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Old 23-06-17, 16:41   #1
teme9
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Default Transition texture creator - Blender

Transition texture creation with Blender


Overview

What is it?

Transition texture creator is a Blender file that is ready set up for creating transition textures quickly. The user needs to have Blender (2.78+) installed and supply own Diffuse(color) and Heightmap in order to be able create transition textures. The transition texture blending is controlled by vertex paints that can be re-used with different Diffuse and Heightmaps. Blender file has been put together so that the user does not need to know much of Blender - everything is optimized for speed & quality.



Diffuse texture



Diffuse texture is your image file of your choice. This texture is the one that you would ordinarily use in TRLE to texture your environment.



Heightmap



Heightmap is basically a black and white image where white areas are high points while black areas are the deep parts. Heightmap can be created from the Diffuse texture using image editing programs. Heightmap can be edited from images, painted, generated or made from 3D modelling (using depth pass etc.).



Overview



Here's a quick look how the scene should look like when you open it. It might feel slightly overwhelming at first but once you try it out it will be quite simple!


3D-view / Object mode / vertex painting



This is the basic 3D view and its components. This view will also be used for vertex painting.



Hierarchy & Rendering



This part of the UI controls the object present in scene and how the output is rendered out from the program.



Material setup and blending adjustment



This is the part of the UI which controls the transition blending and what textures it includes.

Blending settings:
  • Blending Softness - how soft is the blending between the two textures. Larger values are more prone to error.
  • Shadow color - color of the shadow. The shadow color is multiplied on top of the textures.
  • Shadow1 Strength - strength of the shadow that draws on top of the texture 1
  • Shadow1 Falloff - How large is the radius of the shadow1.
  • Shadow2 Strength - see Shadow1 strength but for texture 1
  • Shadow2 Falloff - see Shadow1 Falloff but for texture 2
  • Additional shadow Strength - additional shadow that is exactly at the middle of the blend. Blending softness affects radius of this shadow.

Last edited by teme9; 23-06-17 at 17:16.
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Old 23-06-17, 16:41   #2
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Tutorials

Installing

1. Download Blender:
https://www.blender.org/download/

2. Download necessary Blender file:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AocaykawwDwgkSW-gjZt-LYYh5G6

3. Unzip the package from the link above to destination of your choice. Double-click to open the Blender file from the unzipped folder. That's it!

4. Continue to next tutorial.


Creating your first transitions

First part of the tutorial series. This tutorial goes over the whole basic process using the transition texture creation inside Blender. In order to complete this tutorial you need to have your own diffuse and heightmap texture or you can try out with the ones that are supplied with the package also don't forget to download Blender!





Creating 2x2 tiled textures and making new materials transition materials
This is the second tutorial in the series. This tutorial goes over how you can make transition between two different tiling settings and how you're able to create new materials.





Basics of heightmap creation



Most simple way is to just blur and desaturate texture. That works in some cases very well. The method varies depending what kind of texture you have. It is also possible to paint one by hand. Basically only imagination is the limit here. Check the example PSD files if you're a photoshop user.


Downloads


Blender
https://www.blender.org/download/


Blender file & test textures
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AocaykawwDwgkSW-gjZt-LYYh5G6


Heightmap creation. Example .PSD files.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AocaykawwDwgkSQMtE1UyMW_wSX8



If you have any feedback or improvement ideas then please let me know! I will try to improve this over time as much as I can.

Last edited by teme9; 27-06-17 at 18:15.
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Old 23-06-17, 17:45   #3
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Teme, you are a credit to the community.
I will test the method too and report back if I have any problems.

I probably will have a couple of questions, as well.
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Old 23-06-17, 18:24   #4
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Thanks
Yeah, sure! I might include some of the questions for FAQ part so they are more than welcome. I think that it would be very useful I hope that you will find this method permanent to your workflow
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Old 23-06-17, 22:47   #5
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Amazing! Thank you so much for your continued contribution to the community!
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Old 23-06-17, 22:54   #6
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I've been waiting for this one since ages. I'm downloading it right now. I'm gonna test it with my TRAE project!

PS - why not Software Development/Tutorials section tho..?
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Old 24-06-17, 13:03   #7
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Thanks I really do hope that this helps creating transition textures for many!

I guess this could've gone into the software development section too. I wasn't really sure where this should go into so I posted it here. It probably could be moved to more suitable section
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