The 3rd Age

Battles of Gondor, the War in the South

Battles of Gondor, the War in the South

Converts BfME2 RotWK to the war in the south, bettween the armys of Gondor and Mordor. 4.0 released.

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Texturing the Golasgil Household Knights

Avatar of Nertea

Nertea

Category: Graphics
Level: Intermediate
Created: Thursday June 14, 2007 - 22:50
Updated: Sunday March 20, 2011 - 13:23
Views: 30693
Summary: Extensive description of texturing methods

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This tutorial covers, in detail and with a lot of pictures, the entire texturing process of the elite troops of Langstrand.

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Here is my concept art for the unit. I'll be following this as best as I can

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Texture Layout


I previously mapped the texture to 2 separate files. One contains the body, another contains the accessories: hair, face, helmet and sword. A screenshot of each UV unwrap window left me with these two files:

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I next create a couple of layers in each document, each containing a base colour for that object, and laying out the various components of the skin as per my concept drawing.If I were modeling, this would be the blocking out stage, using placeholder objects for everything. One reason to do this is to check UV mapping edges and lay out the colour scheme properly.
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Once that is out of the way, we can begin the real work.

One of the most important components of this guy, as per the concept, is the chainmail hauberk. So, I’m going to draw some 4 to 1 style chainmail. I already have some in a seprate document, but it is showing its age, and lacking it accuracy.
So, new Photoshop document, any large size will do. I’ll use 1024x1024, so I can use this later for almost any size of chainmail.

Using the ellipse tool on add mode, draw a grey circle around the size of your individual ring. Then, set it to subtract mode and draw a second ellipse inside to create a ring. Rasterize the layer and squash it slightly – chainmail is almost always set at an angle. It can also be perfectly rounded, which is probably easier if you're trying to work out the precise linkages.

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Next, to give easy depth, apply a bevel effect in the blending options dialog. Adjust this as you wish to create the style of ring you want. Flat, rounded, all will have different effects. Of course, each ring may only be 5 pixels high on the final texture, so you may not care at all!

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Now rasterize again, to make the bevel permanent. Because there are other scales, there will be reflections, which I will draw in as a second light ring with the dodge tool

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One more operation on the ring – since it is a bent piece of wire, draw in a little junction where the two ends would have met. Then, duplicate the layer and hide the duplicate, so if you screw up the next step you can come back to it. (Note: while I was trying to figure out the linkages, I screwed up completely around 3 times)

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I suggest getting some references for the type of chainmail you wish to make. Since I’m making 4 to 1, there’s a specific linkage style I’ll use, and you should study what link style you want to determine where the layers should be placed. 4 to 1 just means 4 rings link in each one. 6 to 1 is denser and so on. Most European stuff is 4 to 1, so it's the most reasonable for Middle-Earth textures.
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And the chainmail is pretty much done at this point.

Comments

Display order: Newest first | Page: 1, 2, 3

Rob38 (Team Chamber Member) - Sunday June 17, 2007 - 19:36

What can I say Nertea!? You truly are a pro with Photoshop!

ched (Team Chamber Member) - Saturday June 16, 2007 - 7:02

on page 2, there's a broken image, namely surcoatb5.jpg

Nertea (Team Chamber Member) - Friday June 15, 2007 - 16:34

I'll release the model and skins, (in tga, not psd I'm afraid) when I finish enough fiefdom units for Southern Fiefdoms Model Pack #2.

The model took 30 mins, mapping it took another hour, skin around 5 hours, tutorial about the same. Things would have gone faster if I hadn't been commenting and remembering to take screenshots all the time.

Bart (Administrator) - Friday June 15, 2007 - 15:39

How long did this (the tutorial and the art itself) take you to do? Awesome stuff, a real boost for this new site.

Are you going to release the files? (Including PSD's)

Bebbe - Friday June 15, 2007 - 13:16

As told on MSN, so FRICKIN' awesome.

Hostile (Administrator) - Friday June 15, 2007 - 12:58

This is the money shot. The absolute best tutorial on skinning I have ever seen. I will link this to my favorites. Unbelieveable, to see it all unfold image by image.

I'm astounded. Nertea, God bless you, you did it. You made history and I witnessed it. This may qualify you for a lifetime achievement award from T3A. I'll have to consult with ched and company.

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