LF: How are people actually texturing their assets in this community?
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I've looked all over ArtStation, forums, even deep dives into portfolios, and I still can't figure out where people are getting their materials/rips for clothing. I know how to texture manually — I've done a ton for NovaBeast — but it’s super time-consuming, and I seriously doubt most creators are spending weeks on a single piece.
I’m just tired. I know what I’m doing, but I feel like I’m missing some kind of shortcut or resource that others are using. If you have any insight, I’d really appreciate it.
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I use photoshop soley for my avatars, and or I know some other people used substance painter more specifically for skin textures / tattoos, but there is also a painting function in blender itself. It's not great but it has helped me in certain situations. There might be other tools, like some people I know use drawing tablets for ease of using substance / photoshop (me included) and now a days they're pretty cheap to get ahold of, even one with a screen if you want it.
Still with all these tools keep in mind that people who spit out avatars left and right with all retextured things they;
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Past Experience: Probably have tons or loads of hours of doing the same experience over & over again, so they know exactly what tools to get what they want. If you're just starting its unfair to yourself to say you should know it all.
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AI Image Enhancers: Have extra textures laying around somewhere, it is very easy to take something off Pinterest and make it into a png, and if it's too pixelated use an AI enhancer to make the image more clean- usually does a good job. I use; https://www.upscale.media
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Organization: It may be frustrating, but it does take hours to put time into an avatar's textures. Biggest recommendation I can give is always keep your files back up and labeled, even if the label is long. The hardest part I find with textures is not being able to find them because I always put them in the wrong place or having to redo them because they've been accidently deleted.
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Having tools or using short cut keys: Drawing tablets or drawing pads. Screens aren't really needed honestly imo, because eventually you can get used to just looking at you desktop as you draw or move things. These tablets also have the ability to program the buttons as keys. So if you wanna cut something you can use the tablet button thats programed to do that. I only really recommend Wacom or Huinon. I started with a wacom bamboo tablet in high school and worked my way up to a Cintiq Wacom. Although my friend had an XP tablet for the longest time, I was just used to "Boujeer" brands so I never liked hers, so I stuck with Wacom.
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I use photoshop soley for my avatars, and or I know some other people used substance painter more specifically for skin textures / tattoos, but there is also a painting function in blender itself. It's not great but it has helped me in certain situations. There might be other tools, like some people I know use drawing tablets for ease of using substance / photoshop (me included) and now a days they're pretty cheap to get ahold of, even one with a screen if you want it.
Still with all these tools keep in mind that people who spit out avatars left and right with all retextured things they;
-
Past Experience: Probably have tons or loads of hours of doing the same experience over & over again, so they know exactly what tools to get what they want. If you're just starting its unfair to yourself to say you should know it all.
-
AI Image Enhancers: Have extra textures laying around somewhere, it is very easy to take something off Pinterest and make it into a png, and if it's too pixelated use an AI enhancer to make the image more clean- usually does a good job. I use; https://www.upscale.media
-
Organization: It may be frustrating, but it does take hours to put time into an avatar's textures. Biggest recommendation I can give is always keep your files back up and labeled, even if the label is long. The hardest part I find with textures is not being able to find them because I always put them in the wrong place or having to redo them because they've been accidently deleted.
-
Having tools or using short cut keys: Drawing tablets or drawing pads. Screens aren't really needed honestly imo, because eventually you can get used to just looking at you desktop as you draw or move things. These tablets also have the ability to program the buttons as keys. So if you wanna cut something you can use the tablet button thats programed to do that. I only really recommend Wacom or Huinon. I started with a wacom bamboo tablet in high school and worked my way up to a Cintiq Wacom. Although my friend had an XP tablet for the longest time, I was just used to "Boujeer" brands so I never liked hers, so I stuck with Wacom.
@Hardware98 Thanks so much for all this info, seriously appreciate it.
I actually don't use Photoshop — I mainly use Substance Painter for my texturing, and I’ve figured out how to use my iPad as a drawing tablet which has been a huge help. I’m curious though, when you say you grab stuff off Pinterest and make it into a PNG what exactly are you usually looking for? Like full fabric textures, patterns, or just references? And side question, what's the best way you’ve found to add nice-looking seams?
I know Marvelous Designer can export seams but it adds a lot of extra geometry to the model. The seams always look super clean though.Thanks again for taking the time to explain all this it’s been super helpful! -
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@Hardware98 Thanks so much for all this info, seriously appreciate it.
