I think I'm going to go with shaders.

I work security at some events and occasionally football games. This weekend and last I happened to be working security for the NC State football game and I notice that a LOT of the women in attendance were wearing Cowboy boots. So I thought, hey, Roxy needs a new pair of boots!

I'm still making refinements as I try to make them better, but consarn it! I just can't get the textures to look right!

Oh well back to Blender.

I like the boots.

2 tips

look at the seams that you have , the seams are incorrect

all western boots are seamed along both sides of the upper and lower parts on the sides

the lower and upper are each made of 2 parts and are seperate as well, the boot straps are also seperate pieces

im attatching a pic that will help show the seperate materials and where the seams should be

Hehehe...texturing isn't hard, and even less so when ya got good uvs. What's your uvs look like? And what are you using to do your textures (the program)?

Laurie

UVMapper. The free version.

You use Blender, right? Makes much nicer uvs ;). Takes practice to make good uvs, but practice makes perfect and it's worth learning :D The flatter they are the better...and clothes are a snap because you can cut them up just like a pattern.

Laurie

But... texturing is HARD!!!

Quote - But... texturing is HARD!!!

yeah if you mark your UV seams exactly where the cloth would be sewn then your UVs should come out fairly flat.. afterall those pieces of cloth would lay flat right?

Stitch witch is a handy tool to help layout and match up stitching and cloth textures.

One thing is to try to make sure you scale your UVs proportioanly if your program allows it, that way any patter you use will match up nicely with itself.

I try to use base cloth textures (look for photoshp tutorials) in greyscale with colour being added in a separate layer, that way you can use your greyscale texture as a bump. Ive had good success with some things and I now use almost no image resources in my textures.

the maps for the boots would actualy be easy to do if the mesh has the right topology

also it depends on what version of blender you are using to say how clean the maps would be

the material zones will help guide the texture map as unbroken-fighter has said.

texturing is easy , excellent uv mapping and texturing is much tougher. I would learn to uv map in blender. Free uv mapper is limited in the type of mapping.

I'm looking for some Blender tutorials on UV mapping now.

All in all though this is the best pair of foot wear I've ever made. Hopefull I'll get better.

not trying to pick on ya but this looks like a monomesh and you will never get the results you need like that

i dont have the model that you are using as a form and i dont have the boots mesh but the fixes are actauly easy and would give you a better end result

look at the reference image i posted for a guide as to the seams and the seperated pieces

making the actual textures is easy to some but the mapping is dependant on the topology

ill look around for a mesh that i can use a a pic based tut for blender for laying out the seams

I need a bit of clarification, particularly concerning the word "monomesh".

monomesh, unimesh means a 1 piece mesh that is joined at the seams instead of seperated as you would see in the real world version

for example take a car body that has the entire body as 1 mesh and the fenders are only MATZONES instead of being individual parts

the straps on the boots should be made as a total of 4 pieces, the uppers as 4 and the lowers as 4

the more pieces that are availible that match the seams you tend to be able to make better maps because you do not have to comply with a warped map

its difficult to explain without the mesh and id bet you are getting more confused everytime you try because everyone has their own level of use, ive been using blender since it was about a week old so im more experienced in it but its all still basic modeling if you just dont over think it

Hmmm, there is a shoe modeling tuttorial over on Blender guru. Think I'll take a look at it.

There's also one on Blender Cookie :D

http://cgcookie.com/blender/cgc-courses/creating-a-shoe-in-blender/

Laurie

That's actually the one I meant. I watch the first part of it and saw a few things that I'd like to try. Modeling in layers and the snap to thing seems interesting. But that will have to be for future projects. I'm going to clean up the mess on this mesh as best I can and move on.

Fair 'nuff ;)

Laurie

Well, they're not perfect, but they'll do for now. At least until I get more experience.

I think they look great :)

Yep, UV is important, particularly trying to lay it out just like it would be if all the parts were not sewn together... then you can just texture in the actual seams like it was sewn together. Make a selection around the edge and run a stitching look in a new layer. You might have to keep your selection to only one side (or erase what you don't need). If you can make a slight bump map from that too, it will help it look convincing.

