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FPSC Classic Models and Media / Free Tutorial by: The Cosmic Prophet

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:22 Edited at: 26th Jun 2008 16:39
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Hello all, I'm D. Edwards, a.k.a. The Cosmic Prophet.

I've been asked by quite a few of you to write a tutorial on how I make my entities. So here it is. Keep in mind, I can't show you how to draw, only how to apply your talent in this medium.

Special Note: The model I'm using is a requested piece that I made for "Game Maker Wannabe", and he has graciously given me his permission to use it for this tutorial. Many Thanks!!
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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:23
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Tools: Photoshop or other simalar art program, UV Mapper classic, Milkshape 3D.


This tutorial is based on a fairly complex model. The basic, overall steps however, can be used for much simpler models as well. So with that said, let's get started.

Part 1. Building your Model.

First of all you need to have good reference material for the object you want to create. I usually do a search for photos of the object online, and try and get as many alternate views as possible. This is the photo that Game Maker Wannabe sent me...

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:24
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First, I take the photo into Photoshop,( If you don't have Photoshop, I would recommend "The Gimp" as a free alternative) and create a new blank document.
I use this document to render a "plan" of the most complex shapes that will make up the object. In a lot of cases, the use of basic "primitives" can be used like building blocks to construct your model, But for this Motorbike, more complex shapes had to be made.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:25
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Next, save and import the image you made into Milkshape as a background. This will be used as a guide to building the parts you,ll need.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:25
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In this particular case, I chose a cylinder with enough vertices to match up with the ponits in the reference image

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:26
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Once you've done this, begin by moving the vertices to line up with the points in the reference image. Do this for Both Front and side views. In many cases you will need to extrude parts of your model to gain the necessary shape you need. sometimes I will move a selection of vertices away form the base shape in order to select the proper faces for the extrusion process. Then move them back ito place when done. In some cases you may have to build your shape from scratch. Detailed instructions on how to do this are contained in the Milkshape tutorials.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:27
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next screen..

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Cosmic Prophet
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Keep at it until you are satisfied with the overall shape of the part you need. Again, more complex shapes can be made simply by groupng 2 or more basic shapes together.
More tutorials on the basics of modeling with Milkshape can be found on they're site, as well as other tutorial sites online. Check them out. There is a lot of useful info there.

Continue to build your model useing as many basic "primitive" shapes as possible. Keep in mind, that in order to keep your poly count as low as possible, keep your shapes simple. For example if you need a tall cylinder, you can use a 12 sided cylinder, but make it one stack high. Also, in many cases some detail must be ommited. Many times it's possible to add these details in your texture work. I'ts ultimately your call. My goal with each model I build , is to render the obect with the least amount of detail as is possible, while establishing the basic overall structure of the object. Another very important note: Take some time to save the various parts of your model as "Groups"
This is invaluable when it comes to the mapping process as you will see. I try to group objects by they're shape,( Boxed,cylindrical, etc.) this way you can seprate the different parts and map them accordingly

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:28
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Once your satisfied with your 3D model save it as an .obj file, and then on to the mapping.

Part 2. UV Mapping.

Open your model in UVMapper Classic, First you will see this window... here you can see the details of your model and make the determination as to it's compatability with the FPSC engine

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Cosmic Prophet
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Click OK. You'll then see the programs main screen. Go to the "EDIT" menu, and choose "New UV Map". A new sub-menu will open giving you a choice of mapping options. Select "Box" to get started. You will then be presented with a boxed representation of your model that shows Top, Bottom, and Side views of all the parts that make up your model. If your model is just a bunch of boxes you can leave it as is, and just seperate your boxes for texturing. If not, and your model contains a variety of shapes ( Boxes, Spheres, cylinders,etc.) you may want to remap those objects with a more suitable mapping style.

Go to the "Edit" menu again, go to "Select" ,and "Select by group". A new window will open listing all of the saved groups contained within the model. as stated above. start by selecting one group at a time. Resize each part so all of the groups are seperated from one another. You can then scale each group individually to fill the work area.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:29 Edited at: 1st May 2008 22:31
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In the case of Non-boxed shapes, say a tube for instance, you can select that group, and use the remap command to remap that particular group to a cylindrical map. You can access this comand by: going to "Edit" menu, select the group, then edit menu again, "New UV Map". Upon doing this you will be presented with a new window displaying all of the various mapping styles and options. choose one of the alterate mapping styles until you find one that suits your needs. Note: you can easily remap the group as many times as you need to (As long as the group remains selected) until you get the one you want. When you've found the setting that best suits you, simply resize, and move it into place somewhere in the work area. continue doing this with all the groups of your model. When you have finished, your work area should look similar to this.

