How “to loop” easily, quickly and free its textures by LeoMaxx

To the day program, the presentation of a software which will delight the creators using textures with abundance. Texture Studio - Seamless Texture Generator allows you to transform easily a "not looped" texture so that his edges can match between them and ease this hideous effect of mosaic.

The quality of a build passes by its complexity but not only. The specialists will always say to you that the texture plays for 70 % of the beauty of the construction. Others will say will even go so far as to say that the texture makes everything …



On Second Life or in quite other virtual world allowing the creation of objects or buildings, the virtual architects break themselves the head not only to answer in " how to order effectively their various elements " but especially to give in " how them a beautiful finish which we call the texturization ".

The "texturization" raises problem on the averages and the hypermarkets. Indeed, files images are often limited in their resolution to avoid that they are too heavy to manage by the server and for the user who is going to have access there. So the various customers of virtual worlds, but also the 3D applications generally limit themselves to a maximal resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels by texture. For technical reasons, these rasters files confine to "square" ratios (1: 1) or "rectangular" (2: 1).

When the user or the player builds his building, he limits not only "to stick" his texture. A conscientious buildeur will spend time to refine and to optimize its images sources which will allow him to texture cleanly his creation.

Only Here we are, on a wall for example, we are systematically obliged "to repeat" the texture so that she does not lose in definition because of the constraints of resolution. The boredom it is because a wide majority of textures found on Web - or somewhere else are not "looped". That is that the edges of the image do not match between them. By repeating this texture on a plane surface, we notice then an ignoble effect of mosaic.



To avoid this not very attractive picture, buildeurs tinkers their textures so that edges (left and right for example) interlace and give an effect of continuity by repeating the texture. This operation is long and boring. She is not either convenient for all the textures (impossible to loop manually and cleanly a texture "complex") and saves itself in the most patient of you.

For those who would have no patience, but avid to builder according to the rule book, I propose you a presentation of a software opensource today, free and easy to use to loop your textures: " Texture Studio - Seamless Texture Generator ". It is not about an extension for Photoshop, but a lot of separate software. Regrettably, he seems to save itself to the users of Windows.



To download Texture Studio, I invite you to go on this page: http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?Topic=46368. No installation is necessary, to unzip the file and it is everything. For more ergonomics, I advise you to import the textures which you want to loop in the file where is situated the software.

Launch the software. Be not too much frightened by the austerity of the interface, she has at least the merit to be clear, although exclusively in English. By clicking lower right "Open Image", you can directly import your image. The software proposes you a "manual " and " automatic" mode. By default, you will be in manual mode which will pass by a work of the texture in four stages (that you can pass by clicking "Next"). Note: for zool, use the right clic of the mouse.

Perspective Correction allows you to raise an image the structure of which would be in the form of parallelogram instead of a very right square. In the case of a stone floor, it is very practical, because it is difficult to photograph stone floors with a perfect right angle. The software suggests you then selecting four square points which it is then going to move closer so as to make them equidistant (image below).

Highlight / Shadows offers you the possibility of removing the present of unsightly shadows or a variable luminosity on the texture. By moving the various cursors, you go to make that the distribution of the light will be homogeneous on all the image, while eliminating the shadows parasites who would forge the origin of rays of light in the 3D environment.

Sharpness / Contrast is indispensable to compensate for the loss of definition caused by the compulsory resolution of textures. There boostant the sharpness, you will give the illusion of a better defined image, but you should not abuse it at the risk of hardening the lines and making them ugly. The contrast concerns the difference between the clear and dark colors.By strengthening the contrast, it gives the effect of a certain neatness of the image but also has the peculiarity to block the shadows as well as warm appreciably colors. Everything is a question of compromise here.

Seamless Tilling concerns the connection of the texture in cleanly spoken. It is possible to configure manually these parameters but it is highly advised to let the software make him it (it is at first automatic then it is possible to refine then).



Your texture is looped, it does not more remain than to save her. The compulso format is the BMP, what is not the best choice but it has the merit not to degrade the image with a compression.

For one "quite automatic". You just have, once your image opened in the software, to click Tools then to reach directly on Seamless Tilling. Attention! The proposed regulations are rarely the most adequate (except for the looping).

Good courage!

LeoMaxx Sautereau