Does anyone know if there's a tutorial anywhere on how to turn clean plastic looking skin into more realistic looking skin, like she (or he come to that, but I was thinking "she") had been through a rough day, maybe a battle, maybe just running away from something through dirty ducts or ... something like that?

But for a total newbie?

I had the exact same problem as you.  It's actually very difficult to find a decent skin tutorial!

First problem you stated was turning clean plastic-looking skin into realistic-looking skin.  The best way for that is to find a decnt texture...;)  No, seriously, here's what I did to the skin to produce a more realistic look for this image:

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/media/folder_128/file_1272516.jpg

Now, I work with Daz|Studio, but as the main work happens in photoshop, it can be used for any 3d program.  It'll also work with any image program that supports layers and blending modes.

Daz|Studio work:
The figure is V3 from Daz with an Aiko pose applied, V3's bonus texture (not the default one, the other one), and a few soft lights scattered about. She was rendered pretty quickly, then whisked over to Photoshop for the real work to begin.

Photoshop work:

First I fixed the places where the pose had creased V3 in odd ways (using a small soft smudge brush), then I took the smudge brush and ran it over her skin, blending it all together and providing a soft base. On another layer I repainted all V3's shadows with a greeny-coloured soft brush, then set a gaussian blur on it (about 10.0) set it to overlay and fiddled with the opacity and fill settings. Then I did the same for the highlights on a separate layer with white.  (gaussian blur and overlay again) I did the same for the shadows under the eyes and on the eyeball with black, then flattened the image. I then duplicated the final layer, did another guassian blur, and set that final one to overlay. I then realised it was much too orange, so I flattened the image and applied auto levels and auto colour to help lift it.

That gives you the softer look to the skin.  If you aren't after as much softness, lower the gaussian amount.  As for adding dirt streaks, or cuts etc, then I suggest (for a very simple and easy method ;) ) finding a picture of dirty ground, opening it in photoshop, and using the clone stamp tool to draw on the dirt you need.  I know you can get some very good blood brushes from deviantart (here's one for example: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/19982524/ ) - just download and install!  (Instructions for installation included in the link, and also tips on creating the blood effect).  You will need to download it to see all the brushes.  now remember, brushes are greyscale, so in order to add the right colour to the blood, you'll need to follow this tutorial: http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs7/f/2005/205/a/5/Blood_Texture.jpg

Hope that helps!!

Well....

It all sounds fascinating.

But about 100 times more advanced than I'm up to.

Point 1) I don't know what this is:"V3's bonus texture"  and I don't have any money to buy it.
Point 2) "First I fixed the places where the pose had creased V3 in odd ways (using a small soft smudge brush)," no idea how to do that or even what is classed as a "small soft smudge brush"

You see I really did mean Total Newbie to this skin painting stuff.  In fact add "don't know how" to just about every step you mentioned.  I guess I'm just never meant to find out how to do stuff like this.  (what on earth is a "blood brush"???)

Thanks very much for replying.

im the same i can draw but not paint at all i wish i could find a really easy tut to follow

Hokay, I'll talk you through it as a tutorial.  Give me a while to get the blood brushes loaded up and installed, and I'll make a tutorial for you, step by step.  Don't worry, we were all newbies once. ;)

Here, hope this helps. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38221881/

sd012q - if you look at my tut as well, you can see that you don't need to know how to paint - 'painting over the shadows' is literally a squiggle...;)

thank you for this tut many thanks for this :)

just got to say that is the easy tut i have ever seen thank you so much for this and i must well done on a tut
you should have this on the site it is so easy to understand i cant thank you enuff :)

Glad I could help!  Sure, OK - I can but submit it! ;)

Quote - Here, hope this helps. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38221881/

sd012q - if you look at my tut as well, you can see that you don't need to know how to paint - 'painting over the shadows' is literally a squiggle...;)

That is much easier to understand, thank you very much for that (I had to cut the image up in order to be able to zoom in and see the text though - as I have problems with such tiny text).

