Fleistad’s Black Mesa texturing devblog #1

Black Mesa Archive Developer Logs
#1

Hello everyone! My name is Bård, and I am one of the texture artists on the team.
This will be my first ever devblog in my 9 year long involvement with Black Mesa. About darn time id say hello to you all!

I thought it might be interesting for the public to get a peek behind the curtain and see what goes into making a prop texture, so today I will be showing you a timelapse of the process from start to finish.
The model I will be texturing today is a gas tank container rack, modelled by Björn Claesson. Click the image below to view the video.

I hope you enjoy this look behind the scenes, and hopefully I will be able to bring you more of these videos in the future.

#2

O_O
great video, thanks Fleistad! That is incredibly skilled.
Also, I love how you developers are sharing your work with the community. Not only does it keep us busy until the next release, but I think there’s a lot to learn from as well.

What Programms do you use in this video? I was able to make out PS and AI. I really like working with Illustrator, though I am not a texturing artist (I study landscape architecture), but I suck at Photoshop, probably becaus I am partly colorblind :wink:

Loking forward for other videos and insights!

#3

Thank you for the kind words. In this video I was working primarily in Photoshop CC.
All model related stuff like baking out the ambient occlusion maps were done in Blender. The application you can see in the first part of the Photoshop section of the video, when I was laying down the base textures is the legacy version of Quixel’s dDo.
The Northern logo was done in Photoshop as well, using the vector tools available (pen tool, paths and shapes, etc)
If I ever need to do more intricate vector work, I use a free application called InkScape, which is actually what I used when making a chunk of the achievement icons in the game.

#4

Thanks for reaching out, Bård. Really enjoyed it (and want MORE).

#5

All this skill makes me want to retreat into a corner and cry about how much I suck at making video games by comparison. And drawing. Hell, I’m lucky if I can make a stick figure look good.

Very informative video! Even if I didn’t quite know what was going on half the time.

#6

Very well done! As someone who does texture work as well I can tell you that my abilities pale in comparison :stuck_out_tongue:

I only have one small thing to point out though, Black Mesa takes place in the US and we never use the term “petrol” here. Instead we always use the term Gasoline or Gas.

Though I guess it could be argued the tanks were shipped from Europe.

#7

I think it’s intended to be the same Northern Petrol brand as seen plastered all over HL2 and the Episodes - so likely imported from Europe somewhere.

This video was amazing and frankly I want more. I think just observing your techniques in a timelapse once has actually taught me more about creating good textures.

Also you mentioning inkscape for vector work. :smiley:

#8

Very cool video. I just know that I can’t do that sort of stuff because I am not born with those genes of artistry.

nice work indeed.

#9

Really cool stuff right there. Can’t wait for more :slight_smile:

#10

Thanks all. In regards to the Petrol vs Gasoline subject which have been pointed out both here and on facebook, it is correct that its a small tip of the hat to the fictional oil company which already exists in the Half-Life universe.

For those wondering, I forgot to mention that the time seen passing in the video is approximately 5 hours and 45 minutes.

#11

Ah, this reminds me of that one thing I don’t have. I forget what it is exactly, though.

EDIT: Oh yeah, it’s “Skill.”

Anyway, this is actually really great, seeing it shape up. You basically hand-paint every tiny detail yourself? I think I’m seeing some occasional lifting photos to use as bases, but everything else… whoa.

#12

This is correct. I find that when it comes to getting complete control of little details such as worn edges and edge rust, nothing beats a small brush and a drawing tablet. There is usually more hand painting involved in hard surface texturing than most people realize.
For larger surfaces, I will sometimes use blended photo-sources, such as the ones used on the actual gas tank in this video.

#13

Black Mesa outsources to foreign companies.

#14

That is really cool. You did a great job texturing the gas tank container rack and Björn Claesson did a great job modelling it.

Edit: Fixed the error Crypt pointed out to me.

#15

It could be understandable, I suppose. But it would be far more expensive to import gasoline rather than use one of countless providers of gasoline and natural gas from within the country.

In any case it’s a minor detail, and a nice nod to Half-Life 2.

#16

He did the model, Fleistad did the texture. :retard:

#17

uh I live in kansas and know quite a few people who use the word petrol for gas, It’s a dialect thing, which means they might not use it where you live but they sure as hell use it in other parts of the usa.

#18

Huh, I never knew. Well in that case, all points withdrawn :stuck_out_tongue:

#19

Then they both did a great job. Sorry for my error earlier, Fleistad.

#20

Kripes! A day after watching the video and my head is still spinning :sick:

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.