Which part do you find the haredest

[mcole254]

I wanted to get a feel for which part of making your own custom object (armor, weapons, buildings, ect.) is the most difficult for you guys. Feel free to elaborate. I personally have one of these as the "ok now how the heck am I going to do that" parts, I'm just currious what it is for everyone else who creates mods with custom models.

[AncientSpaceAeon]

Figuring how to start and how to use blender. :P (still can't do it)

[thePhilanthropy]

it's all alot of work. But for me rigging/skinning is the most time consuming one. Not necessarily the most difficult thing to do, but it just takes a lot of effort to get it right.

 

What exactly do you consider "modeling the mesh"? Does UV-mapping count? How about rigging?

[SickleYield]

Modeling. This is where you create not just the basic shape of the mesh, but the UV map and the rigging (for clothes/armor), both of which can be time-consuming and fiddly. This is also where you create collisions for weapons, statics and clutter, although that part is quite easy.

 

If this first step is done properly, texturing is much easier. If it isn't, texturing can be agonizing. How long texturing takes also varies by skill level, of course - if you don't know anything, it doesn't take long to slap a tiling flat texture on. The result is crappy, but it's quick. If you're an ubertexturer with many years' experience, on the other hand, you may be able to produce pro-quality detailed textures in a relatively short time. For most people, however, creating quality textures means some considerable time input with many layers in GIMP or Photoshop, some filters and/or mask work, and a combination of drawing and photosource editing.

 

There is no "creating the .nif" step. If you've done the modeling properly, you export it and it works. NifSkope is for tweaking, not synthesis.

 

Getting a .nif into the game is easy. Not even comparable to the modeling/texturing steps, unless you're doing a large amount of quests or scripting to go with it (those are a specialized skill set all their own).

[thePhilanthropy]

@SickleYield: getting the NIF ready for the game is indeed easy. But I bet the NifTools guys had a lot of work to do for getting that to function as well as is does now. They just streamlined the process for us users (of the NifTools).

Otherwise, I agree with you.

[SickleYield]

Oh, I would never want to put down any of the guys from Niftools. :) It is the NIF scripts that make it even possible to export items for Oblivion, and those scripts have come a LONG way since I started modding.

 

Without NifSkope it's impossible for a Blender user to get custom particles made, preview items in animated form before getting them in game, or any of several other nice finishing steps. I've used it with every mod I've ever made. I'm just saying NifSkope itself is not something that's technically involved in basic export.

[ThePearl]

I love modeling, currently I use Rhinoceros or Autodesk 3ds max. I only use 3ds max for oblivion as Rhinoceros doesn't have the .nif export plug-in.

 

As I said I like modeling the most, the most boring would be UV mapping and texturing, I only do static objects so far and I'll probably stick with that.

 

I voted for texturing as I consider UV mapping a part of the texturing process which is boring... the texturing is ok but the UV mapping is just... Very very boring. I have no friends that enjoy texturing or UV mapping at all or even know how to do it so I have to do everything myself too.

[SickleYield]

But you don't do UV in a texturing program, you do it in a 3d program. Most texturers never do UV mapping at all, they have to work with whatever UV map the modelers hand them (if modeler and texturer are not the same person). This is why a lot of commercial modelers publish their work with texture templates included. I'd never be able to sell a mesh without the UV mapping already done.

[mcole254]

Ya UV mapping can be considered its own step between moddeling and texturing, I should have included that too. And as for the "creating the NIf" I kinda worded it wrong, I ment working with the NIF (getting texture paths correct ect.) For me personally textureing sucks ass. Modeling I can usually do no problem and UV'ing isn't too bad once you figure out techniques. I just still don't know how people make these amazing textures for their object. (I guess I need to learn photoshop as well as my 3D modeling program)

[ThePearl]

But you don't do UV in a texturing program, you do it in a 3d program. Most texturers never do UV mapping at all, they have to work with whatever UV map the modelers hand them (if modeler and texturer are not the same person). This is why a lot of commercial modelers publish their work with texture templates included. I'd never be able to sell a mesh without the UV mapping already done.

 

I think we're both right here. I mean without UV maps you can't texture it right? But you don't actually model even though you are in the 3d program.

 

I just still don't know how people make these amazing textures for their object

 

Well actually a lot of modders, just like myself just take Bethesda textures and/or just google like "stone texture" or "seamless stone texture", I actually found a few nice sites for textures :)