The same question over and over...

BadDawGe · 27-12-2007, 05:43 PM

Hello Everyone,

I'm sure you've heard this before...

I'm new to the forums and to 3d. I've used graphic programs since I was a child but only in a 2d environment. I live and breathe Photoshop but really want to learn 3d texturing design. I use to design textures for old quake levels and doom mods and such and that's pretty much where it started. I'm not really interested in building huge expansive models or even characters for that matter, I just want to learn about level design via texturing. Those could be one in the same, I'm really not sure. I'm just here for answers. I understand what a bump map is but have never used one as what I've been designing for is 2d graphic based only. I don't have the first clue of where to start to understand the basics of Bump/Specular/Normal mapping and so on. It appears to me most people are partial to 3dMax in the forums and most of the tutorials I've seen are 3dMax related. Is that what you all would tell a newbie to start with?

I'll attach an image I was playing with the other day. It's a sci-fi door, nothing to special the light is horribly off as well as the shadows but it will give you an idea of what I normally design with photoshop.

Any help you guys have to offer I want to thank you in advance. I've always wanted to work in 3d just never quite knew where to start. I spend countless hours on these forums every day and just wanted to say hi and hopefully get some nudges in the right direction to be creating art like some of the great stuff I see on here on a daily basis. Thanks again for reading my post.

peace

DivideandRender · 29-12-2007, 02:13 PM

Hello,
I think 3ds max is a good program. Before you commit to buying a program I would recommend checking out a free 3d modeling program, sure you'll have to learn the program but you can learn the techniques that are useful with any 3d program. Blender is a free one. I think there are others.

laughing_bun · 29-12-2007, 03:44 PM

in terms of texturing. the latest version of crazy bump has a lot of cool features. You can play around with it and get an idea of what normal maps, spec maps, ect. are all about.

CrazyBump

hyphen · 29-12-2007, 07:36 PM

Bump/normal/spec/diffuse maps are all pretty easy to understand.

Normal mapping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thats a good article on normal maps.

Specularity map is just a grayscale image that shows which areas will be shiny (highlights and such). White areas reflect the most light while black areas reflect none.

I'm not too familiar with max as i haven't used it in some years, but you should definitely look at some tutorials on setting up basic shading networks and such. It wouldn't hurt to learn some modeling too. As far as level design and texturing are concerned, they're very different things. Level designers generally use map editors to create the actual level and script events and such. They *usually* don't even touch photoshop, they just use the textures that the texture artists make. Though, there are some smaller places that have LDs create textures and their own models...I'm pretty sure those few places are the exception though.

I initially started using Maya because the UI and animation tools were way more intuitive for me (especially the node based system). After that it just sort of stuck. It really comes down to personal preference though. You should really try experimenting with the learning versions of the different packages and see which one sticks. Just remember that the software is only a tool and almost every package share similar features with different names. So it's best not to get too bothered about what package to use.

There are some pretty helpful tutorials here. 3Dtotal.com is also a great resource.

27-12-2007, 05:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
BadDawGe Amateur Artist 2 - 0	The same question over and over... Hello Everyone, I'm sure you've heard this before... I'm new to the forums and to 3d. I've used graphic programs since I was a child but only in a 2d environment. I live and breathe Photoshop but really want to learn 3d texturing design. I use to design textures for old quake levels and doom mods and such and that's pretty much where it started. I'm not really interested in building huge expansive models or even characters for that matter, I just want to learn about level design via texturing. Those could be one in the same, I'm really not sure. I'm just here for answers. I understand what a bump map is but have never used one as what I've been designing for is 2d graphic based only. I don't have the first clue of where to start to understand the basics of Bump/Specular/Normal mapping and so on. It appears to me most people are partial to 3dMax in the forums and most of the tutorials I've seen are 3dMax related. Is that what you all would tell a newbie to start with? I'll attach an image I was playing with the other day. It's a sci-fi door, nothing to special the light is horribly off as well as the shadows but it will give you an idea of what I normally design with photoshop. Any help you guys have to offer I want to thank you in advance. I've always wanted to work in 3d just never quite knew where to start. I spend countless hours on these forums every day and just wanted to say hi and hopefully get some nudges in the right direction to be creating art like some of the great stuff I see on here on a daily basis. Thanks again for reading my post. peace

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29-12-2007, 02:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
DivideandRender New Member 14 - 9	Hello, I think 3ds max is a good program. Before you commit to buying a program I would recommend checking out a free 3d modeling program, sure you'll have to learn the program but you can learn the techniques that are useful with any 3d program. Blender is a free one. I think there are others.

29-12-2007, 03:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
laughing_bun Senior Member 365 - 69	in terms of texturing. the latest version of crazy bump has a lot of cool features. You can play around with it and get an idea of what normal maps, spec maps, ect. are all about. CrazyBump

29-12-2007, 07:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
hyphen New Member 73 - 16	Bump/normal/spec/diffuse maps are all pretty easy to understand. Normal mapping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thats a good article on normal maps. Specularity map is just a grayscale image that shows which areas will be shiny (highlights and such). White areas reflect the most light while black areas reflect none. I'm not too familiar with max as i haven't used it in some years, but you should definitely look at some tutorials on setting up basic shading networks and such. It wouldn't hurt to learn some modeling too. As far as level design and texturing are concerned, they're very different things. Level designers generally use map editors to create the actual level and script events and such. They usually don't even touch photoshop, they just use the textures that the texture artists make. Though, there are some smaller places that have LDs create textures and their own models...I'm pretty sure those few places are the exception though. I initially started using Maya because the UI and animation tools were way more intuitive for me (especially the node based system). After that it just sort of stuck. It really comes down to personal preference though. You should really try experimenting with the learning versions of the different packages and see which one sticks. Just remember that the software is only a tool and almost every package share similar features with different names. So it's best not to get too bothered about what package to use. There are some pretty helpful tutorials here. 3Dtotal.com is also a great resource.