Texture Tutorial, first draft

[Perversonality]

Please add any comments or questions to the thread

First select the shape in your carefully prepared texture layout(!) Use Copy, then Paste as a new image. Keep the layout image open and do not deselect the selected area. Resize the new image by 200% in both directions. This will give your texture slightly more detailed parts. Save the file in a format that keeps the layers intact (PSP in my case) as this will allow you to alter the texture layers again should you want to.

Flood fill the background with the base colour for your texture. This will allow you to blend the component colours of the texture.

Now create a new layer.

I normally start at the "top" of the texture, so I am going to create two rectangles in the same colour as the background. I create the first and then add a drop shadow that is zero pixels in both vertical and horizontal directions. This gives me a slight outline to my rectangles. In this example I have added a shadow twice.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image4.jpg

Next I create a new layer between the two existing ones. This will be the vertical ribs layer. Once they are made I will add another layer above them for the edges.

Create a new image that is tall and thin. The middle will be the raised part with the left and right being the slopes, one of which will be shadow and the other will be light.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image5.jpg

Go back to the original image and use the pattern option on flood fill to fill the middle layer with the other texture. Don't worry if it looks fairly nasty at this stage as we will refine the textures when the basic parts are in place.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image6.jpg

I was lucky with my texture in that it matches up quite evenly on both ends, but it doesn't matter if yours doesn't as we are now going to create the left and right sides of the container.

Create another layer above the rib layer but below the top layer. Create two rectangles and use the shadow tool as before.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image7.jpg

What you should see is that everything looks layered. The shadows are not perfect though at this stage so the next thing we will do is improve them. They need to be deeper where the outermost parts are when compared to the rest of the texture. This means deepening the shadows. I use the darken tool in PSP to do this. Do not worry too much about accuracy and don't be afraid of undo! Select the rib layer and start darkening the areas immediately below the top bar.

I would recommend setting the Opacity of the darken tool to 50% so that you can build up the darkness over time rather than going straight for a full darkening.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image8.jpg

I darkened the bottom edge and sides a little bit too, just to balance the texture out. You can also add some darkness to the middle if you like, though try to keep it fairly minimal at this time.

OK, so it should now be looking vaguely container-like. The next thing to do is to work on the clean spots. The top bar and bottom bars should look nice and dirty. I use a pattern with the darken tool for this. In PSP select the darken tool, and in the Tool Options set the paper texture to something gritty. In this example I used dark stucco. Select the top layer and apply the dirt. You can mix dirt patterns if you are not happy with just the one. Simply darken, then change the paper texture and darken again. Select the side layer and darken them too.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image9.jpg

Next create another layer just above the ribs layer. This is going to be for the text. Select a word, select a font and add it to the container. Try using a font that is fairly chunky. I used Impact.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image10.jpg

Urgh I hear you cry! That's pretty bright. The next step is to select the parts that are in the shadow folds and lighten or darken them as applicable. You should use a solid darken rather than a textured one for this.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image11.jpg

Next, lower the opacity of the layer. This will fade the text, blending it in with the ribs.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image12.jpg

OK, now all that's left is to add some other details and maybe some more dirt. I created a new layer at the top and then added some cloud-based, dark red paint to the container to make it look rusty, using a cloud paper texture on the paint brush tool.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image13.jpg

Once you are happy with the texture image do a final save and then merge all layers. Copy the image and then in your original layout image, select paste into selection. The image will be resized to fit the selected area automatically. Do not save the texture image with the layers merged. Why? If I decide I want a yellow middle to the texture then I can simply select the rib layer and use Colorize to change it.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/image14.jpg

OK, maybe not yellow, but you retain the ability to alter selected parts of the texture should you need to do so. Here's the original train texture with the side panel replaced by the new green one.

http://www.perversonality.com/projects/tutorials/textures/train.jpg

[SniperMaster]

u should do one for that metal texture u did too, cuz onthat model the metal looks kick ass :)
heres my one:

(PSP7/8 users: to do the texture stuff, you have to goto effects>texture effects>texture)

[nathan 3d]

Thaks alot this tut is very nice.

I agree with the kid : ), I would like to know how you did te other texturing too.

[Perversonality]

Well, ok then! I think this will be Part 1 of a series in that case :)

I'll do a proper tutorial later, but basically the same principles apply.

The grid:

I created a transparent square and made a cross using the line tool. I used the Sculpture tool to give the lines some depth and then added a shadow. I used this texture as a pattern for the fill tool and filled an empty layer on the main texture. Next I darkened and lightened parts of the grid and then flood filled the layer below and darkened parts of it to outline the edges and also to look like there was a gap under the wires.

I'll probably also do a tutorial on the sleepers and track as that was kind of fun to do too!

[Perversonality]

Sniper:

Nice start :) Once you've done a texture, test it out and see how it looks on a model. That's the only way to see exactly how good it is and it will give you some pointers as to which parts need improving/refining.

[SniperMaster]

yEy!
my lovely grid.
its messed up i kn0, but i jsut drew lines and imbossed them with metalics, a quick 5 sec job basicly.

[Perversonality]

I like that metal effect! I used horizontal and vertical lines - that way I didn't end up with a lot of blobs in the middle, but I guess it's down to what you are using it for.

Off to see Placebo tonight in London, so the extra tutorials will be taking a while longer...

[Perversonality]

Hmmm, do you think it's worth making this thread a sticky or is it not so useful for most people?

[SniperMaster]

yeah i know, but i was only messing around so i didnt much care what it looked like :roll: