Ranking
Original Post
Monobi's Detailed Texture Tutorial
Monobi's Texture Tutorial

Originally Posted by Monobi
Hello all. My name is monobi & I am an oldschooler head texturer. This tutorial will help with all aspects of texturing a Tori, with tips for detail & key points. I am going to try & make this as detailed as possible. If any question pop to your mind, please pm me.

The Basics:
This is a tori. As you can see, there are quite a few texturable surfaces.
The templates can be easily obtainable from the torishop, but I deem them inefficient enough. They are nice as a starter/rough guide but some aren’t even done properly. I have made my own & they are below. (Apart from the head texture, credits to SlainVeteran.)

Templates: Sphere, Block, Cylinder

Design:
Design is the most important part of a set. Screw trends, & think of something original. Google whatever is on your mind. Look around you for inspiration. Ask random questions on irc. Ideas can be hidden ANYWHERE!
Try to avoid trends or something already made. If you are attempting to copy something, the likelihood is that you will not achieve the standard at which people expect. I have done this far too much myself.

Avoid using one shape over & over & over. Experiment a little. Variate with shades.
Remember to keep things flowing. Just by adding a shape, does not mean that’s a texture. If something is the same colour for more than 10x10 pixels, you have a problem.

Head Textures:
  • This is the texture that makes the set. Your ID, as it were. The most time will have to be spent on this texture, as it will also set the style for the rest of the textures. If something is out of place, it will be easy to tell.
  • The key to making a head texture is mapping. If something maps well enough, less detail has to go in to make up for it. (Although, with this tutorial, it won’t matter as it will teach you how to add details.)
  • In the GIF below, I will show you the stages I went through to construct a head texture.

Examples:

Shape/Mapping:
  1. First I start with the basic shape. With detail, this can be hard to get right if it is not done early, as editing each pixel can get hard to master. Shape is definitely a difficult choice when starting with a head.
  2. It is in this stage that you will most likely be testing each of the changes you make, to assure a good anatomy of the texture.
    Remember how the texture maps-
    • At the top, it will map oddly Thankfully, Photoshop (for those lucky enough to use it) has a "polar co-ordinates" distortion tool, which maps almost perfectly - the only problem it being 2x the height required. So take an image & map it, then fuse the two... or avoid too much detail in the top 1/8 (16pixels) of the image, & keep it a plain colour. Or allow it to its own devices, & ignore the mapping.
    • At the sides, it is 2x the width when wrapped [Explenation], so remember to half images to keep them symmetrical (if required). My favourite template for head textures is SlainVeteran's original template. It gives a good space for the front/facial features & it’s easy to match up objects.
    • At the bottom, the back is covered by the neck. This will give you a good space to add signature, & also it doesn't matter about too much detail. Don't avoid detail, though, as you may be making a texture for in-game usage, but you are also making a piece of art that will hopefully last.
    • The back is one that is easy to master, yet hard to solve. One you get the idea that it maps, & that simply flipping one side over will reveal an easy seal on the back, you will start to attempt to avoid that naturally. I normally chop the image up once I am done, & start making the back of the texture seamless. This adds a great deal of quality & needs little work.

Shading:
  1. I then start to shade & define the shape. If I am using any images as reference or modifying, I will cut out the parts I need & desaturate.
  2. Adding a hand-made gradient to each head texture will help improve the quality of the image itself, even if it is not seen on the texture. Remember what is stated above: "You may be making a texture for in-game usage, but you are also making a piece of art that will hopefully last."
  3. Remember not to over shade. Over shading should be kept to small lines. Why? Because that will trick the mind into thinking there is a deep dip there. If the shading is spread too widely, it will destroy the quality.
  4. Shadows are black, yes. But shading is not. Luckily in the method this tutorial is teaching, it will not be a problem. However, please remember that there are colours under shadows & not to overuse black. Use a darker colour of the base colour to shade.

Details:
  1. This is where I would normally create the background texture. As this style does not require one, I will simply explain.
    • As not many things in life will be simply one colour, almost everything will have a texture of some sort. It would be wise to mimic the material of the desired texture.
    • I often overlay/multiply a texture off the internet, or find a tutorial to make one myself. I usually choose the latter option as I love to improve my skills, & I hate to use other people's images/photos. However, I have used the former option before due to time or difficulty.
  2. After the parts have been defined, I will add key features to the head to make it more unique and/or specialized to the request.