I actually don't use Photoshop — I mainly use Substance Painter for my texturing, and I’ve figured out how to use my iPad as a drawing tablet which has been a huge help. I’m curious though, when you say you grab stuff off Pinterest and make it into a PNG what exactly are you usually looking for? Like full fabric textures, patterns, or just references? And side question, what's the best way you’ve found to add nice-looking seams?
I know Marvelous Designer can export seams but it adds a lot of extra geometry to the model. The seams always look super clean though.Thanks again for taking the time to explain all this it’s been super helpful!Ipad works too! It depends on what I'm looking for honestly depending on what I need / grab. If I'm looking for menu icons to be cute I look up small doodles, if I'm looking for tattoos I try to find the style of tattoo I like (for instance black work or neo traditional etc). If I'm looking for a certain texture I usually use google as Pinterest DOES lower quality, but Etsy.com has a bunch of cool shirt ideas that you can use or replicate using https://www.dafont.com (a website near and dear to my heart since 2014). They have like any font style you can imagine on there all for free, automatically installs to your version of photoshop even if its pirated (Everything I own program wise is pirated or cracked older versions). If you only have a phone to do texture work or ipad I highly recommend downloading this app called "Phonto" I've had it since early teen years and it accepts dafont.com fonts, and will automatically save them so that you can lets say put a saying like "Fresh" in a fancy font you like, make the background white, then erase the background for transparency, and then transfer that to the texture you saved on your ipad via sketch club/app or something. Using a desktop though or PC is surely a more attuned way to do things just because you don't have to be busy transferring stuff back and forth which can be obnoxious depending on how many textures and stuff but if you're in a bind its a good idea.
It's also a good idea to make labels for yourself I have a really old texture someone made from a TDA model showcasing where certain parts of the texture end so I know if I make tattoos it'll be on the foot or the arm you know- just easier to keep track of that stuff if you're doing work without substance painter and just using an app like photoshop to like put tattoos on a texture. So for Pinterest overall main thing is look up whatever style or aspect you're going for. Fashion styles like "Kawaii" or "Gothic" can help you gather ideas and honestly feel free to make random shit for your avatar too like Nony years ago made chains on avatars his thing putting his username on a chain attached to usually glasses on his avatars. You can do that with your username too and honestly blender font wise is very simple there's a lotta tutorials on that too. Tutorial on that here; https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w3nXp_adtCQ you can honestly do anything and thats what makes avatar making so cool.
People also forget that avatars can have GIFS on them too! Even old Poiyomi supports it, I believe back then it was just called flip cards or something but I know there's tutorials on that on youtube as well. It was very cute cause some Kyanite avatars had like the NASA logo animated and stuff like that.
Texture wise honestly deviant art although plagued with AI now, has always been my go to to textures if I need like TV static or a rough fabric material. The benefit of photoshop too is being able to get rid of most if not all watermarks using the band aid tool or smudging it to where its unnoticeable. There was a website that really had HQ images but I forget the name but if I find it again I will definitely link it.
Seams wise I'm unsure as I always fail miserably when trying to make my own assets but one day I'll get there I swear! I highly recommend for inspiration joining Novapie & GMS Box's server (website located here: https://payhip.com/GMsbox - https://novapies.com as honestly they've helped me out with a lot of shit and in general are the most originally branded creators I've ever seen. They're the only creators I really support (them and SamayeBae? I think is her name) because instead of being bitchy or unreasonable they have helped me and inspired me in many ways and even shown me anything is possible like creating an avatar with a mermaid tail which they did recently. I watch their wips everyday and honestly its very awesome seeing them progress and like seeing them overcome so many obstacles. Would never promote a discord usually but I honestly really love their work and what they do, Kitron is also amazing and genuinely nice as long as you don't spam the help channel all the time you're good.
Channels that have helped me learn what I know that I've sorted and vetted through:
https://www.youtube.com/@AskAmberOfficial
https://www.youtube.com/@SamayeBae
https://www.youtube.com/@0bituary860
https://www.youtube.com/@20nik
https://www.youtube.com/@chimericcurios
https://www.youtube.com/@dwuckiesvr
https://www.youtube.com/@LucindaBeskins
https://www.youtube.com/@PxINKYMarvelous designer I don't know much about but I do think that's how people make their clothes so fast in vrchat. Same with like the shrink wrap modifier in blender probably but its like a in trade secret so I haven't hear much. I know Cozu uses her ipad with some program for most of her chibi models but unsure if she'd even be willing to share that info. People sadly are usually very gatekeepy with these things.
