Olila’s Second Life - Tutorials & Diary Diary & Tutorials

In this third part of “Preparations for Making Clothes & Skins” we are going to prepare those ‘Texture-Map Templates’ to make them easier to work with. I’ll also show you a “mirror-technique” that might come in handy when you create skins or parts of clothing.

For this tutorial I’m using Photoshop CS, but I’m sure you can make it work with older or newer versions, PS Elements and other graphic programs, like Paint Shop Pro, Gimp etc.

BUT! If you are gonna make your own clothes or skins your program must have functions for layers, transparency and Alpha channels - and you have to be able to save your files as TARGA (TGA) files.

You will also need: Robin Woods Texture-Map Templates.

Don’t get what I’m talking about?

Well, you probably missed: Making Clothes & Skins - Preparations Part 1 and Making Clothes & Skins - Preparations Part 2

Optimise the Texture-Map Templates

Robin Woods templates have the resolution 1024×1024 pixels and that is a great resolution to work with while creating clothes or skin in your graphic program.

1. Create a folder for all Template Layers

Open up your Graphic program and open Robin Wood’s texture-template-file for the HEAD.

The template looks like this.

Now take a look at the Layers palette. The template contain lots of layers.

If you create a folder (set) to put them in the template will be much easier to work with once you start creating clothes or skins.

Select the ‘Neck Polys Vector SO’ layer and click the folder at the bottom of the layers palette.

That will create a folder (set) named: Set 1.

Now drag the layers underneath into that folder.

Note! Try to keep the layers in the same order!

I renamed my folder and called it: UV-MAPS by double-clicking the text of the folder and simply change the name.

This is my final result! So much easier to work with!

Now you may select or deselect ALL the map-layers by simply clicking the eye beside the FOLDER to turn ALL on or off - MUCH easier than having to deal with like 10 layers one by one.

Go to File/Save to save your improved file.

Next!

Repeat this with Robin Wood’s texture-template-files for the UPPER-BODY and LOWER-BODY.

I’m putting all layers into a folder named: UV-MAPS in both those files - keeping the layers in the original order.

When I’m done the Layer palette of both Upper and Lower-body files looks like this.

Go to File/Save to save both your improved files.

When that’s done you should have 3 improved Texture-Map Templates psd-files 1024×1024 pixels.

2. Create Middle Guide-lines

In Photoshop you can create ‘guides’ that appears as lines to help you out when creating clothes or skins. In my opinion these guide-lines are to thin… So I’ve created some Middle Guide-lines of my own, that works better for me - and are really useful when creating skins or clothes.

Open up your Graphic program and open Robin Wood’s texture-template-file for the HEAD.

First I’m going to open up the folder (set) we created before and make only the layer ‘UV Vector Smart Object’ visible by clicking the eyes in front of the other layers to turn them off. Then close the folder again.

I’m also going to create a New layer and put it at the bottom of all the layers in the Layers palette, then fill it with white colour using the ‘Paint Bucket Fill Tool’.

The white background will make it easier to see what I’m going to do next.

Now the file looks like this.

Create a New layer. I called mine: MIDDLE GUIDE-LINES. ( I also right-clicked the layer choosing ‘Properties’ and used Gray for layer-colour. )

Zoom in really close and use the ‘Pencil Tool’ with a 1 pixel Brush, Normal Mode, 100% Opacity.

Draw a line vertically in the middle of the map. That would be at: 511 pixels on the x-axis. I’m using black for colour

Then drag the new layer into the folder: UV-MAPS and put it at the very top.

As a final step: Lock the position of the layer by selecting the layer and click on the crossed arrows at the top of the Layers Palette.

Now you can make all the layers in the folder visible again and close the folder by clicking the little arrow in front of it.

Go to File/Save to save your improved file.

Next!
Repeat all the steps above with Robin Wood’s texture-template-file for the UPPER-BODY.

Here you have to use two vertical lines since the map contains both the front and back of the body. That would be at: 262 pixels and 775 pixels on the x-axis.

Almost done!

Repeat all the steps above with Robin Wood’s texture-template-file for the LOWER-BODY.

Here the two vertical lines would be at: 182 pixels and 593 pixels on the x-axis.

Go to File/Save to save your improved files.

Finally!

Ok! Now all your Template-files are ready! This is how mine look now!

Using the Guide-lines to mirror clothing

At some part along the way, when you create clothing or skins you probably want both sides of for example “the front of a pair of pants” to be exactly the same. Then you may use the middle guide-lines to mirror one side and merge them together. Here is how I do that!

Let’s assume we’re gonna make a pair of pink underpants! The first step is to open your improved copy of Robin Wood’s texture-template-file for the LOWER-BODY go to File/Save as and rename it to something like:”‘Pink Panties” :).

Now you would create two new layers called “Back” and “Front”.

Then draw the front part of the panties on half of the “Front-layer” and the back part on half of the “Back-layer” and make sure the seams match (use the program UV Mapper as described in Making Clothes & Skins - Preparations Part 1).

Like this?

Now the mirror-part!

Select the “Front-layer” and use the ‘Rectangular Marquee Tool’ and select the part of the front that goes beyond the ‘Middle guide-lines’ to the right ( keep off the guide-line itself ).

Then hit ‘Del’ to make that part go away.

Now make a copy of the “Front-layer” and make sure that one is selected.

Find a nice spot on the grid and use the ‘Pencil Tool’ with a 1 pixel Brush, Normal Mode, 100% Opacity.

Draw some “Guideline pixels” on this layer. I’m using a green-blue colour. Like this?

Now you have to mirror the copy of the Front-layer!

Hit Ctrl+F to flip this layer Horizontal.

Now it looks like this.

Use the ‘Move Tool’ and move the ‘Front copy’ layer until its a perfect mirror of the ‘Front’ layer.

Use the “Guideline pixels” from before and make sure they show up at the same place but to the left of the middle-line instead.

Use the ‘Rectangular Marquee Tool’ and select the part of the front that is overlapping the front-layer. Make sure the selection ends precisely to the right of the “Middle Guide-line” ( include the guide-line this time ).

Hit Del to make the overlapping pixels go away (that will also delete the blue “Guideline-pixels”).

Finally you have to merge the front-layers together to keep both front parts of the panties in one layer.

Link the two layers together and hit Ctrl+E to merge them (make them into one).

Now you have to repeat all the steps above with the ‘Back’ layer. It will work exactly the same way.

This is the final result:

Final words

I made these “preparation tutorials” to show you some techniques that might be useful when creating skins and clothes.

But most important - I’m going to use them in the tutorials for skins and clothes. And since I’m lacy…

Now I don’t have to repeat these steps in every tutorial and that will make those tutorials shorter and more easy to follow - I hope!

Maybe you think these steps to prepare yourself before you start making clothes or skins are too time consuming..? In the long run these steps will save you time. I promise!

Tjingeling for now!

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« Preparations Part 2

 

Updated: December 2007