So I tried to texture today. I have already made a thread like this based on another concept. I have this giant great idea for a pack, and I have everything fleshed out the way I want it, what I want the theme to be and all of that stuff.
Until I try to put that on a computer, it's all nice and dandy.
When I open GIMP, lets say I'm making cobble. I open it up, draw two or three pixels, then look at it and say "What the crap? This doesn't look like cobble, have the color scheme I want. What is going on?"
So to bring up my point, can everyone really texture? Is it just something you are born with? It's one of my dreams, but I have a hard time getting to it. Also, tips to unlocking the inner potential (If I have any at all) would help.
When I first started texturing, my work was abysmal. I never thought I would be able to make nice textures the way I had seen other people do. But I kept on trying. It has been a very long time since I started texturing, more than 3 years, and I am a lot better now. Better than I ever expected to be. Don't expect your results to be perfect at first, and don't give up. I believe that anyone can become good at anything if they are dedicated and work at it for long enough.
And of course, feel free to post your efforts here in order to get feedback -- it can be very helpful to get opinions and tips from other artists.
Everyone can do art. Anyone. Art is a skill, a craft, and like any skill, it can be honed and sharpened to make it better.
My first textures were abysmal. Absolutely terrible. But after getting critique, I kept trying and working and I feel Ive improved a lot since that first topic.
Like any other skill, some people are born with a natural talent and others really struggle with it.
Saying "can I learn to texture?" is a lot like saying "can I learn to do math?" Well, if you have an education higher than a preschool you must have learned at least some math even if that's not what you're naturally geared towards. (Lord knows I'm not)
Like any other skill or ability, learning to make textures requires a lot of time, effort, and learning. It might serve you well to take art classes that focus on drawing and painting if you possibly can. Otherwise, spending a lot of time on tutorials and guided exercises will serve you well. Do these things before you jump in and try to make your perfect pack so that you have the ability to support your vision.
But the undeniable fact is that if you're not naturally an artist it's going to take you a while to learn the skills necessary to become proficient. You're going to have to put in a lot of hours and possibly try multiple different ways of approaching the task before you find one that suits you well. It's going to be work to get the skills you desire.
But can anyone learn to do it? Absolutely. If a right-brained number-hater like me can pass Algebra 2 then anyone who works just as hard can learn some basic texturing skill. And who knows? If you try long enough and hard enough, you might even get good at it.
You just need to practice; gain experience. Keep trying, and keep trying to improve (pumping out dozens of deliberately low-quality textures isn't as effective as trying to make something that's actually good), and you will definitely get better. If you're not very artistic by nature (like me), it may not be easy, and it may take a long time. But no matter what, you will eventually get better if you try. If a texture doesn't look how you want it to, that's fine. It just means you have room to improve, and you can practice some more by refining that texture (and maybe learning something new in doing so).
I have to say, when I first started out I really wasn't that good at all. Looking back at my old textures is pretty cool seeing how far I have come now. I even have a folder with my first textures.
Artistic ability isn't really a "talent", rather, it's something that's picked up and improved on from practice and experience. This is also true to texture art; I started pixel art four years ago and texture art only two years ago; I consider myself to be fairly good but there's still loads of improvement to be had. Just work at your own pace, make sure you enjoy most of what you're doing, do your best and try to produce work at a level that's acceptable to you, and you will improve.
No, in fact, 90% of humans don't have any artistic ability at all.
Most people pay animals to do the art for them, directing them and helping them, the human telling the animal what to do, and the animal making it. However, because animals have more artistic ability, paintings fully made by animals (such as monkeys, dogs, and elephants) are highly revered and sell for millions.
Chimpanzees are very well known for their innate skills at writing an directing comedy and sitcoms, and this is where the "slip on a banana peel" joke comes from.... During a live comedy performance, Dave (a Chimpanzee) had just finished eating a banana when one of his worst actors forgot one of his lines, which in a rage, Dave decided to throw the peel. The actor (pacing about) slipped on the peel, fracturing his skull and 3 vertebrae. Needless to say, the crowd loved it, and the tactic instantly became a classic.
