Custom Texture Created 13 years ago2010-07-21 00:30:14 UTC by satchmo

I know this has to be pretty simple, but I have not done it before.

How do I convert a JPG image into texture so I can include it in a map?

Thanks in advance.

1. get vtfedit.
2. resise your native texture. (i always make them square but i don't think you have to?)
3.Check out this thread by habboi.

You can use VTFEdit, which is pretty handy, but I'm an old skooler, and use the command line programs manually. There are tons of guides on the internet, including the VDC, detailing the process of creating custom materials. Check them out some time; there are some pretty awesome things you can do with all the sexy shaders and effects Source has to offer.

All you need to keep in mind for this task is that for a texture to compile successfully, it needs to be a .TGA image whose dimensions are some power of two. That doesn't mean the texture needs to be square; you can have a texture that's 512 x 512, 512 x 1024, or even 2048 x 2, if you want. When saving the .TGA in, for example, Photoshop, an 8 bits/pixel image is gray-scale, a 24 bits/pixel image is in color, and a 32 bits/pixel image is in color and includes the alpha channel. For your purposes, the 24 bits/pixel variant is what you'd want to pick.

If you have trouble, let us know!

I use a photoshop plugin for this, but I really wanted to use VTFedit too. It doesn't work for me... Or I don't know how it works! All I can do is open vmt and vtf files with it, and edit vmt files. It doesn't let me import TGAs...

Thanks. It worked beautifully.

VTFEdit is extremely easy to use. I don't even have to convert the image to a TGA file or resize it. I can throw it any JPG or BMP with any dimension, and it will automatically resize it and convert it into a VTF. It even generates the VMT automatically.

It couldn't be simpler.

Wow, that is pretty simple.

For some reason, I just can't bring myself to use VTFEdit on any regular basis. I guess I just like seeing what's going on with all the files I'm compiling. I should probably get over that and avoid future headaches.

Glad to know things worked out, in any case. It's really handy to familiarize yourself with how to work custom materials into Source. New textures can bring some real spice to an old game.