This is an old revision of the document!
Tutorial: Modifying a 3D Model's Texture; Step 4.
Edit the Texture, While Previewing In Your Favorite 3D Modelling Software
In this step I will demonstrate editing the texture while previewing it on the 3D model, using the Blender 3D Modelling Software. This is free software and thus accessible to anyone.
You can use any 3D modelling program for this step. If you choose to use a different application, go ahead and do your edits and skip to the next step.
Now, download and install Blender.
Assuming you let Blender install at the default location, the blender addons folder is located at:
C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender X.XX\X.XX\scripts\addons,
where “X.XX” is whatever version of Blender you downloaded. My Blender version is 2.83, so my path looks like:
C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 2.83\2.83\scripts\addons.
Download the io_import_scene_unreal_psa_psk_280.py file (Right click → Save as…), then copy/paste that “io_import_scene_unreal_psa_psk_280.py” file into the C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender X.XX\X.XX\scripts\addons folder.
Open Blender. On the menu bar, select “Edit → Preferences”.
On the left, click “Add-ons”.
In the search bar on the top right, type “psk”. You should see an option that says Import-Export: Import Unreal Skeleton Mesh (.psk)/Animation Set (.psa) (280). If you don't see this, you likely put the “io_import_scene_unreal_psa_psk_280.py” file in the wrong place. Make sure the checkbox next to it is checked to enable the addon. Then you can close this window.
Now let's clear out the scene. Move your mouse over the cube in the center of the screen. Hit “A” on your keyboard, then hit “X”. Then click “Delete” with your left mouse button. This will remove all the objects added by default to the scene.
Now if you select “File → Import” on the menu bar, you should see an option listed “Skeleton Mesh (.psk)”. If you don't see this, you may have to restart Blender. Click on it.
Make sure “Don't invert root bone” is checked and “Scale down” is unchecked. Locate the .psk file that you exported in the last step. Select it and click “Import PSK”.
Now the head should be visible on screen.
Here are a couple of keyboard shortcuts that will make navigating Blender easier. Your mouse must be placed on the 3D viewport (not hovering over one of the menus) for these shortcuts to work.
- Scroll Middle Mouse Wheel Up/Down - Zoom in and out.
- Press And Hold Middle Mouse Button, Move Mouse - Rotate the view around the object.
- Press and Hold Shift + Middle Mouse Button, Move Mouse - Pan the view left/right/up/down.
- Left Click - Select an object.
Test all of these out and make sure you're used to using them before you continue, as navigation in the viewport will be critical.
Now Left Click on the head to select it. You will see an orange outline surround it. Click on the “Material Properties” tab, which is a tiny red circle icon with a checkerboard texture. Click on “M_Face01” in the list of materials. Then click on the “Use Nodes” button.
At the very top of the screen there are a bunch of tabs that represent pre-defined workspaces (Layout, Modeling, Sculpting, etc.). Click on the “Shading” tab.
At the bottom of the “Shading” workspace is a section called the “Shader Editor” it has a couple of boxes in it labeled “PrincipledBSDF” and “MaterialOutput”. These are called nodes. Resize this section to be larger if it's too small on your screen.
Similar mouse controls allow you to move around in this “Shader Editor” view:
- Scroll Middle Mouse Wheel Up/Down - Zoom in and out.
- Press And Hold Middle Mouse Button, Move Mouse - Pan the view left/right/up/down.
With your mouse moved inside of this “Shader Editor” view, press and hold Shift on your keyboard, then press A. That's Shift + A. This will bring up a menu that adds nodes. Choose “Texture → Image Texture”.
The Image Texture node will be attached to your mouse until you Left Click to place it. Place it to the left of the Principled BSDF node. Then click on the “Open” button inside of the Image Texture node.
Navigate to the path that contains Miriam's face texture .tga file. Select it and click “Open Image”.
