I need to render a character wearing a similar chainmail as the one in the picture... I have the dragon scales from rdna, but I don't think they'll work in this case... I thought maybe using one of V3's dresses, but I'm puzzled as to how making the transparency maps, as I'm not really fluent in texture editing. So, any help or tips are appreciated.. thanks in advance.

another reference pic

making tranpsarency maps is pretty easy grab a template for whatever you want to transmap then remember white is what you want to keep black is what you dont want there not sure what dress you could use for this.. I'd use V3 Morphing Fantasy Dress and the kimono expansion for the sleeves

Make a tiling texture of chainlinks, make a copy of the texture over a pure black background, then convert the copy to white on black (two-bit black-and-white image) for the transmap.

If you want the chainlinks, there's one or two included in my Dial-a-tile texture pack here in free stuff :o) (as well as 59 (or 58) other tiling textures) It's meant for a chainlink fence but you can easily rescale it in photoshop or some similar program :o)

Attached Link: http://www.nerd3d.com/Store/Mesh/Mesh.htm

Ah, but chainlinks for mail come in a pattern of 5's, different from fencing. [stifle those puns] Be aware that chainmail (even as open as that) is very heavy. A belt helps immeasurably, especially on us ladies, because then part of the weight is shifted from shoulders to hipbones (there is a reason why backpacks have a waistband). A few years back, I was at Origins (a major game convention) when a woman wearing turquoise-colored floor-length chain mail - with nothing under it - paraded the entire length of the convention center and back to the attached hotel. Now this wasn't in SF or LA. Nope. Columbus, Ohio. American heartland. Needless to say, there were jaws hitting the floor. I might add that it was a riveting experience, but I'm sure that her links were properly closed... especially on the bikini. Have you been to Nerd's site? His Chayne Lynx collection would seem to have "the look" you are after. Carolly

Aye, I know the links are different. But depending on how close a close-up you'd want to make, it MIGHT be an option :o) PS: Love your puns!

thanks for all the info... I was really looking for something on the freebie stuff, so I'll probably go for Trekkiegirl's suggestion...thanks again!

Just hope the ladies above are wearing pasties. Link that large can....attach itself...to things it shouldn't. Pinch!

The lady at Origins was not wearing pasties. She didn't even have a tattoo under her mail... but the links were very fine... flowed like fabric as she walked. (I'm female, but as a fantasy artist I do observe things like this with interest and appreciation.) Ernyoka, I'm glad that my puns are appreciated, but they are like tigers escaping from the cage: hard to get back under control. ;)

What year was that? I've been to every Columbus Origins but the first (1996) and I think I remember that woman. Quite the show she put on! And I'll be there this year too - going to Canton (for me) and Frazeysburg (for the wife) on the way.

I've built combat mail (16ga steel) and that gets heavier the longer it is. In steel that dress would have weighed over 40 pounds! EEK! but since it was colored links it was most likely made out of aluminum which is not only much lighter but also much easier on the maker since it cuts and bends eaiser than steel wire :-) I would hazard a guess that there was over 2k rings in that dress.

I just want to know how many males (and perhaps females) followed her back to the hotel! Heh...

eh?? man, it's so clear I'm not american... i have no clue what this thread ended into :P I'm still trying to find a better solution for the chain mail dress... so if anyone has more info, please post.

LonCray, I went to Origins the year it was in San Jose, followed it back east, and have gone every year since. However, I probably won't make it this year. :( Finances. The turquoise chainmail was 3 years ago, IIRC... the same year that the one dealer of a religious game invited the local evangelical church to visit the convention... without telling ConCom. The neatest hall costume the last couple of years has been the lady with the monkey. :) I was sitting playing Magic (our group is the "Fire Breathing Black Sheep" and we have held the far end table in the promenade since Origins moved to Columbus) and said "wow, I wonder how she is manipulating that monkey!" and deduced that pneumatics were involved by the way she flicked her hand. A half dozen guys all said, "what monkey?" Now that monkey must have been a foot tall with another foot or so for the tail! It was bouncing all over creation!!! She passed more than once. They didn't see the monkey. Finally, a couple days later, one of our group faced her in a Magic tournament, where he got the choice of staring at her cleavage or at the monkey... and talked to her about its operation. Last year, one of the group had his 14 year old son at the table when she passed. The boy didn't see the monkey. Carolly

