SL Cert - Basic Textures

SL Certification

Process Guides:

• SL Certification Process
• Roles Guide
• Certification Guide
• SL KB Style Guide
• Skills List Template
• Training & Certification

Companies:

• Schools
• Certifiers (Candidates)

Skills Lists:

• Land Management:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Textures:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Terraforming:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Scripting:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Event Hosting:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Machinima:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Building:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Sculpty:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Marketing:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced
• Tutoring:
  Basic, Intermediate, Advanced

Other Information:

• SL Certification Participants

• Meeting Minutes

SLCertification is a community project guided by Linden Lab (see FAQ). This project page and its contents are not endorsed, managed or supervised by Linden Lab. Linden Lab may link to this resource in the future solely as an informational service to the Second Life community.

Overview

This is the criteria required for a person to become certified on texturing for Second Life.

Audience

Anyone who intends to demonstrate that they have texturing skills. This would be very useful for Second Life builder for example and texture artists.

Pre-requisites

Basic understanding of the Second Life user interface, basic skills in a graphic program outside of Second Life, and some money in the Second Life account to upload textures.

Testing Criteria

Ability to apply an image to an object, avatar body part, clothes or sculpt map in order to texture or shape it, or to create particles. Creation of textures that are ideal for use within Second Life to create certain visual effects.

The texturing skill set can be divided into the following sub-categories:

• Creation of textures outside of Second Life

• Valid texture upload formats and recommended sizes for best rendering quality

• Use of textures in Second Life

• Permissions and copyrights

All skills should be demonstrated as a combination of theoretical (multiple-choice) test and practical application in-world.

Basic Level

Basic level certification candidates should demonstrate an understanding of the use of Textures in Second Life. This includes the following topics:

Texture creation outside of Second Life

Surface texture creation

The “skin” of objects, maps, avatar body parts, clothes and particles. The difference between opaque and transparent (alpha) textures, how to avoid the "white halo."

Sculpt maps

What are they, what are their specialities, how are they made. Theoretical test only on this level.

RAW files

What are they, what are they used for, how are they made. Theoretical test only.

Texturing Inside Second Life

An understanding of the several categories and uses of textures in Second Life should be demonstrated.

Clothes texture, body texture, eye texture, skin texture

Texturing a body part or clothes of an avatar in the appearance editor.

Sculpt map

Applying a sculpt map on an object’s sculpt map tab to shape the object

RAW file

Knowing what this is and how they are used in Second Life. Theoretical test only.

Particle Texture

Using the textures to create particles with a particle script.

Photos/Snapshots

What are their specialities and how they differ from texture uploads, understanding of the options in the snapshot window, knowing how to do a screen print and how it differs from a Second Life snapshot. This should definately be a practical test.

Upload formats and sizes

Upload formats as to date

Jpg, png, tga, and bmp. Which formats are good for which results, quality, transparency, loading times etc.

Upload sizes in pixel

Knowing the basics, which sizes work well for which purposes and which totally not, size minimum and maximum etc.

Use of the texturing options in the edit dialog

• "Select texture,"
• "Edit linked parts," and
• "Stretch texture"
  • On the basic level, at least the repeats, rotation and offset settings as well as the options for transparency, full bright, glow, and flipping should be well known, and understanding of them should be demonstrated on the object.
  • Applying textures and colors - Texturing whole objects or particular prims or faces of prims, setting repeats, rotation, offset, coloring with the color picker, using the eye-dropper tool, finding RGB values should definately be demonstrated practically.
  • Understanding of the "Select Texture", "Edit linked parts" and "Stretch Textures" checkboxes should be demonstrated practically.

Required permissions on objects

Changing textures, required texture permissions, and the change of object permissions with texture/sculpt map permissions should be well understood. A texture artist should know already on the basic level, that full permission is a MUST for commercially used surface textures and why.

A basic understanding of copyrights

Copyrights on 100% self-made textures, copyrights on thirdparty textures, license agreements, and why altering a thirdparty texture does not circumvent copyrights. Theoretical test only.