By: ledirlo
HOW DO TEXTURES WORK
Here I want to explain some of the terms you have to understand when you
come to creating textures for 2D or 3D rendering:
the aspect
of a "texture" is obtained my mixing different channels and/or
maps, and we have to give a definition for every of them:
ALPHA: the alpha channel is noting but a greyscale channel, which
gives some depth to a picture : the darkest pixels look "deeper",
and the brightest pixels look like the highest points: that's what you
get when you use the bevel option: it creates a B/W layer to simulate
a highlight and a shadow.Also, for those who use the texturizer effect
of Pshop, you'll notice that the preset textures are B/W : it just adds
an alpha channel to the picture.This is what 3D designers call "bump
mapping", it doesn't create a real 3D bevel, but simulates it.
DISPLACEMENT: displacement is somehow a bit more complex,
and has an incidence on the structure of the object you apply it to, whereas
texture, or material works by adding something to an object.If you try
the displacement filter in Pshop, you'll notice that the alpha channel
of the file yo use as a displacement map can erase some parts of the object,
and in 3D applications, it will actually lower or raise some parts of
the object, creating true 3D displacement.
MATERIAL: material is the combination of a texture, a
displacement map, a transparency map, a refraction map, a color diffusion
map, a reflection map,and many others...it uses different 2D maps, and
(in 3D), algorythmes to creat a group of settings that make a material.
TEXTURE: now we can finally really understand what textures
are: nothing more than a color diffusion map you add to an object, or,
if you prefer, a 2D only material.
Below, you
can see the different maps that compose a material
Now try
it by yourself, and find the layer blending modes that suit your map the
best: doing it will teach you to understand how colors and maps wotk together
to create the appearance of a real 3D texture.In the early days of 3D,
designers used to create every of the maps that make a material from scratch
in Pshop for their 3D purposes, think of it, the results were amazing.
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