What program do i have to use in PhotoShop to make clothes?!

[Julie Olrich]

I want to start to make my own clothes, but all the tutorials i see on youtube it sems to need a program for photoshop so i can schulpt the body or what ever.. i wanted a tutorial explaining everything and telling me what program i need to use..

Im starting from scrach, i realy need some help please!

[Claireschen Hesten]

just photoshop on it's own full or elements version will be enough to make clothes as long as it allows you to work with different layers. if you have the full version of photoshop from i think CS5 onwards it will allow you to paint directly on to a 3D model say a sculpt map you've made yourself or bought in SL that allows you you to export 

if your totally new to clothes designing the Mermaid Diaries blog by Natalia Zelmanov is a fantastic resource also the T-Shirt template and tutorial by Robin Soujourner is a great place to start

[Eloise Baily]

Hi there. You can use Photoshop but you don't have to. When you use the versions CS4(extended) and above, you can create the 3D avatar to paint on, but again, you don't have to. Look for tutorials for GIMP, a free image processing program. It does nearly the same thing as photoshop. Both are complicated programs though, so some patience will be needed while you learn.

There are some great free clothing templates out there to get you started.

Try Chip Midnight's:

http://www.annotoole.com/CMFF/

Or Robin Wood's:

http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/SL-Tuts/SLPages/AVUVTemplates.html

Youtube is packed with great tutorials for GIMP. I also recommend the Mermaid diaires here:

http://www.mermaiddiaries.com/2007/03/day-181-creating-clothes-with-gimp.html

Good luck and have fun. That's what it's all about after all!

[Lindal Kidd]

Clothes are made of two different kinds of things.

First, there are clothing layers.  These are textures...paintings that are applied to the avatar mesh in defined areas and in a specified order.  Clothing layers appear close to the body, with the minor exception of long sleeves and pant legs and system skirts.  The layers are:  Undershirt, underpants, socks, gloves, shirt, pants, jacket, skirt.

These are created in Photoshop (or another paint program).  To help you do your painting in the right places, there are free clothing templates you can download and open in Photoshop.  In newer versions of Photoshop, you can paint directly on a 3D model of your avatar, which can make it easier to align seams and patterns.

The other kind of clothing parts are attachments.  These are prims, not clothing layers.  Stand up collars, fancy cuffs, poofy sleeves, pant legs, and flexible skirts are attachments of this sort.  Most clothing prims are sculpties, which are organic shapes created in yet another type of program, a 3D modeling application.  Blender and Wings 3D are popular and free applications for this.  Putting a texture on a sculpty can be very tricky.  There's another free program called Sculpty Paint that can make this easier.  Well, possible.

Start simple:  Make some tattoos, or a few bikinis.  Then a t-shirt with a funny logo on it and some jeans.  Remember that you can upload items for free on the Beta grid, which can save you a lot of money while you're testing your new creations.