Texture Facts...

^{by: J. Stilwell-Cheek}

**Before we begin...FYI, there is a list of links for each of the software programs mentioned in this article. You can find it just outside the monitor - mine, not yours - on the left. Each software company or title is linked so that you may visit their site if you like. **

Oh yeah! Here we are, on a topic which we find extremely interesting!

We have been stalking and researching textures for years! In the course of our studies, we have visited hundreds of sites on the internet.

We have found some brilliant textures online! What we have also found, for the most part, have been textures which are much more suitable for web graphics than graphic design. Many variables can affect an otherwise excellent texture image.

1. Poor quality,
2. Low resolution,
3. Too small of a tile with which to work,
4. Anything containing copyrighted art: program-specific tubes, patterns, bump maps, nozzle images, and sprays.

This lack of usability, although much of what we found were lovely from an artistic perspective, certainly was not helping our mission! Being professionals, we take no chance in using something which possibly belongs to someone else. No designer should ever take that risk.

Our textures have been developed using at least one, but usually more than one, of the following methods:

By using images we have created, or, images for which we have purchased permission of use. You would be surprised how good that piece that 'didn't quite turn out' will look scrambled up and applied to a bump map!

Using our own original photographs.

We make use of scanning as a way of creating new textures. Using both 2D and 3D objects, as well as, natural materials. We built a small wooden frame to hold loose objects and keep them from spilling all over while we scan. Things like beans, seeds, buttons and beads. It works great!

In off-time, some of our designers participate in some online tutorials. Especially, when they are teaching any online classes. As a result, they have more goodies with which to play and to use as a starting point, or, in conjunction with, a new texture idea.

We do make a point to never use any of the offered files that are part of the tutorial; none of the associated selections, images, presets, shapes, textures, tubes, or, any other element that is part of the tutorial is ever part of our finished product!

But, we digress!

As graphic artists, designers can get very excited about textures! Actually, most persons even casually involved with designing graphics feel the same way. How about you?!

In many facets of art, texture plays a tremendous role. Not only for adding color, depth and realism to the piece, but, for aiding in the interpretation of the artist's intent.

This is just as important when creating digital illustration! The effects are more difficult to acheive because it is simply not a "Hands-On" process when creating on a computer. There's no way to get to the piece with a palette knife, a dry brush, or, our fingers, to give it what we feel it needs to look 'real'.

There are some software programs that assist in adding this 'feeling' of depth and texture to graphic art such as; Right Hemisphere's Deep Paint; and most graphic software ships with a plethora of tiles, textures and patterns. But, alas, these resource files are somebody's babies and we do not tamper with anyone's babies!

Many Program-Dwelling filters, like those found in Adobe PhotoShop and Jasc's PaintShop Pro, are capable of producing some great texture effects. And Oh! the free filters on the internet, we cannot tell you!! Our designers have a field day playing with some of those and produce astounding effects and textures using combinations of more than one filter.Their term for it is 'Filter-Layering'.

Software will only do what the person using it tells it to do, within its limitations, of course. So, you've got to push that envelope! Then lick it and seal it and push it some more! Until you get to that 'that looks really cool' point. Once you get to that point - stop! Make a duplicate of what you have, save it, and then experiment some more if you want to. NEVER CONTINUE PAST THE 'COOL' POINT WITHOUT MAKING A DUPLICATE!

Please keep in mind that we are not referring to programs that render 3 dimensional art. (RayDream, Poser, Canoma, etc.) That is in an entirely different domain. There are some truly good sites associated with 3D online; we will not be discussing it here.

Now, we do not want to go too in-depth about software on this page, however, for several years we have been on a crusade to research and investigate the multitudes of texture-generating applications that are available, both free and commercial. (Also, please know that we are not affiliated with any of the software companies and developers which we mention here. Our information is strictly based on our observations and is being used for educational and comparative purposes only.)

Of course, the one common thread is that each one of them has strict preset limitations - no matter what their cost. The reason being that software is nothing more than command lines of code with algorithms that tell it what steps to take in what sequence to generate its textures. One piece of software cannot do it all!

Have you ever heard a new song and, although you did not recognize the song itself, you knew who the artist was because of the style of music?

Well, most of the texture applications we have tried, with only a few exceptions, produce results with cross-attributes that are recognizable as native to that particular program - its style.

We are going to refer to only three at this time.

We're certain that many of you recognize the program in which these were generated right away. If you said KPT3, you are correct! The first three were just randomly generated without any setting adjustments on our part. With the final one, to the right, we played with the settings attempting to give it a more unique look than the others. We came up with something that, we think, resembles either RG-59 coaxial cable, or, some really close-together dread locks! However, the 'diagonal-attributes' are apparent across the board.

Take a peek at the two textures below:

These were generated by some very popular filters. The one on the left, at least among online tutorial-writers and graphics groups, will be instantly recognizable! Although, we worked really hard at making it look different! A Sinedot is a Sinedot is a Sinedot! And this further demonstrates our statement earlier regarding any generator's given style. Do not misunderstand! We have seen some wonderful creations come out of this filter! Check out the four frame examples below:

The above designs make terrific mask items, as well! Going back to the two sample textures, the Pink Dots, in particular, we have not seen much time and imagination devoted to this filter, which is a shame.

In the above examples, you can see that the Retrodots filter can be used for something besides just making a polka-dot background. It would take a myriad of pages to even slightly mention the thousands, yes, thousands of filters available that do so much more than just add effects! We have used many of them to make textures. Of course, then you must find a way of making them seamless!! EyeCandy is one of the few filters that offer the option of making a texture seamless as you create it. Most of the time, you have to deal with them in another manner - which means either in another program, or, making them seamless by hand. Seamlessness has been an important aspect of our texture quest, as well. If our visitor's (YOU) would like for us to include more write-ups about some of the filters, texture generators and a few of the programs for making your textures seamless, that are available, please, let us know!! We do not want to bore you and certainly do not assume to know which content you would like to see here! Please leave us a note in the Visitors' Lounge. Meanwhile - let's get to the TEXTURES! **This information is in no way meant to be taken as legal advice, nor, as a substitute for the expertise of your legal counsel. Although simple and sufficient contracts may easily be written by the artist, in the case of documents that require in-depth stipulations, or, where there are investors involved, it is always best to consult with your attorney or legal department. **For information regarding reprints of this article, or, to obtain the author's permission to publish it elsewhere, please contact the author by e-mailing ESP Concepts. Or, by sending your request via the Visitor's Lounge. Pleae do not link to the articles on the ESP Concepts site, nor, copy and publish them elsewhere, without the express written permission of the author. *The corporate names and the logos described in the paragraph are the Registered Trademarks of their respective owners. 1. This reference is quoted from the 9th Edition of the Graphic Artists Guild Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. If you have not done so, please remember to submit any comments you may have in the 'Lounge'. Your comments are an invaluable aid in assisting our writers in continuing to bring you the type of content that you want and need.