Topic: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps  (Read 2490 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline manitoba1073

  • FLEET ADMIRAL OF THE YARDS
  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1119
  • Gender: Male
    • manitobashipyards
wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« on: September 19, 2004, 07:48:17 pm »
wasnt there a tutorial on how to make the light maps somewhere i need help



Offline manitoba1073

  • FLEET ADMIRAL OF THE YARDS
  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1119
  • Gender: Male
    • manitobashipyards
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2004, 10:08:20 am »
but i still want to know how



Offline atheorhaven

  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1801
    • Mare Imbrium Shipyards
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2004, 11:43:52 am »
but i still want to know how


I'll retype this.. didn't work well the first time.  :(

So a quicker reply..

I'll use p81's FCA3.BMP as an example.


The very first thing I'd do would be to convert it over to greyscale..


Then I'd bump the contrast and brightness.  In this example, I used -58 brightness and +68 contrast I think..


As you can see, some of the details (the windows etc) are coming out.. but I'd copy over the original engine and impulse crystal here, and then try it again to see what I got.  Then it'd be tweaking and getting it right.. blacking out the areas I didn't want lit, etc... but this is a basic way to start with getting an illumination texture going from your original ship texture..
..ooOOoo..totally useless information..ooOOoo..

Mare Imbrium Shipyards - http://mareimbrium.webhop.net

Don't bother checking out my website for the most recent updates, because I've
been too lazy to update it!  Check Battleclinic!

Offline GotAFarmYet?

  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1188
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #3 on: September 20, 2004, 12:00:57 pm »
but i still want to know how


I'll retype this.. didn't work well the first time.  :(

So a quicker reply..

I'll use p81's FCA3.BMP as an example.


The very first thing I'd do would be to convert it over to greyscale..

That is if you are using someone elses work

If you made the textures in layers I suggest you make the one you want lighted as a seperate layer. That way all you have to do is copy that layer to a black background and you are done. If you used more than one layer they you will have to copy more than one layer but the idea is the same.


Then I'd bump the contrast and brightness.  In this example, I used -58 brightness and +68 contrast I think..


As you can see, some of the details (the windows etc) are coming out.. but I'd copy over the original engine and impulse crystal here, and then try it again to see what I got.  Then it'd be tweaking and getting it right.. blacking out the areas I didn't want lit, etc... but this is a basic way to start with getting an illumination texture going from your original ship texture..
People always said they wanted the government to listen to them and now the government is listening, taking notes and names...and coming to see you soon!

America-Not the land of the free anymore...
 Its the land of the freeloaders

Remember the axiom of big government bureaucrats: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. When, finally, under the crushing weight of taxes and regulation, it stops moving, subsidize it.

Offline atheorhaven

  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1801
    • Mare Imbrium Shipyards
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2004, 12:21:09 pm »
That is if you are using someone elses work
If you made the textures in layers I suggest you make the one you want lighted as a seperate layer. That way all you have to do is copy that layer to a black background and you are done. If you used more than one layer they you will have to copy more than one layer but the idea is the same.


I've used this method on my own originals as well.. and the principle is the same for generating a quick basic illumination from your own original textures.

Case in point.. my TARDIS..


This is its Hull texture.. and here's an illumination map using exactly the same settings as I previously used in PSP after I converted it to greyscale...



What I was trying to do here was show him how to generate a quick basic illumination texture using his pre-existing textures.  If he has his former work saved in layers already.. awesome.  Then he can add in a black layer over his background texture, or whathaveyou and raise it up until windows or whatever start to disappear.  But, if he saved his texture as a merged texture and didn't save his originals (as frequently happens).. this'll allow him to generate some illuminations based off his originals.

Which is why I showed him this method.. and I used p81's FCA3 as an example because it's easy to locate, familiar, and a good practice texture to practice with.  :)
..ooOOoo..totally useless information..ooOOoo..

Mare Imbrium Shipyards - http://mareimbrium.webhop.net

Don't bother checking out my website for the most recent updates, because I've
been too lazy to update it!  Check Battleclinic!

Offline FoaS_XC

  • Photorps, Sammiches, woot woot.
  • Global Moderator
  • Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 4571
  • Gender: Male
    • Robinomicon
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2004, 12:40:19 pm »
My question is how did you guys get the spotlight effect on the saucer.
Robinomicon
"When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life."

Offline atheorhaven

  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1801
    • Mare Imbrium Shipyards
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2004, 01:15:54 pm »
My question is how did you guys get the spotlight effect on the saucer.


I don't know about others, but one of the ways I do it is to use the Lights tool under Effects -> Illumination.

As an example, just made a grey square w/settings of 128x128x128 for color.. then went into Lights, selected "1 up" and got this:



If the grey square was a saucer texture or illumination map.. I'd now have a saucer light..
..ooOOoo..totally useless information..ooOOoo..

Mare Imbrium Shipyards - http://mareimbrium.webhop.net

Don't bother checking out my website for the most recent updates, because I've
been too lazy to update it!  Check Battleclinic!

