Dxtbmp Question
- Thread starter NCGent
- Start date
Mick
SOH-CM-2024
Hey Chris,
It's done in the alpha channel.
The darker the alpha channel, the shinier the skin on the model. A pure white alpha channel makes the texture completely non-reflective; a totally black alpha channel makes the texture a mirror surface. In between is whatever gradient you want.
***Don't forget that reflections must be enabled in the model; otherwise the alpha channel controls transparency instead of reflectivity.
How the results look in the sim has a lot to do with the envmap texture file in use. The stock one doesn't do much for reflections so numerous enhanced envmap files have been released. If two systems don't use the same envmap file, reflective textures will look different - sometimes very different. Now that I've learned that, I've become a little bit gun shy about reflective textures.
There's an Alpha drop-down menu on the tool bar of DXTbmp. You'll fine some useful items on that.
Mick
It's done in the alpha channel.
The darker the alpha channel, the shinier the skin on the model. A pure white alpha channel makes the texture completely non-reflective; a totally black alpha channel makes the texture a mirror surface. In between is whatever gradient you want.
***Don't forget that reflections must be enabled in the model; otherwise the alpha channel controls transparency instead of reflectivity.
How the results look in the sim has a lot to do with the envmap texture file in use. The stock one doesn't do much for reflections so numerous enhanced envmap files have been released. If two systems don't use the same envmap file, reflective textures will look different - sometimes very different. Now that I've learned that, I've become a little bit gun shy about reflective textures.
There's an Alpha drop-down menu on the tool bar of DXTbmp. You'll fine some useful items on that.
Mick
Black is difficult to make shiny, (reflective) as it tends to get milky colored or whitish from the surrounding environmemt.
A good trick with a single part that needs to be sort of reflective is to fake the reflectivity with a 'reflection picture' on a layer on top of the black. Take a screenshot of a surrounding area that would normally be around that part/area (cabin interior or outside area) and copy/paste that on a layer hovering over the black in the texture. Now make the picture layer transparent to a point that you can barely see it, able to make out the area, and then burn a BMP from that.
I do this with wood that has high gloss. This way I can have deep, rich colors without wash out of white on the surfaces.
The table and woodwork on the Epic LT are done like this. If you look at the table top in the rear cabin area, you can barely make out a jet on a taxi way facing you in a sunset. have to look closely. The jet is upside down in this screenshot. Note also the white, faint lines that are on the edges of the table and end-cap piece. (The reflections on the endcap area face the side of the cabin, not the rear). When you learn in art classes how reflections work, where they face, how intense they can be at times, you can sort of learn to mimmick them in graphics with Photoshop.
Bill
A good trick with a single part that needs to be sort of reflective is to fake the reflectivity with a 'reflection picture' on a layer on top of the black. Take a screenshot of a surrounding area that would normally be around that part/area (cabin interior or outside area) and copy/paste that on a layer hovering over the black in the texture. Now make the picture layer transparent to a point that you can barely see it, able to make out the area, and then burn a BMP from that.
I do this with wood that has high gloss. This way I can have deep, rich colors without wash out of white on the surfaces.
The table and woodwork on the Epic LT are done like this. If you look at the table top in the rear cabin area, you can barely make out a jet on a taxi way facing you in a sunset. have to look closely. The jet is upside down in this screenshot. Note also the white, faint lines that are on the edges of the table and end-cap piece. (The reflections on the endcap area face the side of the cabin, not the rear). When you learn in art classes how reflections work, where they face, how intense they can be at times, you can sort of learn to mimmick them in graphics with Photoshop.
Bill