But now I see that I haven't explained properly what I was wanting to do.

I wanted to change the skin texture in Photoshop so that I could then wrap it back onto the character's mesh and thus use that character again and again in ANY renderer (I was actually thinking Bryce 5.5) and in ANY position.

And from what I understand, your tut is about changing a Daz Render only - yes?

And I was particularly thinking of putting a few smudges on her cheeks, maybe a small wound (a scratch really) on her forehead - but especially - dirt and scratches on her fingers and nails - as her hand is curled around her gun, or hovers over, or grasps the controls of the ship ... that kinda thing.

You see why I wanted to learn how to do skin in Photoshop?

Ah, right, I understand.  Hmm, for that you really have to learn how to actually PAINT skin.  That's a much more complicated topic.  You have to know about skin tones (luckily not about shadows, as that's done for you ;) ) but you have to be aware of seams, and aware of when you place the cuts, where they will end up on the model after it's been wrapped round the mesh.

http://www.students.yorku.ca/~harnock/tutorials/skin.htm

This is good for learning the basics of painting.  As for cuts and scrapes and grime etc, I think they will have to be painted on in postwork.

Quote - Ah, right, I understand.  Hmm, for that you really have to learn how to actually PAINT skin.

YES!!!  That's it!

Quote - That's a much more complicated topic.

Yeah, I thought it might be.

Quote - You have to know about skin tones (luckily not about shadows, as that's done for you ;) ) but you have to be aware of seams, and aware of when you place the cuts, where they will end up on the model after it's been wrapped round the mesh.

ri-ight... (expression of intense concentration)

Quote -   http://www.students.yorku.ca/~harnock/tutorials/skin.htm

Aha! (rushes off)

Oh (comes back) It needs Poser... I don't have Poser, only Daz Studio.  Do you HAVE to have Poser to do skin?

Quote - This is good for learning the basics of painting.  As for cuts and scrapes and grime etc, I think they will have to be painted on in postwork.

:b_crying:

Quote -
Aha! (rushes off)

Oh (comes back) It needs Poser... I don't have Poser, only Daz Studio.  Do you HAVE to have Poser to do skin?

Quote - This is good for learning the basics of painting.  As for cuts and scrapes and grime etc, I think they will have to be painted on in postwork.

:b_crying:

Aw, don't cry!  Yeah, I know that tut's for Poser, but the principles are exactly the same for Daz - if you open the V3 or M3 (or whichever model you're using) texture map in Photoshop, you can follow the tut.  Then just apply your modified texture using the surfaces tab in Daz. 

Hmm, I've had an idea.  This may or may not work, since I don't have an opportunity to try it out, but in photoshop, if you open up your texture, then create a new layer (Layer - New - New layer), then pick a very dark brown (almost black) colour, then select your brush tool, and select a spotty type of brush (remember the brush tab I showed you in the tutorial, and the little arrow next to it?  Browse through the different brush sets that appear when you click the little arrow till you find something - try the 'natural' brushes) - and apply that to the texture.  Then take the smudge tool and smudge it around a little.  Play with the opacity of the layer, and that should give you some sort of grimey-looking skin.  Like I say, it's just an idea and untried and untested, but it might work.  An idea for blood might be a line of red running along the skin, (on a new layer) and use the dodge and burn tools to shade slightly.  Then like I said before, just save as a .jpg, and apply using the surfaces tab in Daz.

There's a good piece on doing skin in the october issue of 3DWorld magazine.

I think it involved scanning in a photo he took of his leather sofa!

Elfdaughter,

Oh.  (stunned expression) That actually sounds pretty simple.  Wow!  I've just gotta try it.  Um, now where do I find the texture?  Daz gives things such unhelpful names and hides things really well...

Help?

Prikshatk,

October?  Oh that one, Mr Red and Growly!  Spiffing!  I'll take a look at that too.