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Cosmic Prophet
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The next step is to save the UV info to the model. To do this simply go to the "File" menu and "Save Model". Lastly, you need to save your new UV Map. Again, go to the "File" menu, and select "Save Texture Map". I always use 1024 X 1024 for my textures. You can of coarse change this, But I would recommend using no less than 512 X 512. And your done.

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puppyofkosh
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:31
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Nice. I've never seen modeling done that way before...time to try it...

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:32
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Part 3. Painting Textures.

Open up the new texture map that you just created in your paint program.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:33
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Create a new empty layer above the original, and using the reference material you have on the object, begin to fill-in the areas of the map that correspond to the diffrent parts of your model. By adjusting the tranparancy of the layer, You can use the lines of the UV map to guide you in the placement of your detail, highlights, etc. As I stated before this is where your own artistic abillities come into play. Plug-ins filters are invaluable here. There are hundreds of sites online where you can download plug-ins for free. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe "The Gimp" is compatable with Photoshop plug-ins. There are others that do this as well ( Corel Photopaint for example). I myself use "Photoshop 5" with "Extensis Phototools", Kia's Power tools 3, Filter Factory, and Eye Candy. By combining the use of differnt filters, and custum brushes that you can create on your own, and utilizing the transparency settings of your layers, you can easily produce some very professional looking textures for your projects. The Tools you use are important. "The better your saw, the easier it is to cut with!"

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:33
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Whenever possible I like to use parts of the photos to add more detail to the textures

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:34 Edited at: 1st May 2008 22:36
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Highlights, and shadows can be easily done by selcting the area, and using the airbrush tool, spraying outside the selection, and carefully moving inward until the edges begin to lighten or darken as needed.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:36
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Note: During this process, I have both Photoshop,and Milkshape open at the same time. This way you can see how your textures are laying on your model as you go. And if something dos'nt look right to you, you can change it right away, as you work. To do this: With Photoshop already open, Open a new document, Import the new UV mapped model, Go to Materials , select "New" and apply the new texture map you created with UV Mapper. use the edit menu, and Refresh Textures to view your progress. As the work progresses, I merge all my layers in photoshop, save the document, then, using History, or undo, revert the image back the way it was before I merged the layers. Then switch to Milkshape, review the texture, then swith back to Photoshop with my layers restored as they were before I saved. This may seem somewhat tediuos, but is as close as you can get to real-time rendering as possible using these tools.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:37
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Keep at it until you have filled-in all the parts of the model on the map, checking your progress in Milkshape as you go.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:39
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UV texture map finished. screenshot

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:40
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When finished texturing your model, export your model as an .X file using the "Direct X (JT exporter)". Run it through your favorite entity creation tool ( I use Entity Workshop), load it into the editor, and check out your work.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:41
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Well there you have it. I hope this tutorial will help those of you who are new to FPSC, in the process of producing your own content for your games.

Below is the tutorial package download, It contains the finished model,files, screenshots, etc. for you to and study. Good Luck.

My best to you, as always, The Cosmic Prophet.
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Aertic
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:42
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WOW!
Nice tut, it gives off texture's that are slightly better than dark matter.
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puppyofkosh
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:42
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lol, I interrupted. Great tut though, nice work!

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:43
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Bike Tutorial Download.

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Cosmic Prophet
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Posted: 1st May 2008 22:46 Edited at: 1st May 2008 23:57
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Thanks everyone.
Please let me know if you found this useful.
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Dar13
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Posted: 30th Jun 2008 05:12
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useful yes but do you know how to animate and export(been having some trouble in that area)

I know not what WWIII will be fought but I do know that WWIV will be fought with sticks and stones-Albert Einstein
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can some one plz me
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Posted: 30th Sep 2008 23:38
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Thanks this is just what i needed thanks
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