We here in the texturing forums are no different. Peytonisgreat works with a Red Panda (in his earlier works he worked with a Dolphin), Steelfeathers with a wolf, Alvoria with an Elephant, and Levaunt owns a Zoo (although I hear he prefers working with his friend Jerry, a Sloth. Sloths know all of the secrets of the Universe).
I for one work with a Chimpanzee, who was originally a writer for Futurama, so he's not too used to art. Although he tells me he has gotten better after looking up pixel art tutorials, specifically about lighting/shading, and then practice for a long time.
Also, this image:
Is a self-portrait of the real artist behind Banksy's work, and the message was hinting at how art is becoming more important in society, and soon the animals will hold all of the power.
"I'm an outsider by choice, but not truly.
It’s the unpleasantness of the system that keeps me out.
I’d rather be in, in a good system. That’s where my discontent comes from:
being forced to choose to stay outside.
My advice: Just keep movin’ straight ahead.
Every now and then you find yourself in a different place."
-George Carlin
If I may pitch in my thoughts, though the 12 previous replies pretty much covered everything.
Being able to make good looking textures is something that you can start out better or worse at, depending on the environment you grew up in, but can be improved an endless amount by practising. My mother is a professional artist, making paintings, and as such I grew up seeing how lighting and shading is used in art, which got me a good start in the beginning, but because I was new to graphics design then, I used the shading and lighting for simple textures that were really unappealing. It is important to have an understanding of how lighting and shading work, but knowing how to use them in combination with static textures to make great looking graphics is something anyone can do, regardless of who they are, if they just look up examples and real life versions of what you're making, and practising until you get the hang of it. Between now and when I made Definitance alone, I have made vast improvements on my work, in my opinion.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Fare well everyone! My time to retire has come! "And with that, POW! I'm gone." ---Lord Crump
I just want to say that in my opinion, if you're not good at drawing, you can never be really good at texturing. Practice drawing, then transfer those skills to texturing.
If you can pass the marshmallow test, then you can master texturing(as well as any other art). If you got that reference then kudos to you, if not google it. I have to disagree with zamaj. Although I am pretty good at pencil drawing now, I never really got good at it until long after I started to get good at texturing. I think mastering one art can be helpful because many of the skills are transferable but I don't think it matters which medium you start with.
I think almost anyone can texture, it just takes dedication and the willingness to learn (and accept critical constructive criticism!!). Over time you'll improve, and look at your old work and laugh. Case in point:
(Look at my old grass)
and now:
EDIT: Just keep in mind, you WILL absolutely SUCK at this for a while, it's all part of the process. Just don't get discouraged and give up. Come here and ask for help, look up tutorials, or look at how other people's work is shaded and just keep trying!
it helps to have SOME art skill to texture. i'm not a hyper-realist painter, but i can texture a high def texture in minecraft. but everyone starts somewhere and those without skill just take a little longer to see improvement.
If you can pass the marshmallow test, then you can master texturing(as well as any other art).
I still don't pass that test to this day. lets be honest, if you wait, the act of waiting will devaluate marshmallows. So by the time you get a second one, their total value will have dropped. And in most cases it will drop below the original value of a single marshmallow. So I say eat your marshmallows now!
Until I try to put that on a computer, it's all nice and dandy.
When I open GIMP, lets say I'm making cobble. I open it up, draw two or three pixels, then look at it and say "What the crap? This doesn't look like cobble, have the color scheme I want. What is going on?"
So to bring up my point, can everyone really texture? Is it just something you are born with? It's one of my dreams, but I have a hard time getting to it. Also, tips to unlocking the inner potential (If I have any at all) would help.
Once you start, it'll be easy to keep rolling with it
And of course, feel free to post your efforts here in order to get feedback -- it can be very helpful to get opinions and tips from other artists.
EDIT: Wow, three replies all within one minute!
My first textures were abysmal. Absolutely terrible. But after getting critique, I kept trying and working and I feel Ive improved a lot since that first topic.
