Sword texture ideas

The sword model will have a lot of scratches on the blade section, which will be improved a lot with the use of a normal map to bring out the depth of the scratches. I really like how much detail normal maps can bring into models just by adding small bits of depth in certain places, and I really want a lot of detail for the sword model because it would be used by the player and seen a lot. I have provided an image of a deep scratch in metal, and if you look at it closely you can see how the light bounces off each part of the scratch, it has a sort of lighter outline where the metal bumps out, then the really deep part which has a shadow. This image also illustrates different states of scratches because it goes from deep to shallow.



My model will also have a lot of other parts on the normal map that will need to be either raised or lowered. If I add any buckles or anything to the handle for example, they would need to be raised out so they look as if they are actually on the model, rather than just being flat against it.

The specularity for a sword changes for what part of the sword it is on. For example the blade would be quite shiny, but the hilt would be rather dull in comparison. I will need to pay attention to what parts need to be shiny and which don't on my specularity map for it. Below I have posted pictures of leather and metal to compare how shiny they are.

Ship texture ideas

The ship will be made out of painted metal, which is going to be worn in specific areas. I do not want the ship to look super shiny, so I want to have the specularity map reflect this feature. I can do this by only using dark colours on the specularity map so that it isn't too shiny, also I will use grey colours because at the scale the ship is at, you probably wouldn't be able to see much colour shining off of the ship. Again I have chosen a boat to stand in for the fictional creation of a space ship, so I have posted a picture below to show how shiny I want it to be, as well as showing a similar colour scheme.



Thinking of some ideas for what kind of bumps would be on a space ship, I had an idea that it might have some kind of dimples over the hull of the ship to help it's aerodynamics in atmospheres, just like a golf ball. I have shown a close up of a golf balls dimples below so that I can try and explain my idea. The normal map should have circles on that get darker in the centre so that it looks like a rounded dimple, rather than the holes just coming out of nowhere.



These dimples look a little bit close together for how I want my ship to look, I will space them farther apart on the normal map.

Crate texture ideas

As explained in a previous post, my crate will be made from wood and it will be slightly worn. Because of this I will have to use different kinds of textures and maps to match how the object looks in real life.

Wood usually has a specific grain which, unless sanded and varnished, produce a bumpy texture. I can replicate this feature by using what is known as a normal map. Normal maps are 2D images that define a 3D depth in the pixel colours, which means normal maps often look similar for different models. For my model I want the bumps to follow the grain of the wood, so I can adapt my coloured base texture and make it into a normal map so the grain has accurate bumps. As you can see in the image below, wood can sometimes have quite deep bumps and gaps in which could easily be replicated with a normal map.



All of the raised parts of the wood grain would also reflect light in a different way than the grooves of the grain. This kind of effect would be achieved with a specularity map. Specularity basically defines how shiny textures are, and what colour they might reflect. On a specularity map, darker colours will make the texture less shiny, and lighter colours more shiny, and the hue of the colour will define what colour gets reflected from that part of the texture. Depending on how wood is treated, it can be very shiny or very dull, and my crate will be made of wood that is very dull, although all objects reflect light at least a small bit. I have provided an image below to show how shiny wood can get.

Sword story

My story for the sword is that it a special blade for a hero, the blade stays sharp for years after it is forged, even with wear on the blade. Also when the handle gets damaged or needs replacing, the blacksmith always uses a bone from the last person that the blade has slain. it gets bound by leather and buckles and resharpened whenever it gets a new handle.

Summary:

years of fighting have marked the blade
Human bone, shaped handle
leather bound hilt with buckles

Below I have included some pictures of what worn blades might look like, and also a leather bound handle.

Ship story

The story is that the ship is a frieght class ship that has been converted into a medical ship. There is some wear all over because of the debris in space, and there is also a lot of wear on the bottom of the ship because of reentry into atmospheres and landing in precarious locations to help survivors on unsafe planets. It has been on over 200 missions on its medical career alone, so has been repaired and repainted a lot of times. The paint is red and white and has medical symbols on.

Summary:

medical ship, red and white
some wear and tear
a lot of tear on the bottom

Below are some pictures of worn boats, because I think these are the only real life objects that could acuratly represent the worn paint of a space ship.

Crate story

The story for the crate model is that it is used to carry precious artifacts around the world. It has been used many many times so it is a bit rough on some of the sides, especially the bottom where deep scratch marks can be seen. at some point the crate needed to have some extra protection so a layer of a foam like substance and wood were glued to the bottom.

Summary:

some wear on the sides
layer of foam
deep scratches

Below are some picture examples I found on the Internet of what I am trying to convey.

Object stories

As well as describing the function of all the models, I also have to invent a story about them. This is to ensure that we can visualise what the textures might look like, for instance if something is brand new out of a factory, then it wouldn't have any wear or dirt on. But if something is old and used a lot, then there would most likely be scratches, flaking paint or any other wear on it.

Wear also usually appears in some parts of an object more than another, for example an old hatch would probably have more wear around the edges where it makes contact with the frame, and wear around the handle area because of people regularly touching it.

So everything about an objects setting, past or usage can determine how it looks, this is why it is a good idea to have some idea of the story of an object before you texture it.

I will be posting my stories shotly.