Tutorials
Copyright held by Arikinui Adria and Nuclear Boutique. Rights to all photos are retained by their owner(s) and may not be copied or used in any format without permission. 2006-2007
This is done on a New Layer, but I currently have a black background on.
- fill in the top of the alpha with white
- using the Smudge Tool (The hand with the finger...NO Not THAT finger!) (say around 50%-70%) drag vertically up and down across the zig zags. Try to keep them as vertical as possible with no overly large lines. Softness is the key.
-Use the Blur Tool (between 18%-30%) if you need to soften it more.
MAKING FRINGE TEXTURE FOR PRIM HAIR IN SECOND LIFE
Make your hair texture. If you need help with this go to www.taunt.com for Twiddler's tutorial. Gotta love a helpful (frisky) Pirate! =P
For Photo Shop:
- on a new alpha channel (under the Channel Palette click on the second icon from the right, just left of the trash can: the same icon used for making a new layer in the Layer Palette) use a soft brush w/White and make a zig zag pattern horizontally across the page at about 1/3 of the way down: \/\/\/\/\/\/
- The result looks like an x-ray of the ends of hair
-make sure the white does NOT go to the bottom of the page or you will have some bleed where the fringe ends and the top of the texture begins again. That's a real bear when you're texturizing the hair and don’t want to spend a lot of time manipulating the texture. If needed use black and a soft brush across the bottom to ensure you don't have this issue.
-For your hair texture with NO fringe, save as a 24 bit TGA file (256 x 256 or 512 x 512). With Fringe, save as a 32 bit TGA file. This way you can make one texture and just paste the Alpha and have both the fringe and non-fringed textures without having too much work.
Then copy and save the fringe alpha so I can use it over and over.
Common Problems:
~ When the texture is downloaded into SL the fringe doesn’t show (or is a solid texture)
Make sure that the Alpha Channel with your fringe on it (should be named Alpha 1 under the Channel palette) does not have the eyeball showing, but the other 3 (red, green, blue) do have the eyeball.
Also make sure that there is only ONE alpha channel.
~ When the texture is applied to the prim, the fringe looks very pixelated.
You may have too much contrast in your texture, or the texture is repeated too many times on the prim. Try having it repeat horizontally only once or twice to see if this helps, or lower the contrast between the colors on your texture (limit the lines or streaks as well if needed).
~ The highlights look distorted or washed out when I texture the hair.
You may have the texture stretched too far across the prim. Raise the repeats of the texture (try vertically and horizontally) to see if the texture needs to be redone, or if the prims are too large for the look you’re going for.
How to Make Fringed Hair Texture (Alpha Channel)
How to Make Prim Hair in Second Life
Quick Hair Tutorial: 10 Steps to Making Prim Hair in Second Life
First off, this tutorial presumes you have a basic understanding of building and torturing prims. You will also need to be acquainted with the Edit Menu.
I will explain each basic step for creating a ponytail including how to shape the prims. Remember to experiment and change things about to create a design uniquely your own.
I give the measurements used in this style where applicable so you can follow along easier and get the hang of prim mutilation…I mean building hair
Supplies:
- Posing Stand
- A basic understanding with the Second Life building tools and Edit menu
- Bald Head (use a bald cap if necessary)
- Patience
- Hair Textures and a Transparent Texture
I recommend using light textures when building your hair. Dark colors make it difficult to see how the prims align or if there are any jagged edges where they meet.
1. Stand on the posing stand with your beautiful bald head.
2. Create a Hair Base:
-Rez a Torus. Shape it to your head using the Stretch option in the edit menu or ctrl+shift. (size: .153, .338, .275 Hole: 1, .35, Skew: 0)
- Place the Torus into your head so that it follows the curve of the skull. You may need to rotate it a bit (Ctrl) in order to have it fit properly.
- Holding down Shift, click and drag the main Torus to the side creating another piece of your Base. You may need to change the size of this and subsequent Torii in order to get them to cooperate
- Rotate the 2nd Torus to the side, but watch the edges of the two prims. You will notice that if they are not aligned properly the texture will appear jagged.
