OMW's
Ebony Armor and Weapons Retexture Pack v2.0

There are now 4 versions of my ebony retexture. Original, Less Oil, Extra Greasy, and Extra Dark.

I like all of them better than vanilla and all the other current nexus options. Hopefully most people will find one of the versions appeal to them.

* Also fixed sheen level on shield to better match weapons set.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All ebony weapons and armor have been retextured to be darker than vanilla, with less noticeable golden trim, and an oily sheen (variable option)

* Darker texture, but NOT "pitch black" like an existing texture on nexus
* Slightly less gold trim than vanilla, but MUCH MUCH LESS golden trim than "golden ebony" texture available on nexus.

I hope a few of you find this useful and please endorse it if you do.

NEW VERSIONS IMG: http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/7845-1-1328517868.jpg

IMG: http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/7845-1-1328477741.jpg
IMG: http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/7845-1-1328478350.jpg
IMG: http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/7845-1-1328504280.jpg
IMG: http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/7845-2-1328504281.jpg

FILE: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=7845


This is my first Skyrim release and first since Morrowind, so feel free to give me advice, critiques, and requests!

THANKS!

Nice, it actually looks like ebony.

Thanks. I was going for a more organic, subtle retexture than some of the other ebony versions. Theres been quite a few downloads so far but not very many comments and no endorsemants.

I basically designed what appealed to me, but I hope some other people like it as well.

Looks much better. I'll DL.

It's a huge improvement over vanilla imho. Nice work

^ thanks ^

I got a little constructive criticism on nexus about the amout of oil sheen on the armor, so I think now I'm going to make two more sets - one with almost no sheen and a 3rd with even more, this version being the middle ground.

It looks like obsidian, with the sheen and all. I think that's really what they're going for in vanilla anyway, what with "mining" it and all (ebony is a wood, not a mineral).

Neat, this gives the ebony a very distinct look. I like it.

That's funny. I never knew what ebony really was. But who would want armor made of wood? I'm thinking it might not fo well against fire breathing dragons. lol

Anyway, are you saying that you think bethesda made ebony but was thinking "obsidian" in their mind when they did?" (or something like that) or are you saying Skyrim ebony looked different from the old ebony armors precisely because they wanted to make it look more like wood?

I would rename it Obsidian armor, but I think that would just confuse people and lead to less exposure and downloads.

imo vanilla ebony looked almost exactly like plate steel...just barely darker. I really wanted to set it off and make it look like a different material.

I think it's that they didn't put a lot of effort into the lore when making Arena. It wasn't even originally imagined as an RPG and certainly no one thought it would spawn anything like what the TES franchise has become. So they're stuck with some things like armors made of ebony and dwarves that are really elves and even the Elder Scrolls themselves, where no one really knew what the hell they were supposed to be until Oblivion. I think it's charming but there is weirdness. I guess, on Nirn, ebony is a mineral That probably means obsidian is also a wood.

That's funny.


bump for 3 new variations and v2.0 release.

Ebony mail is also included now, but may need to be tweeked again because the oil sheen may be too high for some tastes in all 4 versions.

Shiny.

yeah i like that nice job.
is the oil in the color or specular? i haven't done anything since oblivion and am wondering if the engine takes color in the spec now.
its in the color isn't it?

The sheen is in the color. I achieved it by tweaking the saturation and vibrance in PS. Then I blocked the hues I didn't want to show up, just leaving the green/blue/purples. Then applied a curve to darken everything but those highlights and upped the contrast a little. Finally darkening the whole texture so that it really requires the sun shining to bring out those colors. You can't really see it in those screen caps (on purpose) but if the character is back-lit or in the shadows the armor is almost completely black. Standing in bright front-lit sunlight the "oil" on some of the versions really comes alive.


After the CK, I think it would be cool to have game play degrade the sheen of the armor....after so much dust and dirt gets on the armor....then you have to reshine it to your preference. I'm not sure what it would take to do that, but that is an idea I'll be working on.

This is a really cool idea. You could even add specks of mud to the boots and greaves. I know draugr can change textures (to being burnt, lol), perhaps you could take a look at how that happens in the Creation Kit.

I figured out what I like about your retex. It actually looks like a material, that I could imagine feeling and smelling in real life. A lot of textures just end up looking like a pattern with bump maps on.

I won't nitpick.

Thanks. I can't imagine getting a better compliment.