Can I make a chiffron-like fabric with blender materials?

[LisaMarie McWinnie]

Hello! So on my latest project, I would like to use a texture like this, of a chiffron fabric, on the main part of the dress:

http://texturetaddka.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Chiffon_fabric_texture_6.jpg

I don't know how to use the blender materials, and I don't know if I can make those details with it, can someone help me please?

Thank you in advance!

[Zak Kozlov]

---

LisaMarie McWinnie wrote:

Hello! So on my latest project, I would like to use a texture like this, of a chiffron fabric, on the main part of the dress:

http://texturetaddka.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Chiffon_fabric_texture_6.jpg

I don't know how to use the blender materials, and I don't know if I can make those details with it, can someone help me please?

Thank you in advance!

---

 

This would be quite simple to make with cloth simulation in Blender

Here is a good tutorial about it: http://cgcookie.com/blender/2013/03/12/modeling-with-cloth-simulation-in-blender/

It goes a little deeper than what you'd need to make such thing but, how can that be bad!? more learning! YAY hehe

 

Now by material, if you mean material (hehe ( normal,spec,diffuse and such ))

the fastest way would be to take a texture just like the one you showed, use Crazybump,nDO2 or similar software who would generate such map for you in a flash!

the long way would be to make a high poly plane on zBrush, sculpt your chiffon and bake the details

 

Hope it helped

[LisaMarie McWinnie]

Thanks for the reply!

My internet is very bad right now, so youtube is not even loading. But as far as I could see, that tutorial is for modeling only no? I made the dress so far without it, and while I am satisfied with the skirt, I think the top is not looking very natural.

I downloaded an photoshop plugin for normals, but the problem is with the little details. I don't think it would be worth to sculpt it, since its so small, but then I don't know how to draw, and I can't just put a white blank texture on the dress.

I will definately watch the tutorial, since its something I've been wanting to learn better, and it will certainly be useful, but now I am still kinda lost about the texture for this one.

[Aquila Kytori]

Hi

Unfortunately I have also a Utube video as a suggestion and its in German ( don't let that put you off because I expect you will be able to follow along even if you don't understand German).Its explaining something I have never tried before and thought maybe it would give you some ideas.     Using a Cloth Bump Map Texture.

Skip forward in the video to 41:00 to 41:30 to see how the combined texture looks when mapped to the mesh.

Then go back to around 25:40 to see how he is getting the effect of structure to the flat texture by adding a Bump Map texture which instead of Influencing the Diffuse/Colour its Influences the Geometry/Normals.

He is using a rough cotton cloth texture but if you google for  > Cloth Bump Texture <  you may well find a more suitable image to combine with a colour texture to get the cloth texture you want for your dress. (You can also use Repeats in the X and Y as he does in the video to get a finer texture effect , 26:35 )

If you still can't open Utube videos then you could look up how to bake using Bump maps in Blender.

 

 

 

 

 

[LisaMarie McWinnie]

Thank you, that is a great video! (my internet came back to normal too lol), though I was confused at some parts.

So I need to set up the UV map, create a material, then create two textures, one with the pattern/color, another with the bump/structure, set up the lighting and bake full render?

[Aquila Kytori]

This is a bit like the blind leading the blind lol

Like I said earlier I have never tried this and also my German is very basic, anyways I watched it again and made a few notes:

 

 Starting with the mesh already unwrapped............

 

09:00  He creates a second UV map , UVSL (the map that will be used with the finished mesh) and UVMaterial.

09:40  With the UVSL map selected set out the UV islands for the UV map to be used for SL.

16:00  Creates a New Image called Short_SL, for a better quality baking he suggests using an image size twice what can be used in SL, 2048 x 2048. Saves image as Short_Tex.png

16:50  He selects the second UV map , UVMaterial.

17:40     Makes a copy of the mesh and moves it to layer 3    (this layer 3 mesh is for setting out materials)

              Mesh on layer 1 renames to Shorts, This is the mesh which will be uploaded to SL, and has to use the UV map     named UVSL

              Mesh on layer 3 he renames Sorts_Material.

For the next part he is only working on the layer 3 mesh , Shorts_Material.

21:15   Layer 3 mesh and UVMaterial : Adds Material/Textures to each material  making up the shorts. When adding Textures don't forget to select the correct UV map , UVMaterial.

25:30 He adds a second texture to the camouflage material. This is Cloth Bump image and is set to influence the Geometry/Normal and Blend mode is set to Multiply.

27:00 Bakes textures,  layer 3 mesh to Layer 1 UV map

 

28:00 Setting up for baking shadows by adding lights to the scene. The reason he spreads the legs of the shorts is so that the shadows won't be too dark on this part of the mesh when baked out.

30:00 Adds a Hemi Lamp. Hemi lamps don't cast shadows and is there only to make sure that the underside of the mesh is not to dark when baked.

30:50  Adds Area lamps.

32:30 Make sure that the UVSL UVmap is selected

32:50 Bake Full render

34:15 Save the baked image for uploading to SL.

35:20 Creating an Alpha map.

 

I don't really understand why he is using the copy of the original mesh and why he needs a second UV map for materials.

Perhaps some one could explain this for us ?

Anyways I think it would be best to try this method out on a very simple mesh before moving on to your dress

 

 

 

 

[LisaMarie McWinnie]

Thanks again!

I'll definately try this on a simpler mesh before, so I can get familiarized with this process better.

Do you really need two UV maps and those copies of the meshes though? Can't I just use one mesh and one UV map? I got a little confused with all the UVs and different layers.