Texturing
3) You Said Textures?

1. Simple Textures
1.1 How?

A texture, is a material applied to a form(model). Click the (materials) tab to the right, then (new), and then the (< none >) button which is below "specular".

After clicking the < none > button, a Browse Window will come up. If nothing happens, then you most likley forgot to click the "New" button before clicking < none >. Select the texture you(or someone else) made for your model, then click OK.

Select the parts you want to be textured, then click the (assign) button in the bottom right-hand side of the (materials) panel.

1.2 Which?

Prepare a small stock of fundamental textures: clouds, granulated, striated vertical, striated horizontal,metal, wood... Place your textures into a folder under the Milkshape main folder, so you won't have to cludder up the Milkshape main folder. You don't have to do this, but placing them in a new folder under the Milkshape folder is just faster and easier to access. Create your textures in black and white, you will be able to color them with the "Ambient" and "Diffuse" Controls later.

These fundamental textures can be totaly different once applied to your model, but its just rough texturing job anyways so your model doesn't look too bland.

Remember when creating textures for Milkshape, it doesn't perfectly set it on your model, but it adjusts your texture to fit on your model.

2. Transparent Textures

You've most likley noticed that there are two < none > buttons right? Well, Milkshape allows you to Superimpose two images ontop of each other(By loading two textures using both of the < none > buttons).
"Why would I want to do that?" you ask? Well, the product created by the two textures will become translucent based on the amount of the color black in each image.
Small example:
For the pane of glass in the picture above, use the same clouded image(Just open up a paint program, create and image with a grey background, and make random dots of dark grey. Try experimenting with different brush sizes, with different hardness, ect..) twice(one for one of the < none > buttons, the other for the last < none > button). If you don't like that tinted look of the windows, then just replace one of the textures with a completley white one.

My advice is to exploit the color("ambient" and "diffuse"), and especially the light intensity commands "specular" and "emissive", which will give your models a little better look and feel, with very little effort.