I start by UVing the particular part of the hires model that the design will be applied to.
Then I use the UV as a template in Illustrator where I make the design as a height map.
I bring the Illustrator image into Photoshop by layers so that I can apply effects to further define the height (mostly inner and outer glows to increase the detail of the depth, details that would be painstaking to create in illustrator).
Then I run the Photoshop height map through CrazyBump to generate the normal map (before CrazyBump was available for OS X I would apply the height map to the hires model, but using the normal generated by CrazyBump produces better results).
I apply the normal map to the hires model and normal bake it to the lores model.
I also use CrazyBump to generate a number of other maps which I bake from the hires to the lores which I will use to aid me in building the diffusion map. For example, I'll generate a high contrast specular map with CrazyBump, bake that to the lores uv, bring the baked image into Photoshop, and use it to select the high points of the design. I can use that selection to add a look of wear or polish to the highest portions of the design.
You've selected a sophisticated example illustrate. I'd like to disassemble your example a bit in order to understand if it is meeting your tutorial requirement.
It's sophisticated because the shadow falls across only one "eye" which means that the inner flesh of the apple needs to be rendered in two different tonal values, one for the eye that is lit and one for the eye in shadow. Nothing wrong with this as an example, and you've handled it well in "apple2.png". But without the context of the actual tutorial, I want to make sure that this complex of an example is exactly what you need because a simple sphere would easier to define.
Ignoring all of that and addressing what you've presented: you've applied the tones well, but here are some tips that will increase the perception of spherical volume ...
The apple as you have rendered it is more heart-shaped compared to the photo's more circular profile. Rounding the apple more will signal to the viewer that they are seeing a spherical object.
The shadow falling across the face of the apple is an S curve. On an idealize sphere the shadow will be eliptical. Because you are dealing with such a minimalist image the subtilties of the curve are undermining the base spherical form.
The highlight and the eye represent different aspects of the surface of the apple, but they are the same value which confuses the volumetric space that the apple represents. Because you are dealing with restricted pallette it will be hard to define tones that will separate enough to represent these to aspects. I believe that the highlight should be a darker tone than the eye, for this reason: the eye represents a break in the surface of the apple and the highlight represent the surface of the apple. The highlight should be closer in tone to the "lit" surface of the apple so that appears to be contiguous. The eye is not part of the contiguous surface and will hold up being higher contrast.
You might play around with the ratio of lit surface to shadowed surface. Currently its about 50/50 which makes it harder for the brain to decide what the spacial relationships are.
I'm more than happy to take care of my own art, and for my part I welcome a submission form that provides standardized input such as polycount and texture sizes. However, I'm not always certain what tags to add, I generally feel that my choice of tags can be myopic, that my tags are influenced by my own preconceived notions of what the item is designed for.
Re: search weighting - perhaps a feature that lets users indicate relevance on search results, a check box next to each result item.
IMO, building models is the easy part, UVing is slow and tedious. That will vary depending on the model. I've found it worthwhile to get used to unwrapping the same model repeatedly if the unwrap isn't working well.
Usually I'll be half way through the texture before I notice that the UV isn't going to work for some part of the texture, or the texture will be better if I adjust the UV. By redoing the unwrap I learn new tricks to the process and get better at it and have to redo the UV less frequently.
As you are just beginning, approach each model/project as learning experience. The C4 is a simple geometric shape good for learning modeling. My first project was a wooden box, no complex geometry at all, but I spent a couple of days learning the Blender interface and exploring various techniques. There are a number of ways to approach unwrapping, experiment with them.
It is tempting to focus on the end product, a beautiful model well textured. Don't. Instead, pick projects that will let you explore a limited aspect of Blender. Keep your daily goals small and simple to avoid frustration. Be prepared to redo and redo in the interest of learning.
I create the designs in Illustrator.
I start by UVing the particular part of the hires model that the design will be applied to.
