Hi, I want to modify my high res textures (Vicky2/3500x and 4000x) to be more realistic and less perfect looking. I'm looking for ideas on what will be effective to give the models a much-less-than-glamour kind of appearance. Not looking for grotesque but I really don't like the centerfold skin and flawless lighting results. I thought I'd start by trying to bleach out some skin areas and add some color and blemishes in others for realism. I don't want to loose the high res that is there. (I also wish that some more matureish attractive characters were available , but well I guess I understand this is more often about "ideals" , less often about reality) I have 'Noa' which begins to approach what I'm looking for - in case you happen to know what the tex looks like - tan lines, nicely off color a bit, slightly splotchy here and there. She renders very realistically compelling and very lovely ...the best of the several high res I've recently purchased - for my purposes. I'm hoping that some here can give me a little direction. What can be done without wiping out or obscuring the high res that is there and which might add to the realism? I'll render in Cinema 4d. The end product will be simple figure/lighting studies with few props - and with the simplicity - the skin is everything - 'flaws' especially! Many thanks for your help here. archrendr

I hate to say it, but the best way to get textures "more like real life" is to use photos of a "real model." That's how it's done. There is no humanly possible way (without going loony) to approach that type of detail (wrinkles, blotches, lines, prints, scarring, etc). Up close, skin has fine, semi-ordered details (lines, creases, wrinkles following muscle/bone/tendon/other dermal patterns...) and color variations (redness of knuckles, blues/purples/greens from blood vessels, concentrations of melanin...). I know that is not what you want to hear and not the easiest of possible solutions (getting someone to model can be either expensive or very difficult), but it is how the best high res human textures are made. I've tried the "make it in Photoshop" technique and it's great for quick basic textures or non-human textures, but cannot compare to the real thing, no matter how much noise is added or how many layers are used. When I finally decide to make my own character (someday, eventually ;), I will use a real model and already have someone in mind, although they don't know it yet (BWAHAHAHA...ugh).

Yep, I'm thinking you are so right. I've been messing with just one for many hours and it is insanely tedious at best. Guess I was looking for a shortcut or something. Many thanks - hope your target model is agreeable someday. Best....

Assuming one has a model, what is the minimum resolution of digital pics recommended? What lighting and poses (for the rl model) are best for obtaining clear images to be pasted onto templates? Any good tutorials or links available on the subject? Cheers, Tin

Actually, there is a great pair of tutorials by BTSculptor for sale here in the Marketplace (BTSculptor's MasterClass in Photo-Realistic Textures). Very thorough in creating the texture from model photographs, but glossy about the equipment and setup for photographing - much of this can be found online at photography sites. My advice, consistent with his, is that the camera should be digital (for speed, easy input into computer, and, unless you're developing them yourself, avoidance of photo lab embarrasment). I would suggest 3.2 MPixels as a minimum, 4.0 being adequate, 5.0 or 6.0 being excellent - mine is a 4.0MP Canon PS G2. Always use a tripod!! and use a remote for taking the pictures if possible. Lensing is a little trickier and don't have much experience with what is best. A wide angle lense might be the best approach - maybe someone with knowledge about this can verify. From my limited photography experience, the "studio" or setup for model photographing should be as ideal as possible - no hard shadows (even lighting), limited specular highlights, little surrounding 'noise'. The best approaches are either a light tent or lighting with diffuse reflectors. A light tent would be an area surrounded by a translucent material (sheer cloth - voile, gauze) with the flood lighting on the outside so that there is no direct lighting. This works well to reduce shadows, speculars, and harshness with a minimum of lights (one or two may do). Lights must be good photography lights - 500W tungsten recommended - with barn doors, if possible. The reason is that you DON'T want to use a camera flash at all. Make sure you have enough room to get the entire model in 'the shot'. From there, BTSculptor has a great set of positions from which to gain the best necessary photos for texturing. HTH - BeatYourSoul

Oh, one more thing - try to photograph and export your digital photos in a lossless format - not JPEG. Many good digital cameras have a raw or BMP format. :)