Topic awaiting preservation: Rock and Plants Tutorials

Hi, (my first post here btw )

I somehow got here from dunno where, so I registered and I have one question... Does anybody know where I could find some tutorials about creating rocks, plants and overall nature textures? Some help on displacement maps would be great, too. Just if anybody got a link to a good site with such content helping me to create realistic nature patterns, it would be great.

And I think I am gonna abuse this post to introduce myself a bit. *tomatoes flying his way*

I am quite a noob with a short PS experience and starting with Flash. I plan to do my site next and the only real project which is up is my first WMP9 Skin, which I am gonna pulbish in a few days. image:
I am 16 years old, living in Germany and trying to get better with this awesome programm.

So hi everybody! (and don't forget the links )

(Edited by Arnitald on 04-12-2004 05:34)

Welcome to the funny farm, Arnitald.
First, my suggestion is to experiment with and learn how the tools work. The Gurusnetwork tutorials are great for that. As are Doc`s Hands On tuts. (links at the bottom of the page)
Back to the question...Rocks , flowers,Nature textures. Nature textures is a sort of broad search, but you should see a pattern developing here.
The best way to get comprehensive help around here is to give it a shot, let us see it, and bring your thick skin. Help from the inmates can be brutal, but will always be brutally honest.

Hi Arnitald!

ASL??????? ;P j/k

I can't say I really like your wmp skin, as i am an avid hater of pod like skins for media players. However, you seems to have a decent conception on how to get a metal looking texture. You know, its usually shiny, monochrome, reflective, and yet it has this rigid look that makes you think it will have to take some effort to deform. You can use that thinkering (sp?) for rocks and such. They are usually not very shiny, dirty, with lots of bevels (for small rocks, they are hardly noticeably), arent reflective at all, and looks much more rigid and...solid than the metal, which in comparison looks flexible.

Using a more PS-esque vocabulary, try a few cloudfilter+curve+bevel+addnoise combinations for the texture, displacement maps for the 3d look, and lighting effects for...the lighting.

Plants is a far more extensive topic, as there is a far larger variety that I do not feel like explaining at the momment. Observe grass and such around your environment, and take a look at plenty of photo references if needed. Then its just a matter to set the colors and lighting behaviours properly

Sorry for no providing any useful links, but its just that I hardly read tutorials nowadays, I just rely on what other people suggest me and on what I've learned.

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Sexy Demoness cel

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I can't say I really like your wmp skin, as i am an avid hater of pod like skins for media players.

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*mubles something*

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Using a more PS-esque vocabulary, try a few cloudfilter+curve+bevel+addnoise combinations for the texture, displacement maps for the 3d look, and lighting effects for...the lighting.

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Well yes I know that, I just want to see one way how to do it, so I can be sure. I'll check out the links (Google... *got owned*) from docilebob...

So thanks for now. I have to do some sketches for my site and then work out the concept. I hope it is possible to get some help here, too.

*heads to Ps creating rocks*

Messing is the better way to learn. I doubt that by accident you confuse the could filter button with the format your comp red button (), so I dont think that click and see what happen would really affect.

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Sexy Demoness cel

Sure, don't worry, I mess around a lot .

As for what I mean with plants: Look at this logo (Blizzard Entertainment Copyright) You see the plants hanging down. That's what I would like to make too .

And for the rocks the Warcraft 3 logo isn't a bad example either:


I mean the rocks under the script.

Regarding the stone brick border on the wc3 page, it was actually a render with an digitally painted texture. The idea is the same, just that rather than using filters, they used brushes :P Noise is your friend here.

A bigger version (which i doubt its avaliable on blizz site) of the first logo would be clearer to see what they did. Coz in dat size, it could have been even pixelxpixel drawn.

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Sexy Demoness cel

I don't exactly know if you are talking about the wall behind the logo or the stone under the text. Because I mean the stone under the text. (glowing red etc) And I doubt they have done it only with brushes. (the bricks behind the logo are awesome too, though. Oh well... I always get the feeling that I suck endlessly and have no chance of improve looking at some gfx...

Dont expect to improve a lot in a few days/weeks. It usually takes years of study and observation to get better.

I'm going to try to mimic the stone effect and I will explain it laterz.

EDIT: and trust me, brushes can do a lot. Just remind yourself on working at least 2x larger than the actual image is, so you can have more control of detail.

http://www.xealous-xfx.com/ <- this guy uses his mouse and brushes to do all his texture work. ;P
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Sexy Demoness cel

(Edited by Alevice on 04-12-2004 12:03)

Is he doing these textures from scratch? I couldn't find anything on the net about making textures. And in my Photoshop book there isn't anything either.

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and trust me, brushes can do a lot.

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Sure they can! I had seen enough proofs to know that, but my problem is that I don't know how to start... maybe it's just lack of motivation. I can't really tell what my skill level is, but I know the tool, I can create something when I got an idea (if you LIKED the skin, there is a making of slide show, showing some sketches etc.) but what I want to do now, is to improve my skills. And with all respect to the creators, tutorials are always boring, trying things out yourself is much better. On the other hand, I use them as guides, for example I notice a nice use of the dodge tool in one tutorial, set up a nice brush in another and then use it in my own work... Therefore I search some texture tutorials. To get to know the workflow and the combos.

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Dont expect to improve a lot in a few days/weeks. It usually takes years of study and observation to get better.

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*suicides*

The best way to start is to get some physical objects with textures similar to what you're trying to create, and then just do it.

Like, take a brick, for example, set it in front of you, and try to duplicate the texture as you see it.

In traditional art, one doesn't have all these fancy filters and whatnot to make textures with, one has to do it by eye, and with whatever traditional materials are at hand. So start that way. It might be easier, just starting out, to simply try to recreate the texture itself, without actual form. Add form to it when you have the texture process down.

Mostly, creating an effective texture is just playing around with the filter settings until it looks the way you want it to. As warjournal is ever so fond of saying:

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play.fiddle.learn

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I think Alevice's comment about not liking the Winamp skin didn't have anything to do with your talent - just that she's not keen on that particular style. You should definitely put up some of your work around here! Let us see what you are already capable of - it will certainly help the rest of us understand how to approach giving critiques/suggestions when they are requested.

...And WELCOME to the Asylum!


Cell Sweet Cell

Ah shit, I got a disk problem and my gfx card cooler doesn't work properly :S. Damn... and it froze while I was creating a nebula (with brushes). BTW soon I can post something with the brushes and you can let me know where I make mistakes.

I disagree, tutorials are great. If you're bored by them, then that's just because you have a lack of patience and/or motivation. I highly regard tutorial writers for taking the time out to share their knowledge in great detail with the general public for free -- those are just great people. Tutorials pave the way so that you can better fiddle with Photoshop to create things on your own -- tutorials teach. If you don't know what the hell you're doing and you're fiddling around then sure, you'll come up with SOMETHING, but since you don' t know what the hell you're doing that something will most likely suck unless you have a natural artistic talent.

Yes, but the most tutorials are not very motivating. I know a few very great good tutorials with a soul, actually teaching you, not just describing a way. And books are other source of good knowledge. The most tutorials are just showing an effect to which someone came by fiddling... and that effect you can't use anywhere. From tutorials it is important to extract the meat.