Making textures look dirty...

Azdara

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for making textures look dirty and worn... I know Meowx does this well in particular, and onyx used to have something on his cold blood site, but thats been taken down...

So shoot with your tips guys... I'm using photoshop 5.5 for my work right now, if that helps.

~A~

I also better add that my main problem is getting the darkening layer to look realistic... I can't seem to get it.
------------------
"How can I make it go faster?" -Me-

(This message has been edited by Azdara (edited 11-08-2003).)

Mazca

It's low-tech, but painting some dots and smears with a medium sized 30-50% opacity black or brown brush then using the smear tool to rough it up can produce some very good wear effects.

------------------
(url="http://"http://www.mazca.com/")Mazca(/url) , Moderator, (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number;=9&SUBMIT;=Go&urgaylol;=yes")EV Developer's Corner(/url)
Look over their! There doing a weird dance with they're hats! - Shenlon

Azdara

Yeah, but I've found I have no technique doing that... looks to... made. Unnatural. The nova miner in particular has fantastic dirt on it... have a look at the desktop picture for it...

Still thanks for the tip, I'll keep trying with it. And a thanks for the "Webboard elite" thing too. Glad to see you have a good sense of humour.

~A~

------------------
"How can I make it go faster?" -Me-

(This message has been edited by Azdara (edited 11-08-2003).)

Mazca

Quote

Originally posted by Azdara:
**Yeah, but I've found I have no technique doing that... looks to... made. Unnatural. The nova miner in particular has fantastic dirt on it... have a look at the desktop picture for it...

Still thanks for the tip, I'll keep trying with it. And a thanks for the "Webboard elite" thing too. Glad to see you have a good sense of humour. :)**

Heh, sure. No problem.

I had a go at making textures similar to the Asteroid Miner ((url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/games/evn/desktoppics/Asteroid_Miner(800x600).jpg")here's a picture of the miner(/url)), and I had some good results by selecting rectangles of a metal sheet in photoshop, randomly scribbling round the edges a bit with a 20px 40% opacity dull brown brush, then running a very high-blur Motion Blur filter on the selection... it produces a nice effect of wear due to travelling fast.

------------------
(url="http://"http://www.mazca.com/")Mazca(/url) , Moderator, (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number;=9&SUBMIT;=Go&urgaylol;=yes")EV Developer's Corner(/url)
Look over their! There doing a weird dance with they're hats! - Shenlon

Martin Turner

The trade secret for dirt is - I am given to understand - dirt. That is, photographing actual dirt at about 2000 x 1000 resolution. Fortunately, with a digital camera you don't have to travel very far to find some.

------------------
M A R T I N T U R N E R
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FrozenHeart104.sit.bin")Frozen Heart(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FemmeFatale.sea.bin")Femme Fatale(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/dl-redirect.pl?path=evo/plugins&file;=Frozen Heart - the No.hqx")Frozen Heart - the Novel(/url)

Guest_UE_Research & Development_*

If someone wants me to photograph and upload some dirt, I'd be willing to try.

------------------
(url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/ue_rd")Fatal Alliance- an upcoming quasi-TC for EVN.(/url)
Secret Project: Nearing Completion. (No links available)
Visit the (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number;=20&SUBMIT;=Go")Chronicles(/url) today! Be sure to read the short story ' (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/ubb/newsdisplay.cgi?action=topics &number;=20&forum;=*EV/EVO+chronicles&DaysPrune;=100&article;=000262&startpoint;=")Fiery Descent(/url)'!
(url="http://"http://forums.tildesoft.com")Oblivion:(/url) An upcoming TC for EV:N

pipeline

Quote

Originally posted by UE_Research & Development:
If someone wants me to photograph and upload some dirt, I'd be willing to try.

Sure, I'll grab you a shot of dirt. Give me a moment...

Dave @ ATMOS

pipeline

Well, here's a 1600.1200 shot of dirt. It's not very dusty dirt, more pebbly/granular. This may have some sections of dirt in it that you can clone.

It's not a small file; 1.67MB, I'm afraid.
(url="http://"http://berserkir.ambrosia.net/~pipeline/images/dirt.jpg")http://berserkir.amb...images/dirt.jpg(/url)

Sorry about the lenticular distortion around the edges; it's a small camera.

all the best,

Dave @ ATMOS

Azdara

I looked at my topic and thought, Pipeline, he'll have something good to say about this... Thanks for the dirt pipe, possibly I should have been more specific. I mean dirt on plating, as in for texturing ships and making them look old and worn out. The particular government I'm doing them for has been described to me as being the kind of people who don't give a rats arse when their ships get dirty, but to make them look this way has been a real drag, I can't figure it out. Seing as you were with ATMOS, and the kind of effect I'm after can be readily seen on the miner made for Nova (thanks to mazca for linkage) I'm simply wondering how it's done.

The dirt is probably a good idea for texturing landscapes though... thanks.

Mazca: Great idea! I'll have to try that one...

Thanks all for help. Any other suggestions pipe?

~A~

Edited: For stuff...
------------------
"How can I make it go faster?" -Me-

(This message has been edited by Azdara (edited 11-08-2003).)

mrxak

Why are you calling pipeline Pike?

Azdara

Possibly my brain is not working today... Pipe, Pike, it's an easy mistake. Editing will happen.

I also should say that i realise this is a big subject, no one liner will solve my problems... still, a few tips could help.

