Ugly line with diffuse map

[msfolly]

Hey there. I am new... So, please excuse dumb questions.

 

Here is my head model.

The head on the left has a diffuse decal over the face, the other one does not.

(See attached picture) Short of applying the diffuse map to the entire body, how do I smooth this transition? Just smooth the diffuse map out at the corners?

 

What are shaders? Would that help?

 

Any other general comments? This is my first try... I guess after this I

a rig her?

b pose her?

c bone her?

d attach to a body that is boned or not.

Help - I would eventually like to animate her.

 

Sorry for the newbie questions.

 

Melissa

[robcat2075]

Nice looking head!

 

I believe a decal such as that can have an alpha channel in it to fade out the edges.

 

You would add that alpha channel in an image editing app such as Photoshop.

 

Basically most of that alpha channel would be white(255,255,255) (to let the decal show) but it would fade to black(0,0,0) around the edge to gradually hide the decal.

 

EDIT: Shaders? People use that term differently, but in general it would be the colors and textures you can apply to a model that aren't made of bitmaps.

 

If you're not making a body yourself, yes you might weld this on to one and then add some bones to control the eyes and mouth. Mouth rigging is a bit complex, Other people know more than I.

 

And once you have your character rigged you can start to pose and animate it.

[msfolly]

Thanks for the suggestion...

 

I did try fading a mask around the bump map, and it faded it nicely around the edges to the neck, BUT it turned the whole face BLACK - like she had been painted with oil or something. I then tried lessening the percentage of the decal , but then I lose all the nice blotching of the face color!

 

I may just hang it up and take the darn thing off.

 

FRUSTRATED! Any more suggestions?

[heyvern]

You did something goofy there...

 

It should work the same as previous but with the fade. Make sure you didn't accidentally change a setting somewhere.... or maybe you have an extra image in a decal set for color or something.

 

If you have a version saved previous to the "mistake" version, start again and make sure it works the way you want.

 

The key is to find where the change occured. Rather than mistakenly thinking it "doesn't work" or "I am an idiot" (that's my motto when things don't work) try to figure out what happened between the two versions.

 

Go back to the original decal image file and make sure you didn't inadvertently change it when you added the alpha.

 

Make sure you have the decal assigned as diffuse and not some other attribute... (you said bump in the last post... the first post said diffuse map?). If you changed the strength of one image in a decal it will have no effect on the others. If you lower the bump value it will not effect color... so something wierd is happening.

 

I think you have the bump assigned as color by mistake. So... on top of the color decal image already there makes it appear "black"... color images can be cummulative in a decal.

 

Vernon "!" Zehr

[JoshB]

You could also take a look at Colin's tute on the subject of decaling a face. The major problem is similar to applying makeup--blending the line from make (diffuse map) into the natural skin. What I would recommend doing is making large diffuse map and using uv texture editor then the whole model will be in makeup and you won't have to worry--as much.

 

J

[msfolly]

Goofy is such a nicer way of putting it.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys. I have attached one more image, just to show you that it IS a diffuse map. I have played with this until I am ready to york.

 

I think perhaps putting the whole body in makeup, OR just trashing the diffuse map is the way I am heading.

 

Yeah, I did say bump map. That's because that was the name of the image, and I was just changing its attributes. (Also because I am apparently feeble-minded)

 

If I posted all three images, would you consider playing with it?

Color map

diffuse without an alpha channel

diffuse with an alpha channel.

 

Yours in confusion and goofiness still,

Melissa

 

PS Vernon - I LOVE your changing pictures. What a hoot.

[msfolly]

OMG!!!!

 

Never mind.

 

Yes, I AM AN IDIOT!

 

Went back AGAIN, compared the two images, and the one with the mask included was darker. Goofy, indeed. Problem fixed, diffusion map blends nicely.

 

One last question. A poll, if you will.

 

If you look at the first two pics, and ignoring the line, do you like the skin better

with or without the diffusion? Opinion is split here at home.

 

Thanks,

Melissa

[JoshB]

I like the one on the right better simply because the map that you are applying causes some funky discoloration of the skin. I would contemplate using a specularity map and changing the specular falloff to get rid of the "plasticy" feel that you seem to be trying to get rid of. Beyond that I don't see the plastic, but that's just me. Also if you could put the model in a chor and render it with semi-white (non-yellow or any other color a hint of blue is what I like to use) lights so we can get a better feel of the base you are dealing with.

 

The reason I like to use non-colored lights is because they do not add color to your models and if you use a hint of blue it steps the RGB values a little to reduce the possibility of banding.

 

J

[msfolly]

Thanks for the opinion - It happens to match that of my husband so he will be smug. (NO, no, I meant PLEASED!)

 

Interesting info. Also, I think I will investigate that uv texture editor, mentioned above, whatever THAT may be. A new search. Oh Joy...

 

Thanks,

Melissa

[JoshB]

I believe it's William Sutton who's got a good description of who what when where and how on the UV texture editor. Basically it is a nice way to lay out the general textures of models. Then of course you can stop on details like tattoos and the like using a stamp.

 

J

[msfolly]

Do you have a link on that uv text editor desc by W. Sutton? I don't seem to be able to find that in a search...

 

And THANK YOU for the help and guidance!

[heyvern]

Like I said only two choices...

 

1) It doesn't work

2) I am an idiot... or ... I did something goofy

 

I find for myself at least, that number 2 is more likely to be correct 4 out of 5 times! The fifth time I am just lying to myself...

 

Vernon "It doesn't work!" Zehr

[Sacman]

Hey Melissa,

 

I don't know if you caught my post in the New User's forum.

 

To paraphrase, we just had a meeting on Saturday in Atlanta and ironically Will Sutton himself was there. Check out the User Groups forum and Go here for a little more detail.

 

But what you are asking for is a link to Will's UV Editor Tutorial

 

Have fun and great job for a first,

 

Wade