Colouring:
  1. As you can tell, work in greyscale. If there are certain colours you need in the images, then make a copy & hide it.
  2. Not only does it give you more control over colouring later, but re-colouring is no hassle whatsoever.
  3. Once this has all been done, make sure that everything maps nicely & looks good enough. Once you are satisfied with the texture, begin to colour the texture on a new layer. Either save as a png & reload to colour, & add another layer over the top set to colouring it.

Texture Sets:
  • Think of these as business suits; every man is judged by it. That puts a lot of responsibility on the texturing industry. There is only one first impression, & we need to make it count as it could be that single moment that could make or break somebody.
  • Due to the amount of textures the set can contain, it’s a lot of work. Simply repeating one shape will work, but rarely look ok. Try for asymmetry or a different overlaying texture/slight colour variance.

Shape/Mapping:
  1. There only needs to be 3 different templates - Block, Cylinder, Sphere. For the set you will only need block & cylinder.
  2. I suggest learning the ways of the mapping by fiddling around with lines & circles until you understand where the cut-off points are & where to centralize for main detail. Even though the template I have made has these listed, it is still good to learn for yourself.
  3. Just because there is an edge, doesn’t mean you are limited to it. You can always continue an image onto the adjacent texture, or even make the joint finish it. Make sure you shape things to compliment the factors of movement & size contortions due to expand/contract.

Shading:
  1. Shading is a hard one; be gentle with the shading or you could distort the fluidity of the set & cause aesthetic difficulties. Be sure to shade nearer the joints slightly, & try to avoid drop shadows on the arms - however vertical drops shadows will work well on the leg textures.
  2. A slight patch of highlight on 1 or 2 of the textures will help bring out a slight highlight. Not very visible, but it shows great attention to detail & boosts the textures themselves.

Details:
  1. The hands are normally the tricky parts, but remember that the best way out of them is to avoid the big problems. As long as something is done to ensure quality, an actual hand isn’t always needed.
  2. Feet can be bland, as long as not too bland. Just something small & simple that suits the style/colours/quality.
  3. Legs need a lot of work to assure they almost "point" to the feet. This will help keep some sort of perspective that helps the brain read the tori's textures better, in my experience.
  4. Arms can do with a bit of detail towards the top of the tori, but make sure the underside has a nice flow for the jumps & similar.
  5. The torso needs to be simple & complimentary to the fact that there is not much visible. Something small & intricate is normally perfect.

Colouring:
  1. Colouring texture sets are easy. Simply add them into one image, & colours as needed. This will help keep the same colours/shade throughout the whole set.
  2. If you do not wish to do this, & then add a layer completely full of the colour you wish to use, & pull this layer into the documents needed.
  3. Remember to not use colours that are "<avwave> EYESPLITTINGLY-HORRENDOUS-COLOURS" - IE Vampire + Acid - when you compare the textures to the items being used.

Finishing:
  1. Load them onto a tori/uke & see for yourself. Is there anything wrong?
  2. Once it’s done, take a few screenshot & add your mark. That will be the completion of your set.

Last edited by WorldEater; Oct 28, 2017 at 03:40 PM.
Post reserved for bump-mapping tutorial section in future.

070711 - I should really get on that.
Last edited by Monobi; Jul 7, 2011 at 01:43 PM.
&quot;Anything running perfectly is running like clockwork.&quot;
monobi. I love you. Texture standard increase gogogogo
Best tutorial I've seen in a while, as in a couple months.
I love you monobi : )
VERY nice tutorial!

[Evil] is recruiting!

<DesiTwist> terty plays tb with the ghost turned off, uke turned off and uses that mouse with the ball in it
This should be awarded.

For serious now, amazing tutorial, ill start text making i think.

Be my tutor please :3

Tons of +Reps <3
Seriously, one of the best tutorials I have seen yet..
you should be proud, really.
This is probably the best tut I've seen on shading and texturing.

What is that polar coordinates thing though? D:
I have to calculate the curves for the top myself. Are you saying that photoshop does that for you?

I think the coloring on a new layer is an interesting technique. I've done something similar once to give my metal heads a dull metallic color, where I filled in with a fraction of opacity over it. Is that what you meant?

Meanwhile, I'll still look for a good tut for hands and feet and easy ways to make them seamless.

Again, great tutorial!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Gimp is Pimp(tm)

DarkJak's Wide-Range Texture Shop[LINK]

Incognito - [o]