3D Game Textures: Create Professional Game Art Using Photoshop [With CD ROM]

Unlike the rewiever who gave this book 1 star, I am giving 5. Because unlike him, I find this full-color book very well written and very useful. It goes beyond basic texture creation tutorials. The first half of the book explains theory behind good textures and texture creation as well as ways to take pictures for your own textures. It gives lot of examples to demonstrate various points. The second half of the book is the tutorial part. The tutorials are detailed and easy to follow. The only negative thing I find about this book is, that the tutorials give you exact values for everything without explaining why these values were actually chosen. However, it is up to the user to make his/her own tweeking and see, how changing these values effect the final result. Also, I would like to see how these textures are applied to a specific UV layout, which the book does not discuss. But then again, the book is about creating textures, not applying them to your model, so I do not hold it against it. After all, the textures that are created in the tutorials are nicely done and you certainly can find a good use for any of them. So, five stars it is.

I'm in the process of reviewing 2D texture creation books for 3D programs, specifically Second Life's platform, and this book is by far the best I've found out there so far. The tutorials concentrate on developing textures from scratch, along a detailed workflow like you would set up on a typical project, and the final quality of the textures created is top notch professional grade. While other books seem to lack in quality, concentrate too much on one specific app for the final textures, or throw in way too much concept and not enough practicality, this book strikes a perfect balance between concept and execution. The book is intelligent without being overabsorbed, and is full of fantastic information. A great read and an invaluable reference book alike. Pick this one up!

Having gone to school for Computer Animation at Full Sail I was in the need of a top tier gaming texturing book. While reading Gamasutra I saw this book and had my company HNTB purchase this book for my real time 3D Group. Having gone through this book my photoshop skills have gone up 10x. The techiques that you learn in this book help make your 3D models really pop with life. Most of his tutorials are quick and very easy to follow along with, by the end of the book you are ready to tackle most any assignment a client is going to give you. I can't wait for more great publishings and techniques that Luke would love to share with the rest of the industry. A true inspiration! Thanks Austin Reed

Even if you aren't a game artist, this book will help any digital artist learn to create photorealistic textures. One of the most important features of an image, and one that can make the difference between a good or a great image, is the textures you use. In this book the author, Luke Ahearn, teaches the basics for creating 3D game textures. The book is written for Adobe Photoshop version 7 or CS, but can apply to future versions of Photoshop or any image graphics software supporting layers. The first chapters cover the basics of visual art such as shape/form, light/shadow, texture, color and perspective. Ahearn uses several game art sample images to support the discussion, which makes it easier to apply these concepts to 2D texturing. Next, he gives you an overview of computer graphics including file formats, grids, UV mapping and shaders and teaches the reasoning behind his approach to creating 2D textures for 3D game art. He then moves on to Photoshop and the many features this software has that can be used specifically for digital texturing. He gives some tips for naming and organizing the large number of image files that you will soon accumulate. Ahearn covers four real-world projects. The first is a sci-fi setting which requires only the base materials. He gives step-by-step instructions for creating metals for floor and wall paneling, pipes, hoses and venting. Next is an urban setting which requires the base materials and also a few textures for detail objects in the scene. The third project, a fantasy setting, was my favorite. It required the most detailed artwork so far and Ahearn discusses using the Photoshop painting tools. The textures created for this project will eventually be used with a shader. Some of the base textures he creates are stone walls and floor, wood beams, stucco and metal. You will also learn how to make detailed textures for a table, chest, fur rug, candle stick, book and parchment. The fourth project is an outdoor setting. When creating photorealistic textures for the trees and other organic subjects, Ahearn uses Photoshop layers and source photo overlays. For each project, Ahearn starts with a concept sketch and identifies the base materials that will be needed for flooring and walls. He then moves on to creating textures for the detail objects such as tables, windows, rugs and doors. At the end of each project, he gives at least one variation. Lastly, the book covers the three types of visual effects; static, animated and particle. The CD that accompanies the book contains many photo source images. Luke Ahearn has worked in the game development field for many years as a background artist, designer, producer and art director. He has written six books on game development.

As a game design student (soon to graduate), I try to snatch up every avaliable resource in regards to texturing and modelling. It's a very tight industry, and any edge I can get on the competition is direly needed. That said, I was VERY impressed with this book. It is loaded with tips and tricks that save a lot of time and can help breathe life into your textures. We can only cover so much in game school, and this book filled all the gaps and then some. So yeah, overall, I recommend this to anyone who is looking to get into texturing, or even those that have been doing it for a while. It is a valuable resource, and I'm sure you'll learn techniques you didn't know. 5 stars!