- Continue dragging and placing the base prims around the skull until you have covered the head.
- Pay special attention to the front of the head where the Torus meets the forehead. Try to place the prims so that they do not create a jagged line where they meet up, or touch each other.
3. Bangs:
- Rez another Torus.
- We want this prim to be long and gently curved so use the following:
-Size: .097, .255, .190 Hole Size: 1, .25, Taper: -1, -1, Path Cut: 0.00, .700)
- Place the prim just in front of the ear.
- Shift Drag the Torus forward. Lengthen it a bit by using the Stretch option or ctrl+shift. Place it in front of the first piece of the bangs. Continue around the front of the face.
5. Flexi Ponytail:
- Rez a cylinder (fooled ya! Thought I was going to say Torus didn’t you!)
- Go to the Feature tab and mark the Flexi Path box.
- Now everyone has their own preference as to how they want their Flexi hair to behave. You’ll have to play around with this until you find a flow that works for you. This is personal preference as there is no one way to do it.
- The size of the cylinder used here is : Size: .131, .167, .960, Taper: 1.85, -.70)
- Move the ponytail to the small Torus at the back of the head.
-Texturing the Ponytail: in the edit menu choose Select Texture. Click on the TOP flat portion of the ponytail and the BOTTOM (hold Shift to select both). Choose a transparent texture.
- Select the outside of the ponytail. Choose a Fringed texture.
-IMPORTANT: When texturing the ponytail make sure that the fringe does not go all the way to the bottom of the prim. You will get a line along the bottom of the hair and this will be the difference between great hair and not so great hair. Just a few extra minutes of work and your hair will look so much better. /rant.
6. Make the Parent Prim:
- Rez a sphere
- Shrink sphere to about .05, .05, .05. If you go much smaller you will not be able to shrink very much when it is all linked. An object created by linked prims will only shrink until the smallest prim is .010, .010, .010 when you use the white boxes instead of shrinking the prims individually. Just something to keep in mind.
-This prim will make it easier to adjust the hair the first time you wear it so it will be the last prim linked.
- Place the Parent Prim in a place where you will be able to adjust your hair easily when you first wear it. I use to place the parent prim at the base of the hair, but it’s far easier for me to place it on my nose.....a little trick I discovered when I was making prim eyelashes, and I think it’s pretty amusing.
8. Link Prims:
- Drag Select or hold the shift key down and select each hair piece. Select the Parent Sphere Last,
-Link by holding ctrl+L or choosing Link in the Tools menu.
- Give your hair style a cool name
10. Wear:
- Right Click on the hair in your inventory and select Attach > Skull
- Hop back onto the posing stand and Right Click, edit
- Adjust the hair how you want it, remembering that the little sphere will be centered on your nose.
- Once you have the hair the way you like it, select Edit Linked Parts in the Edit menu and move the little sphere into your skull so that it will not be seen while worn.
- Detach it and now the hair will be perfectly adjusted each time you wear it.
4. Ponytail holder:
-Rez another Torus (the Torus is our friend). (Size: .083, .121, .110, Skew: 0, Hole Size: .50)
-This one will have to be rather small.
-Place it at the back of the head where the ponytail will be attached.
7. Stand up
Congratulations! You look fabulous dahlinks!
If you are interested in learning how to make prim hair in Second Life, you can pick up a free Hair Making Kit in world. The kit includes:
- *NBU* Black Board which is a visual guide based on this tutorial
-3 hair textures with matching fringed textures (these are older/sample hair textures and not high quality textures you could use to sell your hair. They are meant simply as a learning tool. I do ask that you do not sell or give away these textures individually.)
-Posing stand, transparent texture, and bald cap
You can find the Hair Making Kit in the classroom area located at Archipelago Wild (242, 136, 71), using the SL search and look for Nuclear Boutique University or Hair Making Kit under Educational in Places, or simply go to Nuclear Boutique and the classroom is on the East side of the island.
