Do i need to make a UV and/texture before selling

[GoldenGypsy]

As the topic states, do i need to texture the mesh in order to sell it? Or can someone else buy it and make a texture for it?

Im great with modeling but i find it difficult and a hassle to UV edit and texture....
Also, does this brlong in the texture forum?

[arton Rotaru]

You don't have to texture it. You don't have to UV map it either. But you would have to provide the original mesh files somehow, DAE, FBX, OBJ, blend whatever, in order to have someone else create the UVs.

To sell meshes only in second life, you should at least UV map it, and include the UV map with the mesh. With this someone could at least create textures for the model.

[GoldenGypsy]

Is only selling mesh profitable?

[arton Rotaru]

I have also a few old sculpted prim objects on the Marketplace which still sell.

But I wouldn't recommend anything else but mesh, to be competitive in Second Life these days.

[GoldenGypsy]

Thanks

[ChinRey]

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GoldenGypsy wrote:

Is only selling mesh profitable?

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Yes and no. The full perm mesh market is heavily saturated already and it's extremely hard for a new actor to get a foothold. It's not impossible though. Make a good range of high quality meshes, find the right price range (not too cheap and not too expensive) and invest at least a year's worth of work in marketing and building your customer base. If you do that right, you may well be able to turn your hobby into a nice little secondary income.

Edit: jost to avoid one common misunderstanding: listing your works on the Marketplace is not marketing. Nobody's ever going to notice you among the millions of listings there unless you have a well established name or a truly unique product nobody's ever thought of before. You have to actively promote your works in-world, and possibly at some relevant high traffic blogs and such - to stand any chance at all.

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

You're talking about full perm untextured mesh, yes? Then sure, there's a market. I always look for what's included though and usually give things a miss it's just a mesh without AO layer. The better the AO is and the better the layout of the UV islands, the more likely I'll buy something else from the creator. Especially the UV layout since buyers have no way of changing that without a dae file. I get grumpy if I have to spend ages and ages lining up pieces because someone used Smart UV Project and went with whatever that gave. A modeler's short cuts can mean heaps more work for texturers, especially if we want to offer it in more than one colour scheme.

There's no reason why you have to be the person who does that kind of testing on your mesh though. If you can find someone to work with who's better at texturing and can give you feedback from that POV, you'll probably end up with better and more saleable mesh.

[ChinRey]

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Bitsy Buccaneer wrote:

You're talking about full perm untextured mesh, yes? Then sure, there's a market.

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Oh, there definitely is. The problem is to be noticed there. That requries active marketing.

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Bitsy Buccaneer wrote:

I always look for what's included though and usually give things a miss it's just a mesh without AO layer

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Hmmm, I think I should clear up a common misunderstanding here: there is no such thing as an AO layer in Second Life. What you get when you buy a prefab with AO included, is a shadow texture you can export and then add to the texture of your choice in your favorite image editor. Quite honestly, I don't see much point in providing a basic shadow map for a prefab. They're so easy to make, anybody who know enough about image editing to be able to use one should be fully capable of making their own in a few seconds. On the other hand, they are easy to make so if the customer wants one included, sure, why not?

As for more elaborate shadow maps, well I wouldn't use them myself in SL since they only give static shadows and I personally much prefer the dynamic shadings generated by the viewer. Yes, the advanced shadow function is still rather flawed but it's not *that* bad and it has the huge advatage over baked shadows that it's dynamic. But again, they're easy to make - takes a bit of time but it's computer time so you can taker a break in the meantime - and if the customer wants it, well, OK

[Pamela Galli]

It is odd to me that someone would be considering going into the full perm mesh business when he does not know / want to learn how to make UVs. That is pretty basic stuff.

[ChinRey]

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Pamela Galli wrote:

It is odd to me that someone would be considering going into the full perm mesh business when he does not know / want to learn how to make UVs. That is pretty basic stuff.

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Oh Pamela! We all had to start somewhere, remember!

But yes, there's a loooong way to go from being good at making shapes with Blender or Maya to being able to make good Second Life mesh.

[Pamela Galli]

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ChinRey wrote:

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Pamela Galli wrote:

It is odd to me that someone would be considering going into the full perm mesh business when he does not know / want to learn how to make UVs. That is pretty basic stuff.

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Oh Pamela! We all had to start somewhere, remember!

But yes, there's a loooong way to go from being good at making shapes with Blender or Maya to being able to make good Second Life mesh.

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Actually, I take it back about it being odd not learning how to UV, since it is really not necessary to know how to model, either,  in order to have a mesh-based business in SL.