Techical Help with Decaling Needed

[UNGLAUBLICHUSA]

Right now I'm using the print screen method on my Decals,then painting them in PhotoShop or PaintShop Pro. However, the screen captures are all jaggy and make it impossible to make a clean detailed map at the edges. Does the Painter Program solve this issue? Can you get even edges on a spline?

[robcat2075]

Right now I'm using the print screen method on my Decals,then painting them in PhotoShop or PaintShop Pro. However, the screen captures are all jaggy and make it impossible to make a clean detailed map at the edges. Does the Painter Program solve this issue? Can you get even edges on a spline?

 

My preference (not that I am a painting expert) is to wrap a large bitmap on a model via cyl mappings and paint on that in 3Dpainter.

 

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?s=&am...st&p=317888

 

I think this is preferable to flattening in A:M or using the auto-tiling ability.

 

Edges on a spline? explain that more.

[jakerupert]

I think, what is meant is the antialiasing at the rims.

 

Its best to make sharp edges and then to leave the antialiasing to AM, if I am not wrong.

[zandoriastudios]

temporarily change your desktop resolution before taking the screen capture.

[UNGLAUBLICHUSA]

Will, thanks - I will try the resolution switch and see how that goes. Cheaper than $99.

 

EDIT: I am already at my Max Resolution....1440 x 900......

 

Robcat - What I am talking about is to have markings (such as lines) end cleanly where a spline ends. I want to distress along many specific spline edges and have a what you see is what you get from my Painter program into AM. With a jaggy, pixelated image you cant be sure how anything will line up. Examples attached:

[detbear]

My favorite method(and I have many)..... is the following:

 

1.Flatten the model in an action or several actions.

2.Use a Generic, "all white" image to stamp all the parts.

3.Once my model is white due to the stamps and UV, I export the new decal image to either photoshop or 3dpaint.

4.Then I paint, clone, paste, or whatever else it takes to get the textures I need.

 

The lines always seem to come into 3Dpainter or photoshop very clean.

[robcat2075]

I'm still not sure what your workflow is.

 

 

 

Here's what I'd do, using my previous puppet case as an example.

 

I'd modify my scratch cyl map to make the left and right edge obvious

 

 

 

Now when I look at the UV view in A:M its placement is clear:

 

 

(I have set Tools>Customize>Appearance to "Macintosh1" for its black spline lines and small CPs)

 

 

Want a higher res view of that? Zoom in to the upper right corner and capture...

 

 

...then pan and capture the other three corners and piece them together in a paint program to get a high res version of something like this...

 

 

 

In the paint program copy over the parts of the wireframe that are not in the center tile of the scratchmap...

 

 

 

... to get something like this:

 

 

 

 

 

Crop that down to the bounds of the center tile of the scratch map:

 

 

 

 

Now you have something high-res you can paint on in your paint program. When you are done painting swap it for the scratch map in A:M

[zandoriastudios]

Will, thanks - I will try the resolution switch and see how that goes. Cheaper than $99.

 

EDIT: I am already at my Max Resolution....1440 x 900......

 

Robcat - What I am talking about is to have markings (such as lines) end cleanly where a spline ends. I want to distress along many specific spline edges and have a what you see is what you get from my Painter program into AM. With a jaggy, pixelated image you cant be sure how anything will line up. Examples attached:

 

The image on the left looks pretty clean--why isn't that what you are using as a template for painting? if you are bringing it into A:M to try to align it (image on the right?), then I think you might be going about it wrong... You should use a blank image and use that as your decal, then take the screen capture of the UV editor and use that as a template for painting.

See this tutorial

[NancyGormezano]

What I am talking about is to have markings (such as lines) end cleanly where a spline ends. I want to distress along many specific spline edges and have a what you see is what you get from my Painter program into AM. With a jaggy, pixelated image you cant be sure how anything will line up.

 

I will add my confusion to what I think you might be trying to do:

 

if you are trying to get CLEAN edges along your non-parallel wavy horizontal splines - you may find it easier to apply separate cylindrical decals to separate groups -

 

In my example I've made 3 groups: top, middle, bottom. For each group - I select it, hide the others, then apply a cylindrical map decal - And I end up with 3 decal containers. You can then paint in PS or 3D painter the 3 separate images.

 

I never did understand why you had made some of your horizontal splines wavy. There was no reason to if you were only going to use 1 image to decal it, but now I'm guessing that you probably wanted to use the splines as a guide for decaling?

[UNGLAUBLICHUSA]

As for why I want it so precise; I have certain patches the extrude out. Where they extrude, I want to have dirt in the crevace - so lining things up is critical. Also around the holes and on eatch hard edge of the cylinder(s), I want to add wear, dents, scratches & paint chipping, Etc.

 

Nancy: The wavy lines are to make the 5 point patches work (getting the splines in closer to the patch. Otherwise they would all be horizontal. When I tried that - my 5 pointers didnt like being streched so far.

 

 

 

Will: the "clean image" is a super zoom close up and I want to have one decal for the whole cylinder. I use your balrog tutorial as my 'gospel' until there is an export UV Function inside AM.

 

Robcat: I did the make many zoomed images and patch them together, I will see how it works. However - the seperate images distorted some and still cannot line up perfectly one over the other - I broke mine down into 12 pieces to get up close.

 

Detbear: As far as "Exporting" the Decal - other than a screen capture, I could find no tool or (free) plug-in for such an export into Photoshop (et al). Can you clarify this process or is it all using 3D painter that allows the export?

 

Thanks all.

[UNGLAUBLICHUSA]

....and then, Silence - covered the sky.

 

(Enigma)

[robcat2075]

As for why I want it so precise; I have certain patches the extrude out. Where they extrude, I want to have dirt in the crevace - so lining things up is critical. Also around the holes and on eatch hard edge of the cylinder(s), I want to add wear, dents, scratches & paint chipping, Etc.

 

 

Can you show an example?

[zandoriastudios]

It sounds like you might be better off using multiple stamps, or even multiple decals.

[UNGLAUBLICHUSA]

I did a PDF explaining my process and concerns. Hopefully it answers the questions. I do appreciate everyones patient input:

 

EDIT: I reduced the size of the PDF File.

Decaling_maus.pdf

[zandoriastudios]

Why replace the decal? All you have to do is replace the blank image with the new image (Add Image, then delete blank). I think you might be making it overly complicated...

[UNGLAUBLICHUSA]

I think I meant to say "Delete Stamp" for the overlaid images.....my bad.