I'm no texturing genius but that seems to be a good way to look at it.

Like your boots. :)

.

Roxie's wearing her new boots. Thank god, she's a country girl!![](http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/art/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

YEEEEEEEEE-HAW! ;)

Laurie

So yesterday, I pretty much threw myself into learning how to UV Wrap in Blender. I think I mostly got it., but there are a few little nuances I have to work on. Plus I need to figure out how to generate an actual UV Map template.

Still I don't think that's too bad for my first time.

again a few tips

think in tubes for clothing

the arms are basic cylinders, as is the torso

just get a shirt and look at where it is sewn together and use that as a base

Yeah, I know I can do better with the seams, but as I said for my first time out, I'm basically happy I got out of the program with a textured object at this point. There's still a lot I need to learn, such as how to add a second texture to the same object, how to line up the seams better, and how to generate a template.

please dont think im trying to be mean because im not

but look at a shirt and where the seams are

the texture seams and the mat zones are sperate ideas in the map

texture seams are just that a seperattion in the actual texture map and material zones are subsets within the texture

in blender you can use the texture paint option to paint the desired images on to a irregular mesh if you use the views right

example cut the sleeves at the shoulders and split the mesh in the bottom center, unwrap from view, save that as the master UV and then create another version from the top and front and back, ect.......

there was a tut on cookie that defined it better but im tired and need to feed so ill link it later

Quote - please dont think im trying to be mean because im not

but look at a shirt and where the seams are

the texture seams and the mat zones are sperate ideas in the map

texture seams are just that a seperattion in the actual texture map and material zones are subsets within the texture

in blender you can use the texture paint option to paint the desired images on to a irregular mesh if you use the views right

example cut the sleeves at the shoulders and split the mesh in the bottom center, unwrap from view, save that as the master UV and then create another version from the top and front and back, ect.......

there was a tut on cookie that defined it better but im tired and need to feed so ill link it later

You keep telling me that. I know where the seams are on a shirt. I've marked the seams on the model. Blender keeps ignoring them. So obviously, I haven't quite figured out what I'm doing wrong, okay? The only option that seems to give me close to the results I want are the "Smart UV" option.

I thought I had it there for a moment but when i tried to UV map the front of the shirt, which was the last part, everything just got completely out of hand. Up until that point everything was actually looking fine.

I think part of the problem lies with the way I modeled the breast areas on the model. I think it's throwing Blender for a loop.

I think you can pretty much see the seams around the sleeves in this screen shot and on the shoulders. There are no seams anywhere around the breast area, but Blender insists on putting some there, and it's not doing a very good job.

I took a screenshot of the model in Blender. You can see the seams around the sleeves, along the side and on top of the shoulders. There are no seams around the breast ares, but Blender insists on putting some there.

Knowing just where to cut is sort of an art ;). It'll come in time...no rush. LOL

To be honest..the seams at the breast area could be darts, which some shirts definitely have (grandma was a seamstress...lol).

You can see them here running across from the shoulder toward the tip of the bust and down the front, although these are actually separate pieces sewn together I HAVE seen darts at the bust like your uvs ;).

Laurie

I think you can pretty much see the seams around the sleeves in this screen shot and on the shoulders. There are no seams anywhere around the breast area, but Blender insists on putting some there, and it's not doing a very good job.

You can export UV layouts in Blender by selecting the UVs category in the UV map window, then Export UV Layout in the menu.

That will bring up a small menu in the lower left hand corner of the screen that gives you some export options.

Here's the image of the UV export options.

As far as seams go, Blender only uses user created seams for the Unwrap UV option.

All the other UV map options in Blender bypass any user created seams.

Blender's smart unwrap option, basically just tries to flatten out the map by creating its own seams, which are usually troublesome.

Smart unwrap tends to work better flat non organic shapes than rounded organic shapes.