Then I use the UV as a template in Illustrator where I make the design as a height map.
I bring the Illustrator image into Photoshop by layers so that I can apply effects to further define the height (mostly inner and outer glows to increase the detail of the depth, details that would be painstaking to create in illustrator).
Then I run the Photoshop height map through CrazyBump to generate the normal map (before CrazyBump was available for OS X I would apply the height map to the hires model, but using the normal generated by CrazyBump produces better results).
I apply the normal map to the hires model and normal bake it to the lores model.
I also use CrazyBump to generate a number of other maps which I bake from the hires to the lores which I will use to aid me in building the diffusion map. For example, I'll generate a high contrast specular map with CrazyBump, bake that to the lores uv, bring the baked image into Photoshop, and use it to select the high points of the design. I can use that selection to add a look of wear or polish to the highest portions of the design.
Excellent
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Superb, as always.
You've selected a sophisticated example illustrate. I'd like to disassemble your example a bit in order to understand if it is meeting your tutorial requirement.
It's sophisticated because the shadow falls across only one "eye" which means that the inner flesh of the apple needs to be rendered in two different tonal values, one for the eye that is lit and one for the eye in shadow. Nothing wrong with this as an example, and you've handled it well in "apple2.png". But without the context of the actual tutorial, I want to make sure that this complex of an example is exactly what you need because a simple sphere would easier to define.
Ignoring all of that and addressing what you've presented: you've applied the tones well, but here are some tips that will increase the perception of spherical volume ...
The apple as you have rendered it is more heart-shaped compared to the photo's more circular profile. Rounding the apple more will signal to the viewer that they are seeing a spherical object.
The shadow falling across the face of the apple is an S curve. On an idealize sphere the shadow will be eliptical. Because you are dealing with such a minimalist image the subtilties of the curve are undermining the base spherical form.
The highlight and the eye represent different aspects of the surface of the apple, but they are the same value which confuses the volumetric space that the apple represents. Because you are dealing with restricted pallette it will be hard to define tones that will separate enough to represent these to aspects. I believe that the highlight should be a darker tone than the eye, for this reason: the eye represents a break in the surface of the apple and the highlight represent the surface of the apple. The highlight should be closer in tone to the "lit" surface of the apple so that appears to be contiguous. The eye is not part of the contiguous surface and will hold up being higher contrast.
You might play around with the ratio of lit surface to shadowed surface. Currently its about 50/50 which makes it harder for the brain to decide what the spacial relationships are.
Performance is very much improved. Awesome great job.
I'm more than happy to take care of my own art, and for my part I welcome a submission form that provides standardized input such as polycount and texture sizes. However, I'm not always certain what tags to add, I generally feel that my choice of tags can be myopic, that my tags are influenced by my own preconceived notions of what the item is designed for.
Re: search weighting - perhaps a feature that lets users indicate relevance on search results, a check box next to each result item.
I can't help you with Unity, but I can upload the textures separately (see below).
IMO, building models is the easy part, UVing is slow and tedious. That will vary depending on the model. I've found it worthwhile to get used to unwrapping the same model repeatedly if the unwrap isn't working well.
Usually I'll be half way through the texture before I notice that the UV isn't going to work for some part of the texture, or the texture will be better if I adjust the UV. By redoing the unwrap I learn new tricks to the process and get better at it and have to redo the UV less frequently.
As you are just beginning, approach each model/project as learning experience. The C4 is a simple geometric shape good for learning modeling. My first project was a wooden box, no complex geometry at all, but I spent a couple of days learning the Blender interface and exploring various techniques. There are a number of ways to approach unwrapping, experiment with them.
It is tempting to focus on the end product, a beautiful model well textured. Don't. Instead, pick projects that will let you explore a limited aspect of Blender. Keep your daily goals small and simple to avoid frustration. Be prepared to redo and redo in the interest of learning.
Above all play.
Fanstastic resource :)
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