Here is a quick tutorial on how to create some very nice image based textures for Bryce. I am using Bryce 7 Pro but the same process can be used with older versions also.  With a little experimentation you will soon have your own metals and stone textures.

First search the web for free grunge images for use with Photoshop. There are tons of them out there.

I suggest you look for hi-res images. You can also use a 2D image editor or paint program to create even larger seamless tiles from the image.  Here are a couple tutorials on how to do this with Adobe Photoshop. You can find the same type tutorials for other applications on the web. Just remember the larger the image the more computer memory it will require.

Making seamless textures using Adobe PhotoShop

http://www.photoshoptextures.com/texture-tutorials/seamless-textures.htm

or

http://3ddojo.blogspot.com/2008/03/custom-made-seamless-texture-tutorial.html

Save those images to a folder you can easily find from Bryce.

2    Clear out any beads that may be in the columns.  We are starting fresh from here. 

3    Click a bead in the first column to the right of "diffuse" to open the alpha channel.

4    Click the "P" in the texture editor then the second bead at the top of the editor window to open the texture source screen.

6    Select copy under your now loaded image then select paste under the second block.  You will be asked if it is okay to delete the present setting.  Select delete.

7    Repeat the process to fill several of the blank tiles with grunge images.

9    Once back in the mat lab hold down the "control" key and click the next bead beside the diffuse category to open another channel.  +bead (I'm not sure of the keyboard designation for a Mac) 

10   Repeat step 8 but choose a completely different image for B channel

11   You can do the same process to add a third channel if you wish.

12   Now activate the beads in the same columns for specularity, metalicity and anisthropy.

13   Activate bump by adding beads to one or more columns. (you can actually add another separate channel for bump only if you like)

14   From this point on it is your experimentation with changing slider values and tweaking specular and specular halo colors to get the effects you like.

The render is the results of a couple different settings.  The render is on a black backdrop sky and a single white radial light.

Closing note and challenge.

Experiment with applying the mat channel parametric, spherical, cylindrical, random, etc...

These settings seem to best work on rounded objects.  Your scene light sources will effect the end results of your material.  IBL lighting will drastically effect the look of these materials.  experiment, experiment , experiment.

The challenge:

Make your own image based mats using this process and post them to this thread.  Good luck and happy Brycing

Very nice tut! Thankyou!

Indeed it is and I've stickied it up there...a kinda good idea if this idea takes root...do a tute on what you do well sort of an ongoing and challenging, non challenge

That's a really nice tut, skiwillgee, simple without being too obvious about it, (ie helpful but not looking down at newbies) and with no steps missed out.

Very well done.

Oh cool!
I still didn't know everything, so now I can try that, too.

Thanks for the cool tut! :-)

Corrie

Many thanks for an excellent tutorial, skiwillgee. I've done something similar using a single image, but didn't realize two or more could be mixed the way you describe. 

If I might make a recommendation for downloading free images to use as textures, have a look at http://www.amazingtextures.com

great link Mysteral.....

Thanks for this tutorial...Will be giving this a try and see what comes up.

Steve

thank you for this interesting tut Skiwillgee, I'll try this too. So when it works (I hope so),  I'll show it here.

Mysteral: Thanks for the link :-)