| Bump
Maps 101 by Sarhra |
-So, you
already know how to make a pretty skin but it lacks that really cool
texture that other skins seem to have…Never fear, for I am here
to help! This tutorial is my attempt at showing you a very quick and
easy way of creating a bump map for your skins that you create. There
are many other more advanced techniques out there, but this is for beginners.
^_^ So, if you know the ins and outs of making bump maps, don’t
read on…
What is a bump map? Many 3d art programs use bump maps to give objects
and skins texture of the 3D sort. |
| |
-I’ve
tried to explain what a bump map does in my own words…but it’s
hard for me to convey. The following quote is about the best I’ve
found in explaining what a bump map is and what it does:
“ Bump maps alter the shading of an object to create bumpy details. With
bump maps dark colors recede and light ones advance. The higher the slider bar
setting the higher the bumps. Bump maps used with texture maps create the illusion
of complex objects…” * |
| |
| -There are
several techniques for creating bump maps for sim skins, but there are
a few that I use frequently that give me the results that I like. The
technique I am about to show you is (what I've found to be) by far the
easiest and quickest. |
| |
| -When you
choose your Maxis base skin that you’d like to use as a base for
your own (I don't think I should have to tell you that it is wise to
NOT base your skins on the the skins of someone else), you may be lucky
enough to have picked one that exports with a bump map. When you open
up the folder in your “Projects” folder (if it includes a
BM) you’ll see 4 files (3 bitmaps and one .package). Just for the
sake of information, the colored bitmap (named something like body~stdMatBaseTextureName)
is the one that will be your skin, the black & white bitmap (body~stdMatBaseTextureName_alpha)
is the alpha (the black indicated where no texture will be shown on the
sim and the white indicates where texture will be shown. If you’d
like to make something transparent, you use grey…but that’s
for a different tutorial), there is a file that is all shades of medium
grey (body~stdMatNormalMapTextureName), that
is the bump map. Pay no attention to the .package file. |
| |
| -Okay, so…go
through the skinning process to create your skin…I’ve chosen
to make some pjs. Edit the body~stdMatBaseTextureName so it looks the
way you want it to. Here is my skin so far: |
| -Pretty
basic, huh? It actually looks a little messy, but that's the
beauty of the function of the alpha...but again, that's for a
different tutorial. ^_- |
|
| -Now, this
is what the plain old Maxis bump map looks like, unaltered: |
| -Again,
nothing special about it...there isn't really much texture at
all. |
|
| -So, I save
my colored bitmap (body~stdMatBaseTextureName) and I import
my new skin into the game using body shop and here is what it looks like
on a sim (with the virtually non-existant Maxis bump map): |
| -Okay,
it's cute, but nothing spectacular...But, we can change that!
^_^ |
|
| -So, what
I do next is I open up body~stdMatBaseTextureName (the colored
bitmap) and body~stdMatNormalMapTextureName (the
all grey bump map). I copy my colored bitmap and paste it onto the bump
map (on a new layer). I desaturate the colored layer and I turn the contrast
down (in Photo Shop it would be Image > Adjustments > Desaturate
then Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast)...I usually turn
the contrast down to about -45...but you can adjust it till you think
it'll look good. Flatten your image (Layer > Flatten Image) and save
it. Now re-import it in Body Shop. |
| -Here is
what the altered bump map looks like: |
 |
| -Now here
is what the skin looks like with the altered bump map: |
| -Wow,
that looks MUCH better. Notice how there are raised
and recessed areas on the pants and shirt...dark = recessed;
light = raised |
|
| -See, it
really wasn't that hard, was it? All you really did was copy your skin,
desaturate it and turn the contrast down and ta-da! A bump map that gives
your creation that extra touch. |
| |
Like I said,
there was lots of different ways to make a bump map and this was what
I thought to be one of the easier ways of showing someone with no knowledge
how to make one. Very basic, but a good starting point.
I also have a tutorial on how to make a knit texture bump map and some
more advanced techniques that I use with my skins that will be posted shortly.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
-xox-
sarhra (sarhra @ simsbysarhra.com remove the spaces) |
| |
| *for
a better eexplanation of bump maps & texture maps, click
here. |
