Howto create textures from scratch?

Hi, I'm wondering what is the best way to go about creating game textures from scratch. My game will be having graphics similar to this
[http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080529195231/flyff/images/1/11/Male_Blade.jpg]
Any suggestions for creating those style of textures?

 

photoshop would be a start. Then you could use more if it helps you.

 

Well, I always prefer making my own textures as well. Photoshop or gimp wouldn't matter, but you should have a graphic tablet, it will be much more better and easier.

 

Depending on my Texture needs I will use Photoshop, Gimp for some, and even get base textures by walking outside with a digital camera. From stucco on the side of my house, concrete on the sidewalk, to black pavement on the road. Wood textures from window sills etc...

I've even once used several body pictures to capture hair textures from a past girlfriends poodle , then edit to my needs in gimp or photoshop.

 

Take pictures, edit them or hand paint them.

 

That's hand painted. You fill main colors then step down or up in shade to add highlights and details.
Good idea to get drawing tablet, or Note 8.0+SketchBook.

 

Many modeling programs will let you "paint" onto the mesh to add embellishments to the texture.

Unwrap your mesh, creating a UV plan.



Paint the base color in GIMP/Photoshop. Then go back into the modeling program and look for the texture painting mode.

For example, the figure you showed has little light-colored highlights painted onto shiny edges. Recessed areas are painted darker.

The modeler can then save your brush strokes right onto the original UV texture. You can go back to GIMP/Photoshop to fine-tune the painting some more. Back and forth until you're happy.

(Image from this tutorial for Blender: http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/bl...texturing-a-low-poly-t-rex-in-blender-part-2/)

 

Another way to create textures from scratch is with Chroma Paint. It's basically a paint program just usable from within unity instead of a separate application.

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/10923

 

To some extent it depends on what you are trying to texture.

But I have to echo what Halley is saying - use your 3D modeling software and your 2D paint program together.

A couple of tutorials that I use all the time as a reference and a reminder - both from cgcookie:

1. Texturing and Rendering an Elf Head in Blender - by Ben Simonds. Really like the dirty vertex painting technique he uses.

2. Creating a Jonathan Apple Texturing – Part 2 - by Jonathan Williamson. A neat demo of using texture cloning to remove seams after some nice initial photoshop work.

Although both tuts are done with Blender, I'm sure 3DMax and Maya probably have the same tools.

cheers, gryff

 

An example of a model I am building and texturing - an Italian greyhound.

The upper part of the image shows the model vertex painted, using the Ben Simonds technique, and that vertex painting baked to a texture. I can then play with it in gimp. Currently though the head vertices needs tweaking particularly the ears and neck.

The lower part of the image is my model, Tokyo, showing off the "greyhound physics engine" - no feet actually on the floor and at that angle I would fall over - but she does not ;-)

cheers, gryff