Texture Tips/Tutorials?

[hoax2]

Could someone point me in the direction of some good texture tutorials. Im quite adept at photoshop but I don't have much understanding of some of the specifics of textures:

 

Things like:

What is the crazy blue/red colour texture, (which I think is bumpmap) and how does it work.

What do the different file settings/formats do? (DXT3, 8pp, etc.)

How do I add multiple skins to a particular model for use in the GECK.

[The SH0CKER]

For texturing tutorials I'd try searching places like 3dtotal.com or a similar cg site.

 

1.) the map with the colours is the Normal/bump map and those colours correspond to a sort of 3d height graph mixing red and green which the renderer then processes as pseudo 3d

data ( hence the bumpy look ).

2.) for a diffuse map ( your texture ), DXT 1 - no alpha ( the top of the list in the photoshop exporting window ) is all you need for it. A normal map requires an alpha channel however so you should use DXT 3.

3.) you can't have more than one diffuse map or normal map etc on a single group as theres only space for one of each. All I know is the the first three texture slots in descending order go Diffuse, Normal, and glow.

[KloHunt3r]

Can you direct me to a guide for editing normal maps for Fallout 3? I can't seem to figure out how to get my changes to take effect.

 

I'm having problems editing the normal layer of the map (the purple/bluish image); I can modify the brightness, but the correct hues don't seem to be maintained.

 

I'd also like to know the difference between editing the normal layer and editing the alpha layer.

[hoax2]

@KloHunt3r

This is what i used to get started.

http://www.novazone.karoo.net/tut_reskinni...mourmeshes.html

But thats all i know.

 

@SH0CKER

3.) you can't have more than one diffuse map or normal map etc on a single group as theres only space for one of each. All I know is the the first three texture slots in descending order go Diffuse, Normal, and glow.

I found that i can add a texture set, and chose from that, i think that's what i meant by multiple skins.