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Ipad works too! It depends on what I'm looking for honestly depending on what I need / grab. If I'm looking for menu icons to be cute I look up small doodles, if I'm looking for tattoos I try to find the style of tattoo I like (for instance black work or neo traditional etc). If I'm looking for a certain texture I usually use google as Pinterest DOES lower quality, but Etsy.com has a bunch of cool shirt ideas that you can use or replicate using https://www.dafont.com (a website near and dear to my heart since 2014). They have like any font style you can imagine on there all for free, automatically installs to your version of photoshop even if its pirated (Everything I own program wise is pirated or cracked older versions). If you only have a phone to do texture work or ipad I highly recommend downloading this app called "Phonto" I've had it since early teen years and it accepts dafont.com fonts, and will automatically save them so that you can lets say put a saying like "Fresh" in a fancy font you like, make the background white, then erase the background for transparency, and then transfer that to the texture you saved on your ipad via sketch club/app or something. Using a desktop though or PC is surely a more attuned way to do things just because you don't have to be busy transferring stuff back and forth which can be obnoxious depending on how many textures and stuff but if you're in a bind its a good idea.
It's also a good idea to make labels for yourself I have a really old texture someone made from a TDA model showcasing where certain parts of the texture end so I know if I make tattoos it'll be on the foot or the arm you know- just easier to keep track of that stuff if you're doing work without substance painter and just using an app like photoshop to like put tattoos on a texture. So for Pinterest overall main thing is look up whatever style or aspect you're going for. Fashion styles like "Kawaii" or "Gothic" can help you gather ideas and honestly feel free to make random shit for your avatar too like Nony years ago made chains on avatars his thing putting his username on a chain attached to usually glasses on his avatars. You can do that with your username too and honestly blender font wise is very simple there's a lotta tutorials on that too. Tutorial on that here; https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w3nXp_adtCQ you can honestly do anything and thats what makes avatar making so cool.
People also forget that avatars can have GIFS on them too! Even old Poiyomi supports it, I believe back then it was just called flip cards or something but I know there's tutorials on that on youtube as well. It was very cute cause some Kyanite avatars had like the NASA logo animated and stuff like that.
Texture wise honestly deviant art although plagued with AI now, has always been my go to to textures if I need like TV static or a rough fabric material. The benefit of photoshop too is being able to get rid of most if not all watermarks using the band aid tool or smudging it to where its unnoticeable. There was a website that really had HQ images but I forget the name but if I find it again I will definitely link it.
Seams wise I'm unsure as I always fail miserably when trying to make my own assets but one day I'll get there I swear! I highly recommend for inspiration joining Novapie & GMS Box's server (website located here: https://payhip.com/GMsbox - https://novapies.com as honestly they've helped me out with a lot of shit and in general are the most originally branded creators I've ever seen. They're the only creators I really support (them and SamayeBae? I think is her name) because instead of being bitchy or unreasonable they have helped me and inspired me in many ways and even shown me anything is possible like creating an avatar with a mermaid tail which they did recently. I watch their wips everyday and honestly its very awesome seeing them progress and like seeing them overcome so many obstacles. Would never promote a discord usually but I honestly really love their work and what they do, Kitron is also amazing and genuinely nice as long as you don't spam the help channel all the time you're good.
Channels that have helped me learn what I know that I've sorted and vetted through:
https://www.youtube.com/@AskAmberOfficial
https://www.youtube.com/@SamayeBae
https://www.youtube.com/@0bituary860
https://www.youtube.com/@20nik
https://www.youtube.com/@chimericcurios
https://www.youtube.com/@dwuckiesvr
https://www.youtube.com/@LucindaBeskins
https://www.youtube.com/@PxINKYMarvelous designer I don't know much about but I do think that's how people make their clothes so fast in vrchat. Same with like the shrink wrap modifier in blender probably but its like a in trade secret so I haven't hear much. I know Cozu uses her ipad with some program for most of her chibi models but unsure if she'd even be willing to share that info. People sadly are usually very gatekeepy with these things.