Okay so I went back in and tried again. Much better this time, but there's some distorion around the breast areas.

Tried again. Much better, but there is distortion around the breast areas.

Not too shabby ;). I don't know if Blender has LSCM mapping, but if it does, you can try that and see if it stretches less.

Laurie

Yeah this still isn't any good. I didn't notice before, but the size of the checks is different on both sides of the front and in the back. This has been a good shirt to practice on, but I'm going to go ahead and release this as a freebie with the previous texture. I'm going to keep practicing though.

I'm impressed by what you have learned and appreciate all the freebies you are making for the new Poser people. Modeling is way beyond me and my now almost useless hands. Thank you!

I know what the problem is though. The front mesh isn't laying down flat. It's skewed at an angle and I have no clue how to correct it... yet. That's why the checks are smaller on one side than on the other. I'm going to have to watch that stupid video again, because I'm missing something.

I'll post here since it's very relevant...

I'm trying to update some textures that aren't very good. They're old (from 2007). Not that there is anything wrong with that, but they are only 1024x1024, too low res for closeups.

The objects didn't come with templates, my difficulty is they are a bit complex (weapons). I have Photoshop.

Are there better tools for this job? I see Blender here for UV maps.

were the originals freebies or paid items?

that effects how they can be handled

also are they still availible from the maker?

Attached Link: UV Mapper Downloads Page

There's also a UVMapper program that's free you can use to map texture maps from .OBJ files. Get the Pro version (it's free, too) because you can make colored maps that, for me, make it easier to tell the zones apart.

The Pro version is only for Windows but the Classic version is also available for MAC.

Quote - I'll post here since it's very relevant...

I'm trying to update some textures that aren't very good. They're old (from 2007). Not that there is anything wrong with that, but they are only 1024x1024, too low res for closeups.

The objects didn't come with templates, my difficulty is they are a bit complex (weapons). I have Photoshop.

Are there better tools for this job? I see Blender here for UV maps.

Wings is about the easiest to UV map in that I can think of. I caught on to Wings in a week ;). Mileage may vary of course. LOL.

Oh, and it's also free. Blender is a bear of a program to learn. I say start simple and go from there :)

Laurie

Quote - were the originals freebies or paid items?

that effects how they can be handled

also are they still availible from the maker?

They are paid items here at the marketplace. I was going to site mail the vendor too, just haven't had time yet. I can post what they were, if that's considered OK.

LaurieA and pigfish9 - thanks, I'll have to check those tools out too.

If all you want to do is print out the templates and not change the UVs at all, then UVM Free is the way to go (pigfish's suggestion). If you want to change uvs, then I wouldn't use UVM for that. Go for a modeling program (not Blender if you can help it since it's so involved, not because it's not good. LOL).

Laurie

I don't think I want to change the UV's - forgive me I'm a total newbie in this area. I didn't see any issues with the textures being wrong/mapped incorrectly, there's just way too low of a resolution.

I have the existing textures in the /runtime/textures directory of course, but it seems that there would be an easier way to do it.

I also emailed the vendor.

EClark

Are you using Live Unwrap In Blender?

It saves a ton of time, and doing it any other way just tests your patients.

This quick video shows just about everything you need to know on how to do it.

It just touches on how to fix stretching, but shows enough of it to get you going in a hurry.

http://vimeo.com/21943368

Some things are easy to explain, other things are not........ <- Store -> <-Freebies->

Blender seems to be very temperamental. The last time I opened it, it worked well. This time, I kept losing the UV grid. And for the life of me, I can't generate a UV test grid to work with. I went with UV Mapper on this model of a mermaid's tail. There's a little stretching and disortion around the shinbone/tailfin area, but still not bad.

Maybe I'll give Wings3D a try if Laurie says it UV maps easily.

Part 1

Part 2

This one tutorial made UV mapping in Wings 3D VERY clear to me ;). And he's a member of Rendo so that makes it even better. Best of all, he's uv mapping a clothing item :D

This is an older version of Wings but it still holds true other than a few minor differences that don't matter for uv mapping.

