Creating Dirt Texture!!! Please help

[aksingha]

Install ace plugin and save the texture as .ace or DDS if you want

[Kali]

To answer the OP:

I use many, many layers. Generally if the texture bake is ok you can get away without changing the dirt layer luminosity if it's somewhat transparent, but it's sometimes useful to run an edge detect & use that as a mask for certain areas, especially corners where dirt will build up. I usually just use noise/clouds/blur masks for various colour dirt as general layers, and then add a couple done with the spraybrush for more targetted dirt - and most importantly *using a suitable brush*. There's tons of dirt/cloud/noise brushes around for download. If it's *really* dirty then paint the whole thing with dirt colour & then overpaint clean areas with it's real colour, or use the same techniques as above to mask out areas of dirt. You can apply masks to groups in PS, very handy for that sort of thing.

I'm really no pro - I learned by trial & error & reading up on aircraft texturing techniques, but basics got me the paints in my thread here.

Stuff like bigger water runs ( like the boxcar below ) you can do by locking the brush to one direction as you paint ( whether it's a spray brush or a custom one ) and - if it's a spray gun blur it first - using posterize or the sponge filter or similar things. Dribbles through dirt are either just using a thin brush or a custom one, or occasionally a bristly brush looks ok. Mainly just make sure you do it in layers! and I do everything in a mask if I can, not least because it's a bit easier to copy.

[Bananarama]

Kali - you should try some Dodge and Burn brushes over the rivets and edges.

[GSkid]

Question Kali....

Were those crossing diagonal lines below the word "Buffalo" on purpose? They seem odd. Looks like the size and shape of those metal band straps that you tie down lumber and such for transport. Like the lightness was the result of a metal band protecting the area beneath it from road grime and is now exposed.

Otherwise I love the water stains. Great job!

[aksingha]

To answer the OP:

I use many, many layers. Generally if the texture bake is ok you can get away without changing the dirt layer luminosity if it's somewhat transparent, but it's sometimes useful to run an edge detect & use that as a mask for certain areas, especially corners where dirt will build up. I usually just use noise/clouds/blur masks for various colour dirt as general layers, and then add a couple done with the spraybrush for more targetted dirt - and most importantly *using a suitable brush*. There's tons of dirt/cloud/noise brushes around for download. If it's *really* dirty then paint the whole thing with dirt colour & then overpaint clean areas with it's real colour, or use the same techniques as above to mask out areas of dirt. You can apply masks to groups in PS, very handy for that sort of thing.

I'm really no pro - I learned by trial & error & reading up on aircraft texturing techniques, but basics got me the paints in my thread here.

Stuff like bigger water runs ( like the boxcar below ) you can do by locking the brush to one direction as you paint ( whether it's a spray brush or a custom one ) and - if it's a spray gun blur it first - using posterize or the sponge filter or similar things. Dribbles through dirt are either just using a thin brush or a custom one, or occasionally a bristly brush looks ok. Mainly just make sure you do it in layers! and I do everything in a mask if I can, not least because it's a bit easier to copy.

+1, will try some of that

[Kali]

Hack - rivets on that model ( it's one of GreatNortherner's ) are all in the bumpmap & really low res - fiddling with them is a long-term experiment :p edges are something I need to poke at yes. I'm a bit more dubious about burning lighting into textures as game engines improve but at least trains stay mostly upright.

GSKid - I think that cross is an errant brush, actually! ahem. Call it a dent from the inside :P ( to be fair I have yet to find time to polish off anything, the last polish and touchup seems to take half the time of any project for little return other than practice in making lists ). One of the problems in using piles of layers ( and occasionally reusing them ) is keeping track of what effects are from where, and sometimes they're not totally obvious.