Can I ask for your expertize?

[jb3]

Firstly, I didn't find any Offtopic thread, so if this doesn't belong to this section, please feel free to move it. I wasn't sure either to post it under Guar or under Models and Textures.

I'm basically looking for some feedback concerning a retex I did. I would appreciate any constructive comments and criticism, so I can improve. Since I'm not an expert and it's my first thing, which I published at TesNexus.

Does the texture suck? Only a little? Is it of the acceptable quality? What would you change? What to pay attention to in the future? Etc etc

I know there are gazillions of models and textures at TesNexus, so it's tough to even begin to compete.

The only comment I got so far was that the texture was OK, but I was advised to prepare a female version. I was told that the majority of the folks come to TesNexus to d/l female files. So I did that. I was also told to -maybe- implement some real photoes, like the leather parts. I didn't do that.

So basically any advise/comments would be helpful.

Here is TesNexus link: http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=38670. If you don't want to d/l, just take a look at the screenies.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

I'm not an expert in this area, sadly so I'm not sure exactly what to tell you. If it ain't BM, it doesn't get much attention from me, I'm afraid. I'm a one-mod kind of guy.

[Koniption]

Originally posted by jb3
(snip...)

Does the texture suck? Only a little? Is it of the acceptable quality? What would you change? What to pay attention to in the future? Etc etc

I don't think the texture sucks. From the pictures, I don't see much, if any, pixelation of the texture - that is a good thing. The textures seem to blend well. I mean, you can't go wrong with "black & white" coloring. It's like a good pair of blue jeans - it goes well with everything else.

I know there are gazillions of models and textures at TesNexus, so it's tough to even begin to compete.

Yeah, but then again, everybody's tastes are different, retexture-wise and model-wise. Don't make mods to compete; make mods because it is fun for you. And if someone else likes your mod, and it was fun for you to make it, that is just an added bonus.

And if someone else give hateful critisism (I'm not talking about "Constructive" critisism) of your mod, I'd just ignore them. For one, they are like trolls, and for another, they could have just kept quiet and not used the mod further. I mean, you posted pictures, right? So anyone downloading your mod knows what to expect to get.

The only comment I got so far was that the texture was OK, but I was advised to prepare a female version. I was told that the majority of the folks come to TesNexus to d/l female files. So I did that. I was also told to -maybe- implement some real photoes, like the leather parts. I didn't do that.

Lots of Oblivion uses real photos, to add realism to models. If you want realism, then you can go ahead and use real leather photo. There are enough free texture sites on the web, where you can legally get free textures.

Look for sites/pictures that say that they are in "the public domain", or are "non-copyright".

Here's a good site:

http://www.morguefile.com/

Most, if not all, photos at above link are public domain, because they are retired. There are many thousands of photos, too.

Koniption

[sHAdowgAme]

I don't know if I would really call this a re texture. It seems like all you did was take the vanilla texture and changed the saturation/tint to black.



One think I would do, is add some wear and tear around some of the areas which would be most likely to receive the most damage, such as the shoulders and the chest.

Also, when texturing anything, ask yourself what material am I trying to emulate, weather it be wood, metal or anything else.

Carry a camera with you everywhere and take pictures of any cool textures you can find, or just have some friends and yourself go in on one of those huge professional texture packs they sell everywhere online.

Keep in mind what style the game is in too (realistic, painterly, cartoony, etc) and try to be consistent.

When you UV your model, watch out for seems.

And finally, ask people who actually know what they are talking about, like polycount.com or gameartisans.com . We are a bunch of idiots, who don't know a UV seem from a vertex.

Here is the workflow I use when I make/texture a model

-find reference images
-create concept sketches
-create low poly model based on concept sketches (keeping everything in quads)
-bring the low poly model into 3d sculpting program like zbrush or mudbox
-UV the low poly model
-Bake the normals from the high poly to the low poly
-create the color texture for the low poly
-import model into game engine.
-AND FINALLY: touch myself in utter excitement.

[Face]

I like it more than the original elven color, but I'm no fan of the armor.
From the screenshots, the only thing I notice that isn't good, are the white lines on the chest of the woman. They seem a bit too white, either the reflection (daylight probably) or they are just too big and same color. From my (humble) retex experience, I find that if more than three pixels next to eachother look unnatural, and that I should vary with similar colors (just slide the slider a tiny bit). So to speak

[jb3]

Thanks. That's more than I expected. Appreciate all the comments.

True, b&w is kinda easy and you can't go wrong, but I really didn't like the Elven Black and that was the only retex I could find. With all due respect to its author, but it just looks ugly.

The texture of the female armor is maybe a little 'too white', but I wanted the armor to look a bit worn-off. I actually played around with this part of the armor a lot, uploading, checking, modifying, checking etc. It was too white at first and I thought I achieved a satisfactory balanace at the end. But then you're probably right, it still needs a modification.

Ibsen, cheers mate. BM it is, the armor was just a side comment.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Loads of feedback for you. Damn, we're good! =)

[jb3]

LOL Thanks for your feedback everyone.

By the way, during the times of Thief modding (called missions, remember?), I used to carry a photo camera with me and hunt for some interesting textures. Don't make me do that again with Oblivion.

Imagine, you take pictures of, say, a sacrum and you hear people commenting "What a beautiful cathedral", while you think "Forget the cathedral, what splendid textures!" My gf used to tell me "Today on my way I found a gorgious building for your Thief mission".

Stuff like that.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Yeah, it made me a real connoisseur of Cathedrals at the time. =)

No need for such textures here. We seem to have quite a nice collection online and through various contacts, websites and so on that Koniption and myself find.

[jb3]

A slightly different question: what software do you guys use?

1. I was always a big fan of 3DS Max. Do you use it?
2. I also ocasionally used Anim8or, which is freeware. It wasn't that bad.
3. Oblivion-specific, Nifskope. It seems nice, but I didn't do anything in it. Can you model and map using Nifskope? Or is it only to view the models?

Also, how do you import/export between the programs? I believe only NifSkope can handle .nif files. I tried converting to .3ds.

As for textures, I bet everyone will say Photoshop. I'm actually a PSP fan.