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Old 30th May 2010, 05:23 PM   #1
greg blass
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Default Texture Sizing ?

I have learned so much from You Geniusus on these threads.
I have not been able to find (or at least found) information on how to get the sizes right.
I found so many shortcuts like the explode button. "love it".
Some of My textures are crisp and clean and some stretched etc.
Just wondering if someone can tell Me where to start.
Is there a way of finding out the area of a part, then determing what size the texture should be.
Thanks......................
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Old 1st June 2010, 06:56 PM   #2
lisa
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Default Re: Texture Sizing ?

Key rule of thumb is that your textures should be sized so that the pixels are as close to 1:1 coverage in screen space when the final image is displayed. Textures work best when they are square-powers-of-two in size.

For example :If your final render is, say, 1000 x 1000 pixels, and an object takes up half the picture, then that object should have a texture that's 512x512 on it. Half the screen would be 500 pixels, but the nearest power-of-two is 512.

The other thing that can sometimes ruin textures other than size is stretching. The best thing to fix that is to adjust the coordinates in the TCE and try a different mapping mode.
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Old 1st June 2010, 09:43 PM   #3
greg blass
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Default Re: Texture Sizing ?

Hey Goddess "Lisa",
Hope all is good.
I think I got the jist of what You are saying. It makes sense' now I just have to get the My head around the math in degrees of size from shape to shape. But really it did make sense. So in a laymen sort of way- with the part on the orth screen in default size (not zoomed in or out) could i set the background image as the texture i want to apply and use that to compare the size the shape (size) with the size of the texture I'm gonna apply. I know thats not what You said but that made sense for the size of the screen so " I thought".
Thank You for You're time.
Greg.
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Old 10th June 2010, 06:45 PM   #4
lisa
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Default Re: Texture Sizing ?

Absolutely. That would be a very good way to test out sizes. It sounds like you have the right idea.

Another popular techique is to use a "utility texture", a grid or checkerboard pattern that you can use to see stretching and make sure the texture looks clear before you paint the real thing. I usually keep several around in different sizes and colors.

This site has several good ones:
http://www.pixelcg.com/blog/?p=146

Here's a picture of somebody testing with one, so you can see how it works:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6..._vtec/UVs1.jpg

And the UV map for the same model:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...c210_UVMAP.jpg

The important part is to notice how all the squares look clear and sharp, and for the most part they're all pointing in a sensible direction. The grid is helpful because any defects become super-obvious, so they can be fixed *before* you do the work of painting the texture. For example, you can see that the map area for the grill of the car needs flipped horizontally because the numbers are backwards. If there were any other problems--for example, if the texture were too small the numbers would blur--you can fix it right away before you've wasted time painting anything that's not going to look right when you're finished.

Whoever made this map did a very nice job. There's also a few other good details to notice on sizing. For example, the license plate takes up a lot more map space proportionally than, say, the hood of the car. Text tends to hold up poorly but solid colors hold up very well. By spending more of the texture on the license plate the artist was able to keep the license plate looking clear but still fit the whole thing on the same texture map.
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Old 10th June 2010, 07:15 PM   #5
greg blass
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Default Re: Texture Sizing ?

OK Lisa !!!!
I see, I actually got it. The texture mapping pics make it all clear. Now to put it all to use and practice, practice,Practice.
Lisa, You are a Goddess.
It's so great when 1+1 actually equals 2. Not 1+something equals 2.
Thank You.
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