Hi, my names Jon and my day job is working for myself as an airbrush artist, working mainly on motorbikes, helmets, cars etc. Will work on pretty much anything so long as it doesn't breath.

Have been on IMVU now for 5 years, and have been increasingly disillusioned by IMVU's policies of doing less to enhance the pleasure for IMVU users (of which are the only reason IMVU survives) yet taking more from them whenever, and however they can.

Although i dont claim to be a professional at meshing, I do have an extensive knowledge in the use of sketchup modelling, which I am more than happy to help mafia members with in any way i can, be this of making meshes, texturing etc

Just wanted to say Thank you in advance for the opportunity of joining this group of like minded people who strive to make IMVU a better place to be, and to be part of a community where people have each others backs.

If i can be of any help in any projects i'm just a PM away

Jon.

Welcome to the family, Jon.

Glad to have another Sketchup developer here, I myself am one. Do you have any tips or techniques for texture mapping in Sketchup?

Hey Jon, welcome to the fam.

I'm glad that lately we're getting talented people. I hope you will find our site interesting, and also that you will help to make it more awesome by sharing our experiences together.

Thank you both for your warm welcome.

DM if your talking of actually mapping a texture onto a model, then i helped beta test a program that worked really well, I will PM you later if thats ok and let you know about the program. I also have another 3rd party program but is a paid for program but works amazingly.

If your talking of taking the texture map from an already textured model in order to aid devs to add their own textures then again i do have a program i was given and have been told is really good, however i haven't used it but am more than willing to trial it out and post a review of how good it is.

I am aware i havent posted the names of these programs as being new to the site i dont want to get into trouble straight away so will pm you the details and you can let me know if it is acceptable to name them.

Jon

Isn't the process the same for both scenarios, except in one you're using an actual texture and in the other you're using some sort of color grid or whatever?


The way I normally texture my Sketchup meshes now is by creating extra faces that are on the same axis as the face I want to texture, then I set it to projected and paint it on the face. Of course this doesn't work that well for complicated meshes and curves. A curved face is fairly easy to textures but a flat face with round edges for example isn't, at least not if you want a precise curved texture to follow the curve on the face.

If the mesh has lots of components then I typically use a technique another dev showed me which is to texture the components separately and then align then move them into place.

Though due to the lack of good support for texture mapping in Sketchup, I've been thinking about moving over to blender when I get some time. Sucks though, i really like the easy-to-use interface of Sketchup. I don't like having 100 toolbars and buttons staring me in the face, lol.

The method you have chosen to "project" your texture onto a curved surface works fine, however, if you are using anything other than plain solid textures it will distort the texture. If you try this method say on a bowlin pin with a texture with writing on it you will see what i mean.

The programs i use dont project the texture onto your model but rather wrap the texture around it, thus the distortion is far less.

The above is with regards to placing textures onto a model.

I thought when you spoke about texture mapping before that you meant something different as in once you have applied the texture to your model that you take a mapping off from it as a jpg or png so as to allow a developer to acccurately place things on their textures such as cuffs on a jumper or lettering on an object or other details so that they show in the correct place.

Regarding fitting a texture to say a circle area on your mesh then you have to bear in mind that textures can only be added to a four sided section, also you have to bear in mind that although you can manipulate your texture using the pins that this will distort the texture to whichever shape you make it.


If say you had a column and you wanted to texture it then your method you were shown does work. ie work out the area of the column which is made up of say 6 sides, and then split your texture by that amount and place the different textures on each of the 6 panels. (I think thats what you were taught), this however makes it harder for anyone to develop from it as they would have to do the same, but with the wrapping method you get virtually the same results but just using the 1 texture.

Hope this is all making sence lol

AirbrushFX wrote:

The method you have chosen to "project" your texture onto a curved surface works fine, however, if you are using anything other than plain solid textures it will distort the texture. If you try this method say on a bowlin pin with a texture with writing on it you will see what i mean.

There are many products I would like to create that contain spheres but even the most advanced techniques for texturing a sphere in Sketchup that I've seen leave ugly results. Which is one of the reasons I want move away from Sketchup, that and lack of animation ability.

AirbrushFX wrote:

I thought when you spoke about texture mapping before that you meant something different as in once you have applied the texture to your model that you take a mapping off from it as a jpg or png so as to allow a developer to acccurately place things on their textures such as cuffs on a jumper or lettering on an object or other details so that they show in the correct place.

That is exactly what I mean. I want to be able to export a map that I can draw on directly in any image editing software. Which is pretty much what texture mapping is and what ever other program does.

It sounds like the programs you're referring to give you texture mapping support. If that's the case, I would definitely be interested in trying them out. If I could get texture mapping support in Sketchup that would just be perfect. I wouldn't have to go re learn a more "advanced" modeling program just to texture my meshes better. After all, the texture is what makes a mesh. Even a really low poly model can look amazing with the right texture applied.


On a side note: check out the developer section of our forums: viewforum.php?f=165


I'm off to bed now, if you need any help using the site or have any questions/requests regarding the site or services we offer, let me know. My inbox is always open.

I have all the programs available, will pm a list of them to you and i can forward whichever you would like to try np. Will sort them all out this evening and send you the names. Btw I have no problem making anything available for anyone to use just dont know how to go about it, so maybe you can give me some advice on that.

AirbrushFX wrote:

I have all the programs available, will pm a list of them to you and i can forward whichever you would like to try np. Will sort them all out this evening and send you the names. Btw I have no problem making anything available for anyone to use just dont know how to go about it, so maybe you can give me some advice on that.

Welcome to the group Jon...glad to see another talented member join our group...Why don't you make a thread where you can share your programs and also make some tutorials for everyone to follow...I am sure everyone would love that...Enjoy the site and will be looking forward to hearing more from you...

tyvm Thessa for your welcome. Whatever i am able to do to help other mafia members on here would be my privilege. I'm new to the whole forum thingy and im still looking and searching around, trying to find my feet. If there is enough interest in tutorials regarding sketchup i would certainly be willing to do that, or maybe people could post what they are struggling with within a sketchup thread, a bit like a Q & A.