More Multi-Chan Hax

Experimenting with Channels

If you want to experiment with the maps this section is for you. Otherwise you can skip to the next one.

So, to experiment I made a layer Hax Output for the map you see in image #1. I can turn that layer on and off later so I can see which part of what map is going where. Select the layer Hax Output. Start MCH. The Mucho 23 maps will still be loaded. Now check Reverse and Wireframe. ChanA should be on map #1. Click OK. This will draw the composite map into the Hax Output layer. The head, upper-body, and lower-body are all shown.

We have already used the ChanB #2 map. So, I will make a layer named Hax 3 and select it. Opening MCH I uncheck Reverse and keep Wireframe checked. Now I change ChanB to map 3. Click OK and MCH draws the #3 map into the selected layer Hax 3.

Now I make a layer MyTex 3 and select it. I turn layers on and off so I can see just Hax 3 and MyTex 3 and began painting. Once I have the map painted on MyTex 3, I start MCH, select Reverse and uncheck Wireframe. ChanA should still be on #1. Click OK. This transforms the MyTx 3 layer to fit the template/map #1. Now I turn the Hax Output layer back on so I can see where the map placed the color.

This just shows me which parts of which MCH maps fit where on the SL maps. You can repeat this process for any of the maps.

Notice that parts of the MCH maps appear in multiple basic SL maps. Part of an MCH map may be part of the upper-body and lower-body templates/maps. This is great for matching clothes patterns across the 3 basic SL templates/maps, something that is difficult using just the Chip and Robin templates.

Undoing the Process

After converting from ChanB mapping to ChanA mapping the process can be undone using either Ctrl-Z or use PS Snapshots to save and later recover a work state.

Saving Work for Tweaking

Since we can’t go back and forth through MCH without losing image quality, we need to save the layer we are designing on before having MCH change it. This gets around some of the problems of undo and PS Snapshots. Just duplicate the layer and select the copied layer then start the MCH filter.

Making Something Usable

The map shown in Image 2 (Page 1) is not usable as shown with SL. One would have to slice it into 4 images before uploading them to SL. You have an empty, head, upper-body, and lower-body maps all rolled into one image/map. You would need to slice this into quarters and upload then separately. If your slice is off by even one pixel, your design can mess up.

Take a look at ChanA maps 21 = Image 3 (Page 2), 22 = not shown, and 23 = Image 4 (Page 2). Use the appropriate one of these to create the image for SL and avoid having to slice things.

Making a Top

I started out to make a top. The map for ChanA is 22 and I tried map 4 for the ChanB. That lets me make most of a sleeveless top.

I make a Hax 4 and MyTex 4 layers and select Hax 4. With Reverse unchecked and Wireless checked, select ChanB map #4. Click ok. Map #4 is drawn into layer Hax 4. Select MyTex 4 and make whatever texture you want. I used a lace pattern so I could see seams and distortions.

Notice the #4 map template does not extend to the edges of the image area as it did for the socks. That means the map is not going to handle making all your edges and patterns fit perfectly with a seamless texture.

The #4 map has a slight glitch under the left arm. See Images 6 and 7 the blue arrow. The front and back do not align vertically as well as they could. One just has to design around the problem. It just isn’t possible to have MCH perfectly hide the right side seam using map #4.

If you look at image #5 you will see a little black thing in the upper-left image toward the lower-right. I have a pink arrow pointing to it.  If you paint in that portion of the map, you will get sleeves and other parts of the upper torso in the transform. So, avoid letting image creep into that part of the map. If you do, you can still clean up the result. So, it’s not a big deal. It is faster to erase the color and texture from that little spot before making the transform.

When you are done painting your texture I think it needs to be in one layer. I exclude my highlights and shadows for now. So, make whatever copies you want and then flatten the texture to one layer. Make a copy of the flattened layer, so we can play. Let’s name it Work1. Select it. Open MCH, check Reverse and uncheck Wireframe. Click OK and the layer is transformed. This is now the image we would take to SL, if we were finished designing. You can upload a copy for free to the Preview Grid, ADITI, to see how it looks. But, this is NOT yet a complete top.

Before uploading, you may want to turn on the layer that shows the Chip Midnight template. If you do, you will see it white showing around the edges. This is NOT an MCH problem. It is an SL render problem that Chip and others allow for in their templates. So we will eventually need to add the bleed, but later.