TheSims Skins Tutorial
Texture
This entire chapter pertains directly to MilkShape 3D. If you have another modeller, you'll need to find out how to modify the texture mapping in it.
First, we load up our mesh (if it's not already loaded) and make sure there's nothing else there.
Now select the entire group.
On the left, click the Materials tab, then New. Now click Assign. You've just assigned a blank material to your wings.
MS3D: To see the 'Assign' Button, you'll have to be in 800x600 resolution or greater. I usually run 1024x768, 24-bit color.
Now click on the first button that says <none> and choose a BMP. I usually start with
Black.BMP.
White.BMP is useful for other things. (These 2 files are just 256x256, 256colors and filled with Black or White respectively)
The transparent wings of dragonflies and damselflies have many veins. Some species have beautiful color patterns.
Click the Window menu, then Texture Coordinate Editor. You'll see a window like this:
Our wings are going to have the same texture on the front and back. Make sure 'Front' is showing (assuming that your wings are facing correctly) and then click Remap. You'll have something like this.
If this isn't quite satisfactory, the window has tools to allow you to move the coordinates around to your liking. If it still isn't good enough, or you need a different texture on the back, there is a program call UVMapper that will take your OBJ file and remap the texture in about any way you want.
We now have a properly textured wing, but no texture. I usually use this as my pattern. (Take a printscreen and paste it into your graphics program)
Tip: Start from the bottom corner of the black and take 256 pixels up and left and you'll have an exact pattern. There is a black border around the inside of the window, so you have to be careful not to get that.
Once you're done in your graphics program, save it as 256x256, 256color BMP. 128x128 and 64x64 also work for those objects where you don't need as much detail.
Tip: You can now use my new program (SKN Template Creator) to create this preview right from the SKN instead of copying and pasteing into an image editor. MS3D: You can preview your new texture by going to the Material tab and changing black.bmp to your new texture. To see it, you might have to right-click the perspective view and choose 'Textured' and you may have to click Emissive and set it up about half-way on the grey scale on the right.
The coloration of the male dragonfly often differs from that of the female.
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