@Hardware98 just be careful they hunt and stalk people down who steal assets/are on any of these sites on that discord. happened to me recently after i actually purchased something off their site(purchased more than that too like 60$ worth of assets and avis). got accused pretty bad and they hunted every "ripper" or avatar site for your usernames. their tos says they know where the file is and goes so "it shouldn't leave your hands" so i don't quite understand how they don't know its not me? it was even stated as a gift in the purchase i made as well as my info and they banned the person who bought it as a gift for me instead of the one uploading it? just a heads up for future reference
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Ipad works too! It depends on what I'm looking for honestly depending on what I need / grab. If I'm looking for menu icons to be cute I look up small doodles, if I'm looking for tattoos I try to find the style of tattoo I like (for instance black work or neo traditional etc). If I'm looking for a certain texture I usually use google as Pinterest DOES lower quality, but Etsy.com has a bunch of cool shirt ideas that you can use or replicate using https://www.dafont.com (a website near and dear to my heart since 2014). They have like any font style you can imagine on there all for free, automatically installs to your version of photoshop even if its pirated (Everything I own program wise is pirated or cracked older versions). If you only have a phone to do texture work or ipad I highly recommend downloading this app called "Phonto" I've had it since early teen years and it accepts dafont.com fonts, and will automatically save them so that you can lets say put a saying like "Fresh" in a fancy font you like, make the background white, then erase the background for transparency, and then transfer that to the texture you saved on your ipad via sketch club/app or something. Using a desktop though or PC is surely a more attuned way to do things just because you don't have to be busy transferring stuff back and forth which can be obnoxious depending on how many textures and stuff but if you're in a bind its a good idea.
It's also a good idea to make labels for yourself I have a really old texture someone made from a TDA model showcasing where certain parts of the texture end so I know if I make tattoos it'll be on the foot or the arm you know- just easier to keep track of that stuff if you're doing work without substance painter and just using an app like photoshop to like put tattoos on a texture. So for Pinterest overall main thing is look up whatever style or aspect you're going for. Fashion styles like "Kawaii" or "Gothic" can help you gather ideas and honestly feel free to make random shit for your avatar too like Nony years ago made chains on avatars his thing putting his username on a chain attached to usually glasses on his avatars. You can do that with your username too and honestly blender font wise is very simple there's a lotta tutorials on that too. Tutorial on that here; https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w3nXp_adtCQ you can honestly do anything and thats what makes avatar making so cool.
People also forget that avatars can have GIFS on them too! Even old Poiyomi supports it, I believe back then it was just called flip cards or something but I know there's tutorials on that on youtube as well. It was very cute cause some Kyanite avatars had like the NASA logo animated and stuff like that.
Texture wise honestly deviant art although plagued with AI now, has always been my go to to textures if I need like TV static or a rough fabric material. The benefit of photoshop too is being able to get rid of most if not all watermarks using the band aid tool or smudging it to where its unnoticeable. There was a website that really had HQ images but I forget the name but if I find it again I will definitely link it.
Seams wise I'm unsure as I always fail miserably when trying to make my own assets but one day I'll get there I swear! I highly recommend for inspiration joining Novapie & GMS Box's server (website located here: https://payhip.com/GMsbox - https://novapies.com as honestly they've helped me out with a lot of shit and in general are the most originally branded creators I've ever seen. They're the only creators I really support (them and SamayeBae? I think is her name) because instead of being bitchy or unreasonable they have helped me and inspired me in many ways and even shown me anything is possible like creating an avatar with a mermaid tail which they did recently. I watch their wips everyday and honestly its very awesome seeing them progress and like seeing them overcome so many obstacles. Would never promote a discord usually but I honestly really love their work and what they do, Kitron is also amazing and genuinely nice as long as you don't spam the help channel all the time you're good.
Channels that have helped me learn what I know that I've sorted and vetted through:
https://www.youtube.com/@AskAmberOfficial
https://www.youtube.com/@SamayeBae
https://www.youtube.com/@0bituary860
https://www.youtube.com/@20nik
https://www.youtube.com/@chimericcurios
https://www.youtube.com/@dwuckiesvr
https://www.youtube.com/@LucindaBeskins
https://www.youtube.com/@PxINKYMarvelous designer I don't know much about but I do think that's how people make their clothes so fast in vrchat. Same with like the shrink wrap modifier in blender probably but its like a in trade secret so I haven't hear much. I know Cozu uses her ipad with some program for most of her chibi models but unsure if she'd even be willing to share that info. People sadly are usually very gatekeepy with these things.
@Hardware98 Dude, thank you for taking the time to write all that out, seriously.
Phonto sounds super handy, I never even thought about using something like that. I mainly stick to Substance now for most of my stuff, but it's good knowing I have some backup options if I ever need to slap together something quick without hopping between devices.Also yeah, I noticed Pinterest kinda nukes the quality too, thought I was just trippin’. I’ll definitely dig around Etsy and dafont more, appreciate you dropping those. And labeling UVs is smart as hell, honestly I need to be way better about that — half the time I’m guessing where stuff will land and fixing it after the fact lol.
And thanks for keeping it real about seams too , good to know I'm not the only one who struggles with making them look clean I’ll peep NovaPie and GMS Box, I keep hearing their names pop up so it’s probably time.
Also the GIF thing??? I didn’t even know you could do that, that’s actually so sick. Definitely gonna mess with that now.