Charlie_Tuna 40 pounds is a lot, but my backpack comes in at 45 and isn't quite as evenly balanced. The belt is critical. Harald Hard-Ruler wore his byrnie so long that it looked like a dress, and his soldiers called him "Emma". However, it kept him alive and on his feet. :) Aluminum anodizes very prettily. Carolly

Sandmarine, we're talking about a gaming (as in Dungeons and Dragons and other such games) convention called Origins. It used to be a traveling convention - held every year in a different city. I went to Baltimore in 1991 and Philadelphia in 1995. In 1996 it moved to Columbus Ohio and apparently is staying there. I've been going there every year since 1997 and met my wife there. We try to travel to different places each year on the way - this year we're doing two Ohio things. It's a lot of fun and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in gaming.

" the same year that the one dealer of a religious game invited the local evangelical church to visit the convention... without telling ConCom." Oooh, I bet that was "fun" and I'm sure Concom was 'real thrilled' at having a bunch of evangelicals loose in a game con where a lot of "satanic" games were being played and sold :)

Someone ran through the dealer's room just ahead of them (they were a very large crowd all dressed in their Sunday best and led by their preacher so they were moving sedately) and there was a certain amount of hustling as dealers took the most violent or sexy box covers and buried them under the tables. Most of the products there are innocuous (dice, lead figures, railroad games) and some are patriotic (the War College holds many, many panels at the convention)... but it would have taken one one flareup or outraged housewife to start a small conflagration. We in the Open Gaming areas were warned, too. Considering that one white-shoed preacher accused me of doing evil magic at a local Carl's Jr (I was working a cryptic crossword puzzle), their amount of tolerance for even playing games seems a bit limited. Anyway, I learned a long time ago as a dealer and art show exhibiter that matters go much better if you let somebody on ConCom know what you are up to, and occasionally they will even facilitate. Just don't embarrass them or the convention. Carolly

thanks loncrsay, for the info... i was only familiar with names like Dragoncon and the sort, but never had heard about origins... is it mostly about role playing games and card games?

To put it one way, Origins is the gaming worlds' version of WorldCon, the World Science Fiction Convention.

Origins is the second largest American gaming convention. It is not the oldest (I believe that DunDraCon holds that honor). Last year Origins had well over 3000 official events, 13,000 attendees, a small art show, a large dealer's room with demo areas and computer-game-playing areas, video room, tournaments galore, and round-the-clock gaming for 4 days. The War College does the military strategy stuff, there is miniature warfare, a host of train/empire games, traditional board games (Scrabble!), oodles of card games, a handful of LARPs, lots of role-playing. It is a very general well-balanced convention. If you are in the industry, it is a great place to see people playing your games and the competition's games and eavesdrop on the players: what they like, what irritates them, where do the frustration/reward levels synch.... If you aren't in the industry and just want to play, you can find almost any game or game system there. Carolly

And Carolly slam dunks the Request for Information! Origins is a lot of fun for anyone involved in any sort of gaming (aside from gambling - and there's at least a Poker Tournament there too!). They're adding events like paintball and they've got a Spouse Track to take non-gaming spouses around to different things to see in Columbus.

For non-Origins things in Columbus, I recommend the replica of the Santa Maria and the "children's poetry park" (both walking distance from the convention center). I've never been on the ship, but it is easy to see why the sailors mutineed in those days: absolutely open deck, and so fat that she must have rolled like a pig in high winds. (Admittedly I am biased towards longships, but I think most people would shudder at the living conditions on that vessel.) The park is near to the ship, maybe a block away. There is a story told on plaques, with footsteps to follow around, and lovely bronze sculptures. Carolly