GIMP question

[captmorgan72]

If I paint something on a skin can I give it a reflective appearance to make it look metallic? Can I also give it a 3d look so it looks like it has mass? So it sticks out instead of lay flat against the skin?

[daglob]

If I paint something on a skin can I give it a reflective appearance to make it look metallic? Can I also give it a 3d look so it looks like it has mass? So it sticks out instead of lay flat against the skin?

You know, this bothered the heck out of me until I found out that there are effects layers. If you download a skin and it has [skinname]_glow, [skinname]_refl, and [somename]_lightmap, it has these features built in. The mesh with those abilities is usually named [meshname]_effects (or _FX). Just about any mesh made in the past couple of years has the effects "turned on". On a reflection layer, you save a copy of your skin with the non-refelctive layers blacked out and the reflective areas darkened a bit (hence the name [skinname]_refl).

If I find out that Gimp will read .PSD files, I'll find one of mine that has reflective and glowing layers and send it to you. That way you can take it apart and see what I mean.

Now, I know you can add glow and reflections to a mesh, but I don't know how. There are probably tutorials for that.

The 3-D effect, well... that just comes with practice. Sometimes it's good, other times, it isn't. The nice thing is, it's often hard to tell when the image is only 1" high on a computer screen.

[ow_tiobe_sb]

Now, I know you can add glow and reflections to a mesh, but I don't know how. There are probably tutorials for that.

Visit the following page and follow steps 3-11 (Of course, you should apply what is discussed there to the mesh you are working on and not to some box mesh.): http://phantombunburyist.freedomforceforever.com/NIFgmax_simple_tutorial/index4.html

Ignore the "NiTriStrips" bit and look for a node called "NiTriShape" instead.  One can quickly locate this node by left-clicking on the appropriate mesh part in the rendering window (i.e., the window in NIFSkope that displays the three-dimensional mesh).  Once one has clicked on this part of the mesh, the NiTriShape node should expand in the "Block List" window.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[captmorgan72]

If I paint something on a skin can I give it a reflective appearance to make it look metallic? Can I also give it a 3d look so it looks like it has mass? So it sticks out instead of lay flat against the skin?

You know, this bothered the heck out of me until I found out that there are effects layers. If you download a skin and it has [skinname]_glow, [skinname]_refl, and [somename]_lightmap, it has these features built in. The mesh with those abilities is usually named [meshname]_effects (or _FX). Just about any mesh made in the past couple of years has the effects "turned on". On a reflection layer, you save a copy of your skin with the non-refelctive layers blacked out and the reflective areas darkened a bit (hence the name [skinname]_refl).

If I find out that Gimp will read .PSD files, I'll find one of mine that has reflective and glowing layers and send it to you. That way you can take it apart and see what I mean.

Now, I know you can add glow and reflections to a mesh, but I don't know how. There are probably tutorials for that.

The 3-D effect, well... that just comes with practice. Sometimes it's good, other times, it isn't. The nice thing is, it's often hard to tell when the image is only 1" high on a computer screen.

Gimp does read .PSD files, or so I'm told. My address is jam1472@charter.net. Just so we are on the same page, I was talking about painting something like a gold circle on a skin and then making it appear to be matallic, by making it reflective. How is this done?