Fr though, thanks again for being cool and actually explaining things. It's super refreshing.
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@Hardware98 just be careful they hunt and stalk people down who steal assets/are on any of these sites on that discord. happened to me recently after i actually purchased something off their site(purchased more than that too like 60$ worth of assets and avis). got accused pretty bad and they hunted every "ripper" or avatar site for your usernames. their tos says they know where the file is and goes so "it shouldn't leave your hands" so i don't quite understand how they don't know its not me? it was even stated as a gift in the purchase i made as well as my info and they banned the person who bought it as a gift for me instead of the one uploading it? just a heads up for future reference
@lulu9 @Hardware98 if you wanna delete your reply because you're worried, I totally understand. I'm not hunting anyone down or anything like that, I just needed some advice and you were super helpful.
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@Hardware98 just be careful they hunt and stalk people down who steal assets/are on any of these sites on that discord. happened to me recently after i actually purchased something off their site(purchased more than that too like 60$ worth of assets and avis). got accused pretty bad and they hunted every "ripper" or avatar site for your usernames. their tos says they know where the file is and goes so "it shouldn't leave your hands" so i don't quite understand how they don't know its not me? it was even stated as a gift in the purchase i made as well as my info and they banned the person who bought it as a gift for me instead of the one uploading it? just a heads up for future reference
@lulu9 I've never personally had a problem with them though I won't give much detail, if they really "hunted rippers" I wouldn't be in there for sure. I guess if you have your name or are labeled as a ripper sure, but I really do think they only target people who leak their assets which rightfully so honestly- they're still the only creators I'd ever support because their ideas are originally and majority of the time they make their own assets. I won't retract my statement as like I don't really feel like I'm in danger nor anyone else is. If you are that scared about joining avatar discords you should already have an alt account in general if you're worried about anyone stalking you. This is public knowledge not even just for vrchat but in general.
I really don't post anything publicly, and I really don't rip anyone's new shit as I don't care for it and would much rather buy the product anyways then trying to rip something, repair the package, set up all the expressions and toggles, etc. Just not worth the hassle anymore, and like I said I have all the avatars I've mained for years, most have been purchased anyways. Usually if I use a package anyways, or want it it's just for the asset it has; as most avatars are ugly as shit now a days and I just want the hair or some shit lol.
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@Hardware98 Dude, thank you for taking the time to write all that out, seriously.
Phonto sounds super handy, I never even thought about using something like that. I mainly stick to Substance now for most of my stuff, but it's good knowing I have some backup options if I ever need to slap together something quick without hopping between devices.Also yeah, I noticed Pinterest kinda nukes the quality too, thought I was just trippin’. I’ll definitely dig around Etsy and dafont more, appreciate you dropping those. And labeling UVs is smart as hell, honestly I need to be way better about that — half the time I’m guessing where stuff will land and fixing it after the fact lol.
And thanks for keeping it real about seams too , good to know I'm not the only one who struggles with making them look clean I’ll peep NovaPie and GMS Box, I keep hearing their names pop up so it’s probably time.
Also the GIF thing??? I didn’t even know you could do that, that’s actually so sick. Definitely gonna mess with that now.
Fr though, thanks again for being cool and actually explaining things. It's super refreshing.
@shadeslayer01 Also anytime seriously. It took me YEARS to get where I'm at and I think its awesome to share the knowledge I have now. I usually only share with friends but anytime I have the ability to share my knowledge more so I will. I'd make a server honestly but there's too many risk factors and stuff so I just avoid doing that. But I've taught many friends how to use unity/blender and I'm really proud of them for being able to make their own avatars, I just helped one with how to do textures the other day using GIMP. Very fun exigence when they realize how easy it is. Makes me genuinely happy as when I learned unity/blender I often got bullied and screamed at in the past groups I've been in for not knowing it all- but I never let my disabilities or people in my life knock me down out of wanting to make my own custom avatar or in general my own editing style. If you ever need any help with anything feel free to DM me here. It might take me a few days to reply as I'm only usually on this site occasionally but I'll always try to get back to ya!
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I do all my texture work with PaintTool SAI. I love torturing myself. Genuinely though, it's all I know how to use, and I make a pretty penny doing texture work for avis, so it's really whatever works for you. I'm familiar enough with basic UV map layouts and where everything needs to go, that I just do it that way.
My point is, you don't need expensive art programs to work on textures if you're determined enough. I see a lot of people say that substance painter is a requirement, but it's really not. Just more convenient.
PNG Tree is my best friend too! For transparent textures to layer on top of things.