~A~

------------------
"How can I make it go faster?" -Me-

(This message has been edited by Azdara (edited 11-08-2003).)

mrxak

Well I'd give you a suggestion, but I'm not so sure myself. My attempts have been mediocre at best.

Azdara

Thanks mrxak... I think the hardest part is getting that uniform, but light layer of dirt that so many people just seem to do easily... to stop your colours looking fake, matte and "painted On." My colours just seem so acrylic, I need to break them up...

~A~

Edit: edited for mrxak's comfort. :rolleyes:
------------------
"How can I make it go faster?" -Me-

(This message has been edited by Azdara (edited 11-09-2003).)

mrxak

It's mrxak.

Martin Turner

Azdara, don't be discouraged. Getting the dirt photographed is only the first stage.

How you apply it has the greatest effect. For example, if you apply it as a diffuse or darkening layer it will have one effect, if you apply it as a bump with the same mapping as the diffuse, it will look like there's actually crud on the ship. If you just apply it as a bump, you can make it look like the paint has bubbled up. You'll also need to adust the transparency of the dirt until it is just right.

The actual mapping you use is also really important. A decal map from the top will make it look like the ship has been in storage and dirt has fallen on it. A UV map can be made to look like all kinds of things depending on how you do it - for example as if dirt has got into crevices, or as if the dirt has been blown on during flight.

Likewise, the scale is crucial - you have to keep working on it until it is right.

If you group the entire object and put one load of dirt on it, this will have a very different effect from mapping dirt object by object.

As with all these things, the trick is to go out into the real world and look at some dirty objects. On a car, for example, the windscreen will usualy be clean where the wipers go and dirties for the rest. There will be a cluster of grime around the exhaust, and also around the wheels. Photographers use dirt to make some cars look more exciting. Rally photography, for example, often tries to capture the car at its dirtiest, because the spray gives an impression of speed. Some 4x4 advertisements make a point of caking the vehicle.

------------------
M A R T I N T U R N E R
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FrozenHeart104.sit.bin")Frozen Heart(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FemmeFatale.sea.bin")Femme Fatale(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/dl-redirect.pl?path=evo/plugins&file;=Frozen Heart - the No.hqx")Frozen Heart - the Novel(/url)

sparky

Ok, here's what I like to do. Take some good pictures of dirty things, like dirty concrete. In photoshop turn it into a high contrast image using curves. Take out circular parts to use for grunge brushes, define them as brushes.

I can't really remember how the brushes in 5.5 work, 7 and above have a great brush engine, I think Photoshop Elements also has the good brush engine. This is a lot easier with the 7 brushes, but you can do it with more work in 5.5.

Here's my process:

1.start with a base for your texture, keep any decals on separate layers:

(url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net/images/texbase.jpg")Base(/url)

2. paint on some dirtyness with one of your defined brushes, change the size and angle a lot, so it looks broken up.

(url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net/images/tex01.jpg")Adding Dirt(/url)

3. erase out a lot of the dirt using a grungy brush, but leaving a bit of the edges is usually good, it makes it look like stains. Use a medium opacity on the eraser, so you can build up how much is erased.

(url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net/images/tex02.jpg")Takin' out dirt(/url)

4. If you want your logo/decals to look worn, make a copy of their layer, hide the original, and erase out parts on low-ish opacity with a grungy brush until it looks faded and worn. Make the original layer visible again, but blur it a little and turn the opacity way down.

(url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net/images/tex03.jpg")Worn logo(/url)

5. Add a lot of a color with a grungy brush, keep in mind where you want edges to appear, because then you'll remove most of it with a low opacity eraser.

(url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net/images/tex04.jpg")Lots of color(/url)

(url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net/images/tex05.jpg")Erased out all but some edges.(/url)

That's the basic way I do dirt. The best thing to do is keep changing the blend modes and find what works best, and assemble your own grungy brush library. Use different colors too, sometimes it makes for interesting stains. Look around at where dirt collects, so you'll know where to map more caked dirt.

------------------
(url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net")Adventure Dog(/url): Everyone's favorite little black and white dog.
In a fight for peace, you must fight for equality, not revenge.
"I am against evolution being taught in schools. I am also against widespread literacy and the refrigeration of food." - The Onion

Meowx Design

Try licking the monitor. Works good for me.

(Edit: May not work when file is viewed on other computers.)

-david-

------------------
(url="http://"http://meowx.com")Meowx(/url) | (url="http://"http://modenstudios.com/quantumire")The Quantumire Legacy(/url) | (url="http://"http://modenstudios.com/magma")MAGMA(/url) | (url="http://"http://image.modenstudios.com/")image(/url) | (url="http://"http://modenstudios.com/evodev")RF3(/url) | (url="http://"http://modenstudios.com/texturevault")The Texture Vault(/url) |
(url="http://"http://modenstudios.com/shipyard")Meowx Shipyards(/url)

(This message has been edited by Meowx Design (edited 11-09-2003).)

Azdara

Sparky: Great technique, may not work in 5.5 (the brush system is pathetic) but it certainly gives me a few good ideas (one is that I should upgrade PS).

Martin: Good, so you guys werent misunderstanding or pulling my leg? Actual dirt? Wow...

Meowx: For someone who does this so well you were a pretty useless help here... thanks. :frown:

Thanks all, I'll have to try them.

~A~

------------------
"How can I make it go faster?" -Me-