Hey all --

I was wondering if anyone knows an easy way of doing Photoreal skin textures?  I'm looking to make morphs of some people I know and want it to be a surprise. 

I'd like to be able to do the textures without needing pictures of them, but don't see how that is possible.

There's got to be a way, I'm sure every vendor here didn't have a live model to work off of for their figures.

I'm thinking this will be a very unique gift to pass on.

Thanks a bunch in advance! 

 

Attached Link: http://www.3d.sk

Probably the best single resource for skin photographs on the net.  Short of taking your own pics, it's definitely the way to go.

You should be able to make something that's a close match to the skin tones you need for your character.  If there's anything specific you need such as a distinctive tattoo, scar or birthmark, you'll have to paint those yourself. 

Ever made a texture?  It's damn hard work, making a good one from scratch.  That's why merchant resource packs are so popular.  You could use one but you're much more limited in the basic appearance, unless you cover it with new photos, which sort of defeats the object of the exercise. 

In short, no, there's no easy way.  There are quick ways and there are good ways.  Nothing in between. 

Bear in mind, your skin is only half the story; you'll need a good morph, too.

 

Thanks Sam,

I have a good reference photo that I have for a Morph so nothing new is needed to be taken.  That way the person won't know what's going on or that I'm even doing anything for whatever reason if it doesn't work out.

I appreciate the link, will definitely go there for sure!

Much appreciated

 

 

No prob.  A membership to the site is worth it; there's more texture resources than you can shake a stick at.  Assuming you're the sort of guy who likes to shake sticks at things, that is.  :)

LOL ---

I was hoping that it would have been free site, but that's no problem right now.  I can work on getting the morph PERFECT in Poser. 

I'm using V4 as a basis, since there are many options for clothing, etc that I can add to the figure. 

I'll have to get the membership at some point.

However, I noticed skin sets in the Marketplace.  Are those usuallly allowable to be used for Textures if you're not selling them?

 

 

 

If you use ZBrush at all - though the technique probably works in any app that allows opacity adjustment when painting - Scott Spencer detailed a technique for painting realistic skin in his book, "ZBrush Character Creation: Advanced Digital Sculpting".  I used the technique to paint this without any photos for skin or hair (I did use photo refs for the eyes - which are huge by the way).

Cool --- that is good to know too.  I might be able to get more matches for the skin tones that way as well. 

I have one character that is almost an identical skin tone, which does work, so I might go with that too.

Will have to try more as I work on the morph of the subject.

Thanks! =)

Quote - If you use ZBrush at all - though the technique probably works in any app that allows opacity adjustment when painting - Scott Spencer detailed a technique for painting realistic skin in his book, "ZBrush Character Creation: Advanced Digital Sculpting".  I used the technique to paint this without any photos for skin or hair (I did use photo refs for the eyes - which are huge by the way).

Wow, that is WAY cool Teyon! :). Zbrush is awesome - maybe one day I'll be able to afford it..lol.

grumble...so little time, so little money......

Laurie

The thing about Teyon's / Spencer's technique is that it can also be done in Photoshop / Gimp / et all once the UVs have already been prepared. The advantage of using ZBrush (in this way) is that you don't have to worry about matching seams.

It is a fairly easy but really powerful technique that is definitely worth study.

Yup, that's true. Any paint app that has the ability to adjust opacity (and now that you can paint on models in Photoshop, it would be easier still) should be able to do the technique in theory.

 

As an aside, Ryan Kingslien in one of his ZBrush Workshops put together a video showing this technique also.  He's implemented a monthly fee base for the ZBW (I just signed up today). So that's another resource for the technique should you have a hard time finding Spencer's book.

 

Anyway, using Photos or painting by hand, both can give you great results or bad results - it really depends on your skill and attention to detail.  Whatever method you choose, never stop trying to improve upon it!

I have had pretty decent  results with loading texture templates into photo-morphing software and morphing refrence photos to the templates... working in several layers and blending the results  in photo editing software ... then blending one of the available existing textures around the edges to match seams... hey its cheap... lotsa free trial software out there... keeps me occupied.. i enjoy experimenting with new techniques...

 

JAFO

You can also paint directly on the mesh in Blender.

Hmmmm -- thanks for everyone's input.  Wasn't aware of the abilities of Blender.  Will have to try it maybe considering Blender is free, sounds far more powerful than Gmax, which is what I use all ready.