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Tree shadows & building textures

annber

annber

Messages
313
Country
us-california
Hello,
I apologize for having two questions in one post.
I am running into a wall when it comes to figuring out how to get rid of shadows on trees. I am including a screenshot of it.
As far as I know, the way to get rid of shadows is to go to entity info and uncheck cast shadows. You can also go to shadows and turn it off , at least that's how I see it from reading online.
I went through each tree individually to make sure cast shadows was off, but there are still shadows.
can anyone tell me what it is I am doing wrong?
tree_shadows.png
screen_chub_nov06.png
screen_chub_nov05.png

The other question is related to textures applied to a wall in buildings. Included is a building I made for a terminal at MYBC, and I created an HD texture to apply to the outside walls, but it is not crisp. I see really realistic looking textures on buildings like Orbx, is there a way to create such look with Sketchup?
Thanks, Bernardo.
 
Tree Shadows
First off, make sure you are using the latest development release of Model Converter X. (I assume you probably already are, but just to make sure we are on the same page)
1. Load your model(s) into MCX.
2. Click on the Material Editor on the toolbar.
3. Select the texture on the left.
4. Scroll down the list on the right until you find the Enhanced Parameters section.
5. Find and set No shadow to True.
6. Save your MDL file(s).

texture_settings_noshadow.JPG




Texturing
Are you using texture sheets or individual textures for your models? If you are using 2048 or 4096 textures, make sure your sim is set to display these texture sizes.
I think your biggest issue is just the fact that the materials are pretty flat in general. The building looks like it just got replastered. Unless you want it to have that fresh look, I would try adding some grunge to the textures. You could also try a Bump Map to add some depth to the textures. If you keep your base textures crisp and use the right blend modes for your grunge layers, you can make the textures look pretty realistic. You may also consider adding some Ambient Occlusion. (Baking)


textured_model.JPG


textured_hanger.JPG


Note: The above models were created in Sketchup. The AO was all done by hand in Photoshop. Neither use Bump Maps. The first building uses a 1024px texture sheet while the second uses a 2048px texture sheet.
 
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Love your textures Chris, that is what I wanted to achieve. Thanks for the advice, and I will start looking at what you write when I get home later today, hopefully I will at least be able to get rid of the shadows. I suspect achieving that look with textures is going to be a little more difficult and will take time to get there. probably will have to :banghead: a few times.:)
Bernardo.
 
Thanks Chris, I was able to look into the shadows issue, and doing what you suggested works perfectly.
Bernardo
 
I would also recommend adding some shadows to your textures. See how his has a shadow under the overhang of the roof? Yours doesn't. Shadows go a long way to adding to the feel of a model.
 
awreaper said:
I would also recommend adding some shadows to your textures. See how his has a shadow under the overhang of the roof? Yours doesn't. Shadows go a long way to adding to the feel of a model.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that tip, I absolutely agree, and I have been experimenting with that recently, but still can't get it to where I like the results:
little_whale37.png
 
Hi Bernardo,

Yeah - on your buildings - are they mapped textures - meaning each wall has it's own area of real estate on the texture sheet - or did you just flood fill them with a texture tool ??? The former can add shadows on the texture - the latter not so much... PSP and PS have tools built in to make even 2D textures appear 3D just by adding highlights and shadow... There is a "Drop Shadow" function that works very well too... I'm pretty experienced with grunge and weathering too...

One thing to keep in mind when painting - is never use a solid color - or full white or full black (nothing can be lighter or darker)... You always have variations in the real world as light plays off the surface - inside your paint tool - you can paint the color you want as a solid color - but then use adjustment layers with various patters to create highlights throughout the surface... Some of my solid color layers have 5 or 6 additional adjustment layers to achieve the variations...

The Bahamas are a favorite - so if you need anything just shout...

Chris - that's some mighty fine modeling...

While I made this for a different sim - just to illustrate the use of the aforementioned tools - the side of the car is perfectly flat surface - without any 3D detail - everything is done with PSP to make the details - make it look 3D (no bump mapping) - and - make it look aged (very lightly in my posted examples - I do much heavier stuff too)...

f1258b64d90c0d1ddd5b6a4fdc51b9c6.jpg


74953675b30c62097c51562490351017.jpg



Regards,
Scott
 
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awreaper said:
I would also recommend adding some shadows to your textures. See how his has a shadow under the overhang of the roof? Yours doesn't. Shadows go a long way to adding to the feel of a model.
Click to expand...
scottb613 said:
Hi Bernardo,

Yeah - on your buildings - are they mapped textures - meaning each wall has it's own area of real estate on the texture sheet - or did you just flood fill them with a texture tool ??? The former can add shadows on the texture - the latter not so much... PSP and PS have tools built in to make even 2D textures appear 3D just by adding highlights and shadow... There is a "Drop Shadow" function that works very well too... I'm pretty experienced with grunge and weathering too...

One thing to keep in mind when painting - is never use a solid color - or full white or full black (nothing can be lighter or darker)... You always have variations in the real world as light plays off the surface - inside your paint tool - you can paint the color you want as a solid color - but then use adjustment layers with various patters to create highlights throughout the surface... Some of my solid color layers have 5 or 6 additional adjustment layers to achieve the variations...

The Bahamas are a favorite - so if you need anything just shout...
Regards,
Scott
Click to expand...
OK guys, here is my latest attempt at playing with textures. Scott, I am not yet fluent in layers, I attempted to learn by watching a tutorial a few months ago, but got sidetracked and a bit confused by things like transparency. I just put the main texture on building, then draw a line, for example at bottom, then apply a new texture with either shadow or humidity. The barely seen paint wear on walls is applied the same way.


shaded_house2.png
shaded_house.png
 
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Hi Bernardo,

Look'n good - you seem to have the idea... Yeah - layers are probably the single most important feature of a painting tool when texturing 3D models - well worth the time it takes to learn how to use them properly... If you use PSP or PS (I'm not as familiar with Gimp or others) and would like to see a demonstration - just send me a sample mdl and texture (used strictly for demonstration purposes between us) - I could take a stab at it while creating and labeling all the layers I would use if doing it myself - then send it back to you for critique - discussion - reverse engineering ? I probably won't have time to look at it until sometime next week - no pressure - totally up to you...

Regards,
Scott
 
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scottb613 said:
Hi Bernardo,

Look'n good - you seem to have the idea... Yeah - layers are probably the single most important feature of a painting tool when texturing 3D models - well worth the time it takes to learn how to use them properly... If you use PSP or PS (I'm not as familiar with Gimp or others) and would like to see a demonstration - just send me a sample mdl and texture (used strictly for demonstration purposes between us) - I could take a stab at it while creating and labeling all the layers I would use if doing it myself - then send it back to you for critique - discussion - reverse engineering ? I probably won't have time to look at it until sometime next week - no pressure - totally up to you...

Regards,
Scott
Click to expand...
Scott, I am thinking of sending you the MYBC terminal I did two weeks ago. Can you pm your email? Those shutter shadows are mine, I like that.
BTW, here is my latest try:
littlewhale_shadows.png
 
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Hi Bernardo,

Sure - and yep it's the little details that make the model pop... Look'n good...

I'll look at it sometime this week...

What are you painting with ?

Regards,
Scott
 
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