Possible to re-map models?

[mother]

Does anyone know how to do this? I am tryng to reskin the dog and the skin is stretched and skewed in several places. This is fixable with a re-map of the model. I don't know how to re-map the texture to model. I have read and searched extensively... nothing. EVERY retexture I have seen for the dog model shows the same problem areas (see pics below).

Original. You can see the stretched textures as horizontal lines on the right side of the model.


My skin (in progress). As on the original, the model's left is , for the most part, okay.


On the right side, it is pooch screwed.

[metchsteekle]

you can see quickly in qme via turning on the texture edit screen and turning on the vert editor, it will show you the verts and the lines between them, you just have to move them about i suppose?

[Trickle]

hey man, looks great so far

[Trickle]

you need to give the pooch the attention too people

[zylyx]

The problem lies with the UV map coordinates of the model. Unless you are tracing your custom texture around the exact same UV outlines as the original quake model, you will see some nasty streches and texture distortion. If the original had streches in the texture map due to poor UV mapping, then yours will as well, unless you create a new UV map and apply your new texture to it.

From the pics, it looks like the UV map of the dog is made as a right and left planar map. My best guess would be that the right side of the planar map is skewed either because it's misplaced, or because I know that welded vertices can distort the UV map.

You should unweld all the vertices for that model, the create a new UV map for it, re-weld it and apply the corresponding texture to the new UV coords, assuming that the program you are using supports these features.

[mother]

zylyx,
Thanks for the reply and in depth answer. However, the remedy sounds to be beyond my area of expertise. I can't afford the time to inflict a crash course in modeling on myself right now. I was hoping it was a quick fix for someone who is comfortable with model editing. I guess, on a positive note, the animation for the model (for the most part) only shows the good side in game.

[Phenom]

Those were dogs!? lol jk

great job, your model looks much more acceptable then the default!

[mother]

Those were dogs!? lol jk

great job, your model looks much more acceptable then the default!

Thanks, Phenom. That is not the finished product, though. I did it really rough and then got side tracked with all of the strecteched textures.

[Phenom]

Thanks, Phenom. That is not the finished product, though. I did it really rough and then got side tracked with all of the strecteched textures.

Well you're doing an awesome job mother I'd like to see your other work if you have any, I'm working on some vehicles and POSSIBILY character models.

I use gmax, Quark 6.5.0 Beta 2(fileplanet) & QME to make, convert and process models. They are all free to use I believe and its the easiest way I've found to build models for Quake.

Also I've heard there might be even an easier way in the future!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

[zylyx]

For a good basic modeler that is easy to use, go with MilkShape 3D. Gmax is good, but it's hardly supported since discreet (now autodesk) dropped it a few years ago.

Also, most modern Quake clients like DarkPlaces support many different model file formats, many of which are far superior when compared to the old quake mdl file format (examples include: Quake 3 MD3 and Half Life MDL, although the later needs to be converted into a another file format to use with Dark Places, but I dont know for other clients).

A good basic setup combo for a beginner 3D artist (on a tight budget) would be:

Milkshape 3D - Good for modeling and exporting to many different file formats, bad for animation and UV mapping. Costs $35.

LithUnwrap (the free version, because Ultimate Unwrap 3D costs $50, I think) - Absolute must of any sort of UV mapping, doesnt do much else though

Fragmotion - Good for animation, has nice features like Inverse Kinematics, quirky UI though, in my opinion, costs $25.

CharacterFX - Free. Same as above, but more simpler and straight to the point

Gimp - Unless you like paying for Photoshop, try this. Free.

Blender- I hate the UI, but its free and many claim that it competes with the professional 3D packages. Has everything.

Photoshop - You might think about investing in this some day, a must for any serious 2D graphics work

Alternatively, if you want to be serious about 3D modeling, texturing and animation, then you need to get hold of any of these (either legally or otherwise ):

- Maya - You can get the PLE version for free, but it is pretty useless, in my opinion. Original Quake models were made with Alias PowerAnimator (the precursor to Maya), many many years ago. Most professionals use this, and it's thought in many colleges that teach 3D art.

- LightWave 3D - My personal choice. Good overall features.

- 3ds Max - Overall good software

- Softimage XSI - Same as above

- Huidini - Dont know much about it, but many pros calim that it is THE 3d app


And either of these two are needed for any serious high-polygon/high-detail modeling:
- Zbrush - Again, my personal choice. Best for organic hi-detail 3D sculpting
- Mudbox - Never used, but again, many pros use it


Finaly, get a graphics tablet if you can. It will speed up your workflow dramatically. If you have around $500-$600, get a Wacom one, otherwise, try the Trust ones (cheap but good, around $100 - $180). Make sure that is has atleast 512 pressure levels. Also, a scanner is not a bad idea either...

Good Tutorials (for beginners using the budget 3D software I mentioned first):

- http://www.planetfortress.com/tf2models/tuto.htm - Old, but helps with the basics

- http://www.psionic3d.co.uk - Also some good basic tutorials, including 2D art

- http://www.dosfx.com/tutorials.asp - More in-depth MilkShape 3D tutorials

- http://www.iinit.com/tutorial.cfm?source=2&tutorial=5 - Another basic MilkShape 3D tutorial

Hope that gives you some good info for when you start taking 3D art more seriously

[mother]

zylyx, thanks again for all of the information. A real treasure chest for a beginning modeller. One of you people needs to buy some of that stuff and get crackin', so I can finish the rottweiler properly.

[ceriux]

you can also animate right with in milkshape using .smd files.

[zylyx]

Coming soon.....

[mother]

Very cool! Animation and implementation into game may be the hurdle here, though. One small caveat, he should have shorter legs and be more muscular and his ears should hang down slightly like so...

[metchsteekle]

the harness on that dogs cheast dosent seem to go with the rest of that picture :S