Laurie

EClark:

To generate a UV Test Grid, Create a new image and at the bottom there is a box labeled 'generated type' which will give you the option of blank (default) UV Grid or Colour Grid.

I did that. It didn't work.

Quote - There's also a UVMapper program that's free you can use to map texture maps from .OBJ files. Get the Pro version (it's free, too) because you can make colored maps that, for me, make it easier to tell the zones apart.

The Pro version is only for Windows but the Classic version is also available for MAC.

Does it let you export? I downloaded the pro version from that page, but it indicates that it must be registered to export. :(

It lets you save the template or texture map while unregistered. I don't think it lets you save the remapping changes without registering.

Under file is "Save Template" or keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T You can make different templates for an object if they overlap (like for a character). Use the select tab to select the groups you want on your template then use Select Inverse to select everything you don't want and hit your delete key. It won't change your obj file, just allow you to create the template for those parts.

I just woke up so I'm not sure how lucid that explanation is. Let me know if you need step-by-step. Does anyone know if Steve Cox frequents the message boards here (and what his user name is)?

Steve Cox is a REALLY hard man to get hold of. LOL. I've seen him perhaps a total of twice in 5 years. He doesn't really answer emails either.

Laurie

You could try posting in the UV Mapper forum. Maybe you can reach him there.

Been there, done that. More than once. LOL

Laurie

Hey, I think I did it! This was the mesh for Rex's Mertail, but I managed to get it to unwrap and everything in Blender. For the heck of it I still ran it through UVMapper, but that just produced the same map Blender did. As far as I can tell, there's no distortion at all. There does seem to be a slightly imperfect seam along the back of the tailfin but I can easily live with that!

Here's the reverse side. You can see the seam down the middle. Not to bad until you get to the tailfin.

Ya dont want the seam down the back...you'll want them down the sides. UV mapping is about how to cut the mesh to get the least amount of distortion with the fewest seams. I know cutting it down the sides is two seams instead of one, but it's the flattest. LOL.

Like I said before...it's an art and will come in time ;).

Laurie

Here's the thing though, and maybe it's just me, but I looking for a seam that I can hide, or at least one that's not so noticeable. To me, that means a back seam because people, or at least me, don't render figures from the back that often, but they do from the front and sides.

I went back into Blender and tried to clean up the seam a bit.

Well, I'm an old texturer, and it's easy for me to match seams, so maybe that plays into it ;)

Laurie

using projection paint can solve the seam issues if you learn how to use it correctly

create a master uv map and save it as master

then unwrap from view in front, left, rear, and right

from the views you can use texture projection painter topaint the image onto the main map without visible seams

i remember the tut from cgcookie from a ways back

Got a link?

http://cgcookie.com/blender/2009/06/18/texturing-with-projection-painting/

thats the one i remembered but its for older versions

the basics still are the same just different tool locations

Thanks, I'll check it out!

There is a newer one. Just wade thru the tutorials. LOL There's some gems in there anyway ;).

Laurie

I found this video on cloning to be the most helpful on the subject I've come across:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ngVoGIj1Q

That is rather awesome. I wonder if you can use clone painting to do textures for Roxie?

I'm sure you could.

projection and clone painting is the same idea except that in true projection painting ypou use UVmaps to make a single map and clone just uses a single map that you use a brush to paint on what is wanted

check the blender forum here because there is more links to the newer tuts about it and a few peoples tips as well

In clone you make two UV maps, and use projection UV mapping. And that tutorial is from Jan 2013. There's more recent texture painting tools, but I haven't seen any that change the basics of the cloning technique.

Modeled and UV mapped in Blender. This is the finished product imported and rendered in Poser.

Those are pretty.

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Thanks. This one was pretty straightforward thanks to the excellent advice about texturing Blender people here gave me. I just used a reference photo to model the wings, then used the same photo to texture it. Perfect fit.

Forum: Poser - OFFICIAL

Subject: Consarn it! Texturing is hard!