Bumpmapping 3d ships?

[The Thing]

I've been slowly getting a grip on Blender 3d and have learned how to apply a bumpmap to an object to give it depth.

Now here's the Cr64 question: How do I make bumpmaps for traveller ships like some of you guys have? The bumpmaps I've used so far were grids made by a mapmaker program, but now I'd like to do some custom ones and wondered on tips to do them.

I've seen how poser models have the skin done as a separate piece of art that looks like it was literally flayed skin to wrap around the model, so I was wondering if I'd render out the unmapped ship model, draw the bumpmap on that somehow and use it as the map.

 

[Ishmael]

once you unwrap the model, you can apply not only bump-mapping, but several other layers including ambient occlusion, specular map, etc...then "bake" it to the UV map.

I suck at texturing myself

lots of tuts and other useful info at www.blenderartists.org/forum
helpful folk are there

 

[The Thing]

Uh, could you define "unwrap the model" a bit?

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Flaying the skin off the model

Try searching for "uv map" - there should be some tutorials.

 

[The Thing]

Eyyyyyewwww! "Flaying the skin off a model"?! Sounds like something a real psycho would do. :rofl:

BTW, thanks for the help, I'll look it up.

 

[su_liam]

I mostly do my modelling and uv mapping in Wings 3d. Much more focussed and limited than Blender, but what it does it does great. I never could get Blender to do anything.

 

[BetterThanLife]

If you don't want to do your UV mapping in Blender there is also UVMapper. (Free.) The Pro version has more features, to include allowing you to use it in conjunction with your favorite 2D paint program, and showing you the texture on the 3D object as you go.

Once you get your model UV mapped then there are several layers that are important. (Or Channels depending on your 3D software.) The important ones for a Starship are Color (Sometimes referred to as Diffuse), Highlight (Aka specular), Bump, Transparency (or Alpha), Displacement, and Glow (or Ambient)

Each can generally have a map plugged into it.
Color is your basic texture.
Highlight helps determine shininess.
Bump and Displacement both add depth to the surface, usually by means of a grayscale texture map.
Transparency or Alpha (two different channels that are very similar, not all programs have both) is another grayscale texture map to allow for things like windows you can see through.
Glow is useful for things like lit up windows, running lights (coupled with a point light usually.) and the engine glow.

 

[The Thing]

I mostly do my modelling and uv mapping in Wings 3d. Much more focussed and limited than Blender, but what it does it does great. I never could get Blender to do anything.

You need blender 2.44, and be sure to install then python language on your system.

I;d be happy to link you to some good tutorials for blender, it's awesome for freeware and I'm slowly getting it down, stick with it.