afreaginname - 12 July 2012 10:56 AM
johnnybevo - 11 July 2012 02:43 PM
Ok, so I can not keep a secret from you guys, so here is a pic from the other project I am working on
Ya know…we should start doing threads on texturing.
When I first looked at the shotgun I thought it was a render, but then I saw something on the stock that made me realize it must be a photograph.
But then I FURTHER realized that if you make a texture map that has certain imperfections, a render could be made that would be indistinguishable from a photograph - and that, after all, is the holy grail for ANY modeller! 
So after your shotgun mesh is tweaked to perfection, here are the 3 “imperfections” I see in the photo that you might want to try including in your texture maps:
1) The imperfect bluing on the gun barrel.
2) All the smudged fingerprints running up and down the barrel.
3) And this was my clue: That darkened narrow ovate section on the back of the handgrip. This is where the original shotgun stock was cut away revealing unfinished wood, which was subsequently darkened by skin oils through handling.
The challenge now becomes “How do we perfectly create imperfections in our texture maps?” 
I plan to start doing some tuts on nothing more than creating custom textures for realism.
In the past I used Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop but just made the switch to Gimp, because it free and accessible to almost everyone.
So I have began to try to become as familiar with Gimp as I have been with PS and PSP.
Funny you should mention the bluing, I have started to mess around with creating that.
One of goals of My future tuts is to demonstrate how you can create models with a lower polycount and still have realism through the use of quality texturing. When I say texturing that would include the use of defuse, normal and specular maps.
A whole lot of details can be added through the use of texturing without adding a whole lot more geometry.
“indistinguishable from a photograph - and that, after all, is the holy grail for ANY modeller”
Yes, realism is great but for many pros , amateurs and artist in general, the ability to make you think deep or say “wow that is really cool” is what they are after. For everyone one it is different.
Many realistic images you see are not achieved with modeling skills alone but with good lighting and post processing.
