When you create textures....

Kev914

what size to you create/save them at?

I've been using 3D Coat and when I import a model for painting, they come in at 1024 x 1024. Not sure if that is just the default for 3D coat or if that size comes from the obj file. When I apply the textures in DS4.8, they look fine to me. But I notices that they are considerably smaller than the ones that came with the product. I used a seamless texture. Not sure if that matters. Assuming that 2048 x 2048 would double the size of the file, that would be still be smaller than the originals.

Also, when I save the textures out of 3D Coat, if there are separate material zones, 3D Coat creates a separate material for each zone. Is there any way to have it just create one texture file for all the zones? (I went into Photoshop and combined them all back into one. But I suppose I could just load all the separate files onto the model in DS.)

And when you apply it to the clothing and you want to save it back to the library, should you save it as a material preset, a pose preset or something else maybe? I keep thinking it's a material so material preset. But maybe material preset are for something else.

Thanks.

Oso3D

'It depends'

It depends on how high a resolution you need for the closest view of the object in question, and how obvious pixelation will appear -- if the texture has a rectalinear pattern, then it is quite robust to pixelation, whereas curves and then gradiations of color are must vulnerable. And then it depends on how much you can tile it.

 

 

Khory

I agree with "it depends". How bit the texture needs to be at least partly depends on how large the object is most often going to be in the scene. If I were doing a sugar cube, for example, I doubt I would go larger than 512x512 if the cube took up most of the map. On the other hand if I were doing a big detailed piece of furniture that was likely to be rendered from fairly close I'd consider 4096x4096. Especialy if the texture were going to fit the whole object onto a single texture. For most things 1024x1024 is a bit small these days though.

With tiling textures as often as not you don't need as large a texture if it will be tiled more than once. A tiled 1024x1024 is going to read like a 2048x2048 so it will add some resolution.

Oso3D

My personal rule of thumb is 1024x1024 default, small to medium objects not too close or stuff that tiles a lot. Then 4096 for landscapes that won't tile much or is VERY large, and very close stuff.

 

Valandar

The "Industry" standard is that the texel size should be at least twice the size it'll be in the final render. And considering that some of our products could be rendered at 300 dpi / magazine level, I rarely go below 2048 unless it's for something teeny tiny. If my system had more RAM to deal with massive PSD's I'd prefer to go as high as 8192 for things that would be super-closeup...

DarkSpartan

I've been using 4096 for skin textures. Probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.

Oso3D

Parris' Macroskin actually has two 8192 bump maps, which is PROBABLY overkill... but neat to have.

 

FSMCDesigns

timmins.william said:

Parris' Macroskin actually has two 8192 bump maps, which is PROBABLY overkill... but neat to have.

 

Exactly why I bought it. The bigger the better IMO.

SpottedKitty

KevinH said:

Assuming that 2048 x 2048 would double the size of the file, that would be still be smaller than the originals.

This is a sort of "apples and armadillos" comparison. Doubling the pixel dimensions of the texture file actually quadruples the number of pixels. There's also file compression to consider; different formats, e.g. jpg, png, tiff, tga and others all have different compression factors that can be positive or negative. As was said upthread, a lot depends on exactly what final effect you want — how big is the object, how far from the camera, are you using tiling, and many others. And just to complicate things, usually you'll find you're in a juggling act; improving quality here decreases quality there. There are no "One True Answers™" in this business, you'll have to decide for yourself what combination of tweaks looks "good enough".

ronmolina

I go exceptionally high on my textures. Generally 8192 to 16384 and rarely below 4096. For me 4096 is not high enough for human figures. It should be more like 8192 as the minimum. However, as mentioned it really depends on what you are doing and how high the res for your pic or animation.

nicstt

2048 over 1024 is not double but four times; it doubles on each axis, so is an expotential increase.

Parris' Macroskin actually has two 8192 bump maps, which is PROBABLY overkill... but neat to have.

Damn, I missed this; wish-listed, even though I almost never buy G2.