Can't think how I should texture my knife

[simsim899]

Hi, so, I've created a new model for a knife, but I don't know how I should texture it. I mean, I know HOW to texture (not that I'm very good at it though..), but I can't think what I want it to look like. So, I thought I'd ask here for some ideas :) Here's a picture of just the mesh in nifskope so you know what it looks like:

 

http://static-1.nexusmods.com/15/images/110/8345545-1411166371.png

 

All ideas are welcome :) I want this knife to look kind of unique, I'm just not sure how I should go about doing that with the texturing.

Thanks!

[Mattiewagg]

Just for reference:

 

Great texturing tutorial

 

And 2

[simsim899]

Hey thanks for those, I've bookmarked them for future reference :)

Anyway, I've had a go at texturing it, but I'm not sure whether I like it or not :/ I also changed the mesh slightly. Can people give me their honest opinions on what they think of this? (without being rude though please) Currently I don't think I'm satisfied with it. But I just can't think of how to make it look good :/

Here is is right now:

http://static-3.nexusmods.com/15/images/110/8345545-1411249986.png

Please tell me what you think, thanks

[Mattiewagg]

I think that rather than having that line down the middle, you should extrude to create a natural "indent" to the sword, within the mesh, rather than texturing it on. You might want to make the metal texture for the hilt different (or more different) than the blade. Contrast is good, in this case, since otherwise it looks more bland.

 

The ruby's not too bad looking at all, though I personally like less ornate weapons.

[simsim899]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it :) I actually have created an indent within the mesh, but for some reason when I texture the blade you can't see it :S Okay yep I'll work on the hilt more, that's actually the part I was least pleased with lol :P

[Kestrellius]

The edges of the guard look a bit flat. More detail there would be good. Other than that, it looks decent.

[jet4571]

Ill give you a warning about textures for weapons and Nexus users. If the texture is new and clean looking you will get complaints about it looking too nice. Many members want all weapons to look like they are ready to be thrown away and were never taken care of to begin with. So you may want to add some scratches so it at least looks used. I wouldn't go as far as Jaysus does with his though or make it look as bad as anything Bethesda put out, just some light scratches that are not deep that show some use rather than brand new.

[GunSmith69]

looks great maybe make it look a little grittier to fit in with vanilla skyrim

[Matth85]

Ill give you a warning about textures for weapons and Nexus users. If the texture is new and clean looking you will get complaints about it looking too nice. Many members want all weapons to look like they are ready to be thrown away and were never taken care of to begin with. So you may want to add some scratches so it at least looks used. I wouldn't go as far as Jaysus does with his though or make it look as bad as anything Bethesda put out, just some light scratches that are not deep that show some use rather than brand new.

I think you are missing why people are complaining about it. It isn't because it "looks to nice", or they need to be "worn out". It's a matter of 2d fundamentals, as well as fitting in with the theme of Skyrim, and the TES universe. Let me try to elaborate:

 

- A clean texture is harder to make than a grittier one for new texturer, simply because there are natural more for the eyes to look at, and it isn't as hard to balance big and small noise. On a clean texture you generally got nothing, and you now need to subtly add in realistic details, without making it look dirty. This requires a good understanding of how the eyes look at things. The balance of resting spots and noise.

 

- If you make a clean texture, it does not look like it belong with the rest of Skyrim. That ruins both immersion, and sets the texture in a bad light.

 

- The shader got more to shine off of if you got a texture with surface details, making it play a lot nicer in the light.

 

- It's not realistic. THe Blacksmith are work class people, in a world where there are dragons attacking and a civil war going on. They won't be spending time polishing weapons. So things will be rough.

 

- There are few "clean" materials in the world. You can argue polished steel, or generally polished metal, but that isn't quite true either.

 

- It gives a weapon a better "feeling" if it looks used. It gives it a story.

 

 

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@Simssim899:

 

Okay. Don't take this the wrong way. I will try to tell you why this doesn't look overly good, and what you can do to fix it!

1) The metal texture is too light. Metal are not bright. They are darker color with a strong reflection. Try to emulate this with a darker grayish color, a strong specular map, a strong environment map, the ShinyBright_e.dds cubemap and a solid gloss number.

2) The contrasts are harsh. Your eye doesn't get a chance to rest. It goes from very bright gray, to dark leather, to red pommel. The eye is going all back and forth here. You need a better color scheme, with easier transitions.

3) What materials are you aiming for?

- Steel? Steel got a little blue in its difuse, and a very strong reflection.

- Iron? Iron usually got some sort of brown in it, as rust start to hit in.

- Leather? Leather tends to have some sort of worn-out to it, even fresh new leather. Lighter stretch marks, darker spots, etc.

4) What type of metal is it?

- Polished?

- Hammered?

- Magical/fantasy(Anything goes, I guess)?

5) The overall texture looks... well. It doesn't look like metal. Here, take a look at this. https://imageshack.com/i/eycpChoup . An iron sword I did for the Beyond Skyrim project. The difuse map/colors are not very interesting, while the specular is playing with the light.

Here is a steel sword. See the blue color? See the surface details/spots? https://imageshack.com/i/id2rhGjep

6) Normal map/Specular map. I believe they are missing, judging by the image. If you are up for a challenge, I'd recommend adding controll lines and turning it into a high poly model, then bake it down. That way the edges would look a lot better, and not so.. flat.

 

That's about it.

Best of luck!

 

Matth

Edited September 21, 2014 by Matth85

[simsim899]

Hey thanks everyone for all the feedback! It's been very helpful. :) Okay well I guess the knife needs some more work. But that's cool, I'm up for it :)

Also thank you Matth for that very detailed post - it really was very useful for me :) I'm gonna work on all the bits you said, and hopefully I'll get it looking much nicer.

Thanks again guys!