such do you use to make such detailed textures? (The ones that are made from scratch) Thanks.

Tom

Don. Edwards · Post #2by **Don. Edwards** » 10.11.2003, 05:23

Well any good photo editing program will do the job. Paintshop Pro, Photoshop, Gimp all can do the job. It depends on what you want to do and which of the programs you have and can afford. The two I use most are Photoshop and GIMP. I use photoshop for most of my work and I use Gimp to create specmap and cloudmaps. If you want to make palntary textures there is a plugin from Flaming Pearl called LunarCell that is great for beginers. From there you can move on to adding your own planetary textures segments to your work. I hope this helps.

Don. Edwards

diabloblanco17 · Post #3by **diabloblanco17** » 10.11.2003, 05:51

I use Photoshop for pretty much everything. LunarCell, while its land texturing is pretty lousy, is a very good tool for creating good-looking outlines of continents for planets with seas and landmasses. Of course, you have to paint your own textures onto those continents afterwards, but at least the first step is done for you, and well.

And the textures I create aren't made from scratch. I use Photoshop's clone stamp tool to fuse and blend parts of already existing maps. I also radically alter the coloration when required. For example, the ice planet I made (see my topic) is actually taken from a hi-res map of the Sahara. I changed the colors a bit (changing the dark grey rock to black and some of the darker sand to magenta) and then inverted the whole thing. That got me my base texture, which I used as a palette to create a larger texture.

Hope that helped.

LAX2489 · Post #4by **LAX2489** » 10.11.2003, 21:33

what demensions should i use for the texture?

diabloblanco17 · Post #5by **diabloblanco17** » 10.11.2003, 22:12

Depends on how large your source is, really. I almost always use 4096x2048, though.

LAX2489 · Post #6by **LAX2489** » 10.11.2003, 22:32

Thanks for all the help. I still have a few more questions though, what techniques do you use when painting the textures? When i try, it ends up looking very cheesy and doesnt look like a landscape at all.

diabloblanco17 · Post #7by **diabloblanco17** » 10.11.2003, 22:35

Why don't you post what you've done? Then we can tell you what you're doing wrong, and what you need to do to correct it.

LAX2489 · Post #8by **LAX2489** » 10.11.2003, 23:31

The problem is, i dont really know where to start. I made a few attempts but they got me nowhere, a few minutues after starting i have to start over cause it was obvious that it wasnt going to look like a landscape. i just need some tips to helkp me get started. Like how did you begin making textures and stuff tlike that. Thanks again.

Post #9by **selden** » 10.11.2003, 23:44

Real landscapes are fractal. This is hard to simulate in manual artwork.
Some of the artists here who produce planet surface textures have mentioned that they start by cutting rectangles out of satellite photographs of real terrain.

Also, there are several programs available that produce fractal images that can be used. There are commercial programs as well as freeware.

Another option is to produce "cartoon" planets, and not to try to make them look real at all.

Does this help?

diabloblanco17 · Post #10by **diabloblanco17** » 10.11.2003, 23:46

Well, are you trying to paint the texture completely from scratch, without using any other sources?

LAX2489 · Post #11by **LAX2489** » 10.11.2003, 23:54

I was trying do do it from scratch, but if its easier to use other sources than ill try to do it that way yet im not quite sure how to do so.

diabloblanco17 · Post #12by **diabloblanco17** » 11.11.2003, 00:33

It's far easier to use a clone material from another source than to paint everything yourself. Just grab one of the Earth maps (preferably 8k or larger) and start cloning parts of it onto your own map. Mix and match, and then try to make everything look like it fits together. Make sure you're using the airbrush setting when you perform the second step.

LAX2489 · Post #13by **LAX2489** » 11.11.2003, 00:57

I have one last question. How do people make textures for gas planets, do they use the same technique?

bh · Post #14by bh » 11.11.2003, 01:10

Rassilon has a great technique for these...I suggest you have a look at his texture packs for his 'generator' app...awesome!!

Regards...bh.

LAX2489 · Post #15by **LAX2489** » 11.11.2003, 01:16

Where could i find that?

bh · Post #16by bh » 12.11.2003, 00:56

You could try searching the forum...anything with Rass' sig should get you to his site.
I'm about to re-texture my extrasolar stuff...but here's a screenshot:

I'm starting over from scratch on this because I lost all my stuff on a later install!...grrr.

Regards...bh.

bh · Post #17by bh » 13.11.2003, 02:18

Any luck so far??....let us know how you get on with this one...a lot of editing on the Extrasolar in NotePad is called for here!...I've only just started on the first system!

It's addictive once you start!!

Regards...bh.

LAX2489 · Post #18by **LAX2489** » 13.11.2003, 03:37

I completely searched Rassislon's website and couldn't find the generator app. anywere, maybe im look for the wrong thing or the file doesnt exist anymore. Any help?

ElPelado · Post #19by **ElPelado** » 13.11.2003, 11:59

Go to http://www.shatters.net/~rassilon