Tutorials
How to Make a Strapless Top for Second Life
This is a basic tutorial on how to make a shirt for use in Second Life, using Photoshop. Please contact me with any questions or comments on how to improve this tutorial at NuclearBoutique@Gmail.com
The techniques and methods used are beginner level, and act as a basic foundation upon which to build your clothes making skills.
Please keep in mind that there are many, many various ways to do the things I discuss here. These methods are the ones I normally use and serve to show you the basic skills needed to create clothing, along with my normal work flow.
Some things to know before we start:
-I use Chip Midnight’s templates.
-I use a mask for nearly everything so that I can go back and make changes and corrections without starting over.
-I begin each step by doing the following (unless otherwise noted):
Create Layer > Fill with the color I need (for shading fill with 50% gray, for highlights fill with 100% White) > Add Layer Mask (3rd icon from the left on the bottom of your layer palette) > Fill Mask with Black
Step One: Your basic “fabric” layer.
-Create a new Layer and fill it with the desired color, then add a mask and fill with black. Use white paint on the mask to create your fabric.
Step 2: Create Trim
-Trim adds a more finished look to your garment. For this top I want a matching trim.
-New Layer > Fill with the fabric color > Add Layer Mask > Fill Mask with Black > Use white to create your trim (I have the fabric layer turned off so you can see the trim)
Add depth to your trim:
-Duplicate the Trim Layer. On the top trim layer (this will say “Copy” as the layer title), leave it as is, but on the lower one fill the layer with 50% Gray and set to Multiply. Guassian Blur about 3.5 (Gaussian Blur= Filter > Blur > Guassian)
Step Three: Back Closure with buttons
-To create a back closure, I like to use stitches made using a brush I created.
-To create a brush for your stitches:
New Layer > Draw a line using the line tool at about 4 px wide. Add Layer Mask, then with black paint and a small soft brush remove the areas between the “stitches”.
Apply layer mask, then select the stitches (On Mac: place the cursor over the thumbnail and CMD Click to load the selection). Go to Edit > Define Brush Presets and then name your brush.
-On a new Layer fill with the fabric color, add mask fill with black then use the line tool and white paint to create the seams for your closure. With a soft small brush and black paint round off the corners. (Note I have the fabric layer turned off so you can see the seams as I work)
Use our new stitches brush to create stitches down the back.
To add shadow to the back closure, follow the previously mentioned method of duplicating the layer, filling the lower layer with 50% gray, set layer to Multiply then Gaussian Blur (this time only about 1.5).
Buttons:
-I’m going to create the shadow for the buttons first, but you can create the buttons and then add the shadow if you prefer.
-New Layer > Fill with Color (I fill with the 50% gray for the shadow) > Add Layer Mask and fill with Black
-Using a hard brush at 20 Px and white paint, create your buttons on the mask.
-Duplicate layer and fill with the color of the buttons. Set the gray button layer to multiply, Gaussian Blur around 3.5.
-To add depth we will be adding highlight and shading to the buttons:
New Layer > set to Overlay, soft brush and draw crescent shapes on the top of the buttons, Gaussian Blur around 2.
-To add Shadow to the buttons, duplicate the button layer, set to multiply, add mask and with a small soft brush with black paint, “carve” out the area on the buttons that will be highlighted, leaving the shade along the edges.
Draw the Highlights
Gaussian blur
Round off the edges
Create the shade on the buttons for added depth
Now we need to add some shading and highlights to the closure.
- Create Layer > Fill with the color I need (for shading fill with 50% gray, for highlights fill with 100% White) > Add Layer Mask (3rd icon from the left on the bottom of your layer palette) > Fill Mask with Black
-Note: you can use either multiply or color burn for shading, and overlay or color dodge for highlights. I use multiply and overlay in this tutorial as I want a softer effect.
-Create your shading below the buttons by drawing with a soft brush and white paint on the mask where you want the shade to be. Then use the Smudge Tool to pull the edges of it away from the center.
-Gaussian Blur to soften the blend it into the fabric.
-Lower the opacity of the layer to between 20-50% depending on the look you want.
1. Paint the shade
2. Use the smudge tool to pull the edges of the shade up and down...away from the buttons
3. Gaussian Blur
Repeat steps for the highlights
1. Paint highlights
2. Smudge edges up and down away from the buttons
3. Gaussian Blur
Add Highlight to the seam: same method as above, simply use the line tool instead of a brush and Gaussian Blur around 2.
Use this method for all trim.
Completed Back Closure
Step Four: Highlights and Shading
-Using Chip Midnight’s Topography Template, I use the same method for general/overall body shading and highlights as I did for the closure.
- Create Layer > Fill with the color I need (for shading fill with 50% gray, for highlights fill with 100% White) > Add Layer Mask (3rd icon from the left on the bottom of your layer palette) > Fill Mask with Black. Again I use Multiply and Overlay for my shadows and highlights, but experiment with Dodge and Burn settings to see which ones appeal to you.
-Paint the area on the mask with white and a soft brush, use the smudge tool to pull the edges away from the center.
-Gaussian Blur is usually set at 8-20 on these larger areas to blend them in better with the fabric color.
-I think it’s easier if I just show you the steps I took to create the shadows and highlights for this top rather than try to explain it using words.
Step Five: Wrinkles
-Again, I created a masked layer with either gray or white as the fill color and set to multiply for the wrinkle shading and overlay for the wrinkle highlights.
-Many people do this directly onto the “fabric”, but I prefer to use a separate layer for each so that I can go back and edit if needed. And it gives me more control.
-To create the wrinkles, use a small soft brush and paint the wrinkles. Use the smudge tool to pull the edges out following the natural curve of the body. Gaussian Blur usually around 3-5 depending on how you want them to look on your fabric, then lower the opacity until you get the depth you like.
-Additionally, I darken in areas under the wrinkles for a more realistic look.
Now do the same for the wrinkle highlights
Shadows for the wrinkles
Step 6: Uploading your top
-Turn off all layers that you do not want to show on your item, then save as a 32 bit TGA file and upload to Second Life.
This is what the shirt looks like thus far:
I suggest you add some additional details like a trim along the bottom, some softer shading along the sides and perhaps some stitches along the side seams.
You can also add a texture to the shirt.
There are many ways to add textures. You can use the preset textures in Photoshop (Filter > Textures...then choose one), or you can create your own.
The shirt below has a texture I created using the following steps:
-New Layer > Fill with 50% gray > Add Noise (15) on Gaussian > Filter > Blur > Motion Blur > 90 Degrees and 10 pixels
-Set layer to overlay
Please note that this method will lighten the color of your fabric, but you can simply texture the original fabric as well. If you use the method I used for this top, adjust the opacity of the wrinkles and highlights/shading to your preference.