Saying "can I learn to texture?" is a lot like saying "can I learn to do math?" Well, if you have an education higher than a preschool you must have learned at least some math even if that's not what you're naturally geared towards. (Lord knows I'm not)
Like any other skill or ability, learning to make textures requires a lot of time, effort, and learning. It might serve you well to take art classes that focus on drawing and painting if you possibly can. Otherwise, spending a lot of time on tutorials and guided exercises will serve you well. Do these things before you jump in and try to make your perfect pack so that you have the ability to support your vision.
But the undeniable fact is that if you're not naturally an artist it's going to take you a while to learn the skills necessary to become proficient. You're going to have to put in a lot of hours and possibly try multiple different ways of approaching the task before you find one that suits you well. It's going to be work to get the skills you desire.
But can anyone learn to do it? Absolutely. If a right-brained number-hater like me can pass Algebra 2 then anyone who works just as hard can learn some basic texturing skill. And who knows? If you try long enough and hard enough, you might even get good at it.
It just depends on how much you want it.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/13ygk96w1yfmewh/Twi-IlYLMH/old textures
Just give it time man.
Most people pay animals to do the art for them, directing them and helping them, the human telling the animal what to do, and the animal making it. However, because animals have more artistic ability, paintings fully made by animals (such as monkeys, dogs, and elephants) are highly revered and sell for millions.
Chimpanzees are very well known for their innate skills at writing an directing comedy and sitcoms, and this is where the "slip on a banana peel" joke comes from.... During a live comedy performance, Dave (a Chimpanzee) had just finished eating a banana when one of his worst actors forgot one of his lines, which in a rage, Dave decided to throw the peel. The actor (pacing about) slipped on the peel, fracturing his skull and 3 vertebrae. Needless to say, the crowd loved it, and the tactic instantly became a classic.
We here in the texturing forums are no different. Peytonisgreat works with a Red Panda (in his earlier works he worked with a Dolphin), Steelfeathers with a wolf, Alvoria with an Elephant, and Levaunt owns a Zoo (although I hear he prefers working with his friend Jerry, a Sloth. Sloths know all of the secrets of the Universe).
I for one work with a Chimpanzee, who was originally a writer for Futurama, so he's not too used to art. Although he tells me he has gotten better after looking up pixel art tutorials, specifically about lighting/shading, and then practice for a long time.
Also, this image:
Is a self-portrait of the real artist behind Banksy's work, and the message was hinting at how art is becoming more important in society, and soon the animals will hold all of the power.
"I'm an outsider by choice, but not truly.
It’s the unpleasantness of the system that keeps me out.
I’d rather be in, in a good system. That’s where my discontent comes from:
being forced to choose to stay outside.
My advice: Just keep movin’ straight ahead.
Every now and then you find yourself in a different place."
-George Carlin
Being able to make good looking textures is something that you can start out better or worse at, depending on the environment you grew up in, but can be improved an endless amount by practising. My mother is a professional artist, making paintings, and as such I grew up seeing how lighting and shading is used in art, which got me a good start in the beginning, but because I was new to graphics design then, I used the shading and lighting for simple textures that were really unappealing. It is important to have an understanding of how lighting and shading work, but knowing how to use them in combination with static textures to make great looking graphics is something anyone can do, regardless of who they are, if they just look up examples and real life versions of what you're making, and practising until you get the hang of it. Between now and when I made Definitance alone, I have made vast improvements on my work, in my opinion.
"And with that, POW! I'm gone." ---Lord Crump
(Look at my old grass)
and now:
EDIT: Just keep in mind, you WILL absolutely SUCK at this for a while, it's all part of the process. Just don't get discouraged and give up. Come here and ask for help, look up tutorials, or look at how other people's work is shaded and just keep trying!
I still don't pass that test to this day. lets be honest, if you wait, the act of waiting will devaluate marshmallows. So by the time you get a second one, their total value will have dropped. And in most cases it will drop below the original value of a single marshmallow. So I say eat your marshmallows now!
I hear that Damosuha has a chameleon that chooses colours for him, Deonyi is actually a whale, and XSSheep has a -you guessed it-
goat.
Fo realz, no sarcasm here.
What were you saying again?