Help making a texture for a custom sword?

[StyracIsepic]

I recently started working on a mod that would add the Kensei Sword (http://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/general-collectibles-statues-props-etc-/31863-heroes-kensei-hiro-licensed-replica-samurai-sword.html) from the TV show Heroes into Skyrim. I have created the model, and it has many pieces, but I can not find a good tutorial for making custom textures from Skyrim weapons, for this kind of complex sword. This is a link to a screenshot of it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zvm2jd6t7aq6dnf/10001.png?dl=0. If anyone had a good tutorial or help/advice that explained texturing for a sword like this I'd be grateful. A gimp tutorial is preferred. Sidenote, I use blender for my modeling.

[JMSFedaykin]

I don't mean to sound like a d-bag. But holy c***-balls! How many polys is that thing running? The first thing I would do is use something like Fallout 3 Archive Utility to pull some sword nifs out of the meshes archive. Then, open them up in Blender (or whatever your using) to compare the polygon counts to make sure you're in the right range. Once you've got your poly count reduced, you need to UV it. Then you need to render or paint your maps. Then, you need to export your custom nifs with your maps applied and then you can bring your textures and nifs into the CK to turn them into an actual, in-game weapon. It's a pretty involved process. But, here's some tutorials that should help you get started:

 

Skyrim Modding Tutorial - Weapon

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hYHj2Dy49s

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t_yECNDXNA

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwPIUDFi5_Y

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nKesD7p2c

 

Skyrim creation kit tutorial - Making a custom weapon from scratch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA6A9Hy4usM

 

Blender to Skyrim Custom Weapon Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwJDy5rNTmo

 

Hope that helps!

 

PS, your mesh needs to be all part of the same object. You layout UVs for each piece of the object so they don't overlap and then you create your texture by using how you have to UVs for the pieces laid out.