Window Texturing Question

[aaron067]

Some of you were very helpful when I asked about creating aztec designs a couple of weeks ago (it went really well, by the way!), so now I've got what I hope is a pretty basic question about windows.  I placed them one by one, rotating when needed, on the ship that the aztecing was being applied to.

Now I'm working on a different, much larger ship and am curious about how some of the experts here add windows into their textures.  I've seen some textures, like DJ's, where the windows look like they're somehow attached to an oval that mimics the shape of the saucer, all with great spacing as far as the eye can tell.  Is there a method that will help me with precision window placement, or do I stick with the one-by-one or small group approach?

Thanks in advance!

[WileyCoyote]

I have a tutorial here (making perfect registries in Photoshop CS2) about fitting text to a path. You can do the same identical procedure but using only capital I's. Make sure they are the proper size and type them in irregular ways. Look at different fonts- some are straight with sharp edges and others are round. You can fill them in with another color/texture to make them look like they are lit up. 

Here's a rough example of randomness:
III II I II I I IIII I I II I I III II

[aaron067]

That seems fairly obvious now that you mention it.  I made good use of your tutorial some time ago, but I guess I was thinking of windows in terms of an object rather than a creative use of text.  Thanks!

[DJ Curtis]

I often place windows by hand, one by one or two by two.

[MarkyD]

There are many methods mate..

You can make them in illustrator..  when ur in illustartor you draw your spline, say the shape of the saucer rim..  you can then add text objects to that spline and simply write them in.. (ie click on the spline-tell the text to type on the spline- then type away (using a font with a window shaped letter mind)

The way i do it is in max.

go to max and draw a spline circle.

then draw the rectangle windows ya want seperate.. (these can be any shape)

click on ur window,

got to tools / allign / spacing tool

when it opens  select path (top left) then click on ur oval spline..

it will allign the window you made to the spline  so now you can pick how many you need etc, then delete as needed.. eg..........

Then all i do is go to the top view port and render it the correct size in black and white..  and use that as an overlay layer in photoshop.

check out the images.. they will help..

good luck

[Locke]

A cookie for your mini-tutorial there, Mr Mark!

[DJ Curtis]

That's awesome, Marky, I wish I'd known about that earlier.

[baz1701]

I can verfy that method works well. Mark showed me that method when I was having trouble with the windows on the underside of my TOS connies.

[Furyofaseraph]

Fantastic!

[aaron067]

Thanks so much for all the information!  I've now used both DJ's and Wiley's methods (individual placement and using a spline in Illustrator) with great success.  I'm excited to try it in Max now, too. 

One last question regarding windows.  Some of the smaller ships I've seen (or larger ships with bigger windows) have a transparent 3D effect in that there appears to be life behind the window.  Obviously some of the larger windows are done by creating a background and putting a semi-transparent layer over it, but how might this be done in the general windows using any method other than individual placement?  In trying to add a slight gradient using the illustrator spline method, I found that the color changes gradually over the entire object rather than within each individual window.

[markeno]

Would it be ok to post a printer friendly copy of Markyd's guide here?  I threw it into publisher so I could print it nicely, and though maybe others would like it that way as well?  Well if so I have a pdf copy sitting around I can put up.  Great info.

[Locke]

YES!  Attach, PLEASE.  Would love to have this around.  I saved a copy of this thread, but it's such a weird way to keep tutorials.

A cookie awaits you with your upload! ;)

[markeno]

I'm attaching Markyd's guide post reformated in a pdf file for easy printing.

[GotAFarmYet?]

Thanks so much for all the information!  I've now used both DJ's and Wiley's methods (individual placement and using a spline in Illustrator) with great success.  I'm excited to try it in Max now, too. 

One last question regarding windows.  Some of the smaller ships I've seen (or larger ships with bigger windows) have a transparent 3D effect in that there appears to be life behind the window.  Obviously some of the larger windows are done by creating a background and putting a semi-transparent layer over it, but how might this be done in the general windows using any method other than individual placement?  In trying to add a slight gradient using the illustrator spline method, I found that the color changes gradually over the entire object rather than within each individual window.

If you are doing it in PS or PSP and your windows are on a seperate layer, you can select those objects in the layer. This means only the window areas will be selected then open a new window load the picture you want in the background and select that entire or part of picture. Go back to the orginal window and paste it in, this will replace the I or blank you were using with portions on the selected background that would corspond with the highlight areas the windows are in.

as for appling windows in PSP or PS you can use several methods you can also lay them out in a straight line and use polar coordinates to rap them to a arc or circle. It is also by far easier to apply more than you need and delete the ones that don't look right or are in areas you don't want windows