Offline Red_Green

  • Lt.
  • *
  • Posts: 717
  • Gender: Male
  • Whatever
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2004, 03:36:57 pm »
This work is mega cool. Atheohaven, you are one of the most helpful modders in the forum   ;D
All these little details add so much to the ships!


The most creative person hides his sources the best!

"The universe hates you. Deal with it!"

Spoken by Harper in a 1st season episode of Andromeda.

"Pesimism is not a survival trait"

Offline Rhaz

  • Lt. Junior Grade
  • *
  • Posts: 374
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2004, 03:57:38 pm »
My question is how did you guys get the spotlight effect on the saucer.


I don't know about others, but one of the ways I do it is to use the Lights tool under Effects -> Illumination.

As an example, just made a grey square w/settings of 128x128x128 for color.. then went into Lights, selected "1 up" and got this:



If the grey square was a saucer texture or illumination map.. I'd now have a saucer light..


That is *so* much easier than the way I was doing it.  I've got to give this a try.


This work is mega cool. Atheohaven, you are one of the most helpful modders in the forum ;D
All these little details add so much to the ships!


ditto.  Thanks

Offline FoaS_XC

  • Photorps, Sammiches, woot woot.
  • Global Moderator
  • Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 4571
  • Gender: Male
    • Robinomicon
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2004, 05:28:58 pm »
Hmm...time to make a Photoshop Brush.
Robinomicon
"When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life."

Offline FoaS_XC

  • Photorps, Sammiches, woot woot.
  • Global Moderator
  • Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 4571
  • Gender: Male
    • Robinomicon
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2004, 05:46:26 pm »
Okay, could someone who has PSP send me a 512x512 at 72 dpi of a spotlight much like ATheorhavens image above. Photoshop is only capable of making Rounded or elliptical spotlights. I would like to create a brush set for lighting.
Now if this is gonna work i need it the white of the light to NOT touch the edge of the image.

Thanks
Robinomicon
"When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life."

Offline FoaS_XC

  • Photorps, Sammiches, woot woot.
  • Global Moderator
  • Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 4571
  • Gender: Male
    • Robinomicon
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #11 on: September 20, 2004, 06:01:20 pm »
And if anyone has any ideas for what needs to go into such a brush set, let me know.
Robinomicon
"When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life."

Offline atheorhaven

  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1801
    • Mare Imbrium Shipyards
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #12 on: September 20, 2004, 10:03:02 pm »
Okay, could someone who has PSP send me a 512x512 at 72 dpi of a spotlight much like ATheorhavens image above. Photoshop is only capable of making Rounded or elliptical spotlights. I would like to create a brush set for lighting.
Now if this is gonna work i need it the white of the light to NOT touch the edge of the image.
Thanks

I can do that.. what color do you want the background?  Black as possible?  Or something more neutral?  Conversely.. I can look through PSP and see if there's any options to just save it as a layered thing that might be readable in Photoshop..
..ooOOoo..totally useless information..ooOOoo..

Mare Imbrium Shipyards - http://mareimbrium.webhop.net

Don't bother checking out my website for the most recent updates, because I've
been too lazy to update it!  Check Battleclinic!

Offline GotAFarmYet?

  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1188
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #13 on: September 20, 2004, 10:06:44 pm »
PSP can save that as a PS file. I do think PS has something thta can do the same thing though it might just be getting use to the controls.
People always said they wanted the government to listen to them and now the government is listening, taking notes and names...and coming to see you soon!

America-Not the land of the free anymore...
 Its the land of the freeloaders

Remember the axiom of big government bureaucrats: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. When, finally, under the crushing weight of taxes and regulation, it stops moving, subsidize it.

Offline manitoba1073

  • FLEET ADMIRAL OF THE YARDS
  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1119
  • Gender: Male
    • manitobashipyards
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #14 on: September 20, 2004, 11:06:01 pm »
yeah thats what i was thinking how to do it.  just couldnt remember.  thanxs guys. should get stickied too for other stuff too.



Offline atheorhaven

  • Lt. Commander
  • *
  • Posts: 1801
    • Mare Imbrium Shipyards
Re: wasnt there something somewhere for doing light maps
« Reply #15 on: September 21, 2004, 02:00:11 am »
PSP can save that as a PS file. I do think PS has something thta can do the same thing though it might just be getting use to the controls.

Tried it, but it wouldn't open in PS Elements... however, the .PSD I tried saving from PSP opened fine in it, so that's what I'm sending over.  Made it large (2048x2048) in order to minimize funky artifiacting when using this.. and archived it with RAR in a self-extracting archive to minimize size.  Two layers, so should be good I think..

One thing you'll have to do when you finish downloading it is rename it with a .EXE extension.  The upload here wouldn't accept the .EXE extension.. so it became .RAR and I reuploaded it to get it up here..
..ooOOoo..totally useless information..ooOOoo..

Mare Imbrium Shipyards - http://mareimbrium.webhop.net

Don't bother checking out my website for the most recent updates, because I've
been too lazy to update it!  Check Battleclinic!