A Simple Neon Sign Tutorial [TS4]
By Networksims [Twitter / YT / TSR]
1. Open S4S. UnderĀ āObjectā, selectĀ āCreate 3D Meshā then clickĀ āObjectā
2. Search forĀ āplankā and select the wall light.
3. Under the meshes tab, click export mesh (make sure LOD 0 is selected in the dropdown).
4. Open the exported file in blender.
5. SelectĀ ās4studio_mesh_1ā³ from the top right menu. Then press TAB to go into edit mode, and then press A to select it all.
6. Press X and selectĀ āVerticesā in the menu that appears to delete the object. Do not delete the object from the top right menu.
7. Now press TAB again to go into object mode, and add a text object using the bottom left menu.
8. This will add a generic text object to the mesh. Press TAB again to edit it and enter whatever text youād like.
9. Now press TAB again and select the font menu from the top right menu.
10. Find these options and press the folder icon next toĀ āRegularā.
11. Navigate to your font folder and select the font youād like to use. (Windows users: openĀ āFont Settingsā from your settings and you can preview all your fonts).
12. Now your text should be in your selected font.
13. Press ALT C and selectĀ āMesh from Curveā
14. Press TAB then CTRL + N, and tick theĀ āInsideā box that should appear in the bottom left.
15. Press TAB again and select the modifiers menu from the bottom right. Then clickĀ āAdd Modifierā and findĀ āDecimateā. Make sure youāre in object mode, not edit mode.
16. Select theĀ āPlanarā option and increase the angle limit as much as you can before the text becomes too distorted. 15o is generally your best bet.
17. Iām now adding a border around my text. If you donāt want to do this skip to step 20. In edit mode, add aĀ āPlaneā to your mesh. Drag the edges in till it fits around your text and raise it so it lays flat with the text.
18. Press I and drag your mouse towards the centre of the mesh until you get the desired border width.
19. With face select on, select the centre face, press X and selectĀ āFacesā.
20. With all the mesh selected, press R and click wherever. In the bottom left menu, enter 90o as the angle and tick the Y and Z boxes underĀ āConstraint Axisā. Drag it around until itās fairly centred and lines up with the shadow box.
21. In edit mode, press E and drag forward until the desired depth.
22. In the top right menu, click onĀ āTextā and shift-click onĀ ās4studio_mesh_1ā³, then press CTRL + J.
23. SelectĀ ās4studio_mesh_0ā³ in the top right corner, and, in edit mode, press S and scale it down to 0.
24. In edit mode, make sure all your sign is selected, then clickĀ āImageā >Ā āNew Imageā in the far left corner. Click OK. You should get a weird set of lines and the texture on your mesh should look terrible. This is normal.
*This is UV-mapping. Normally faces are selected one-by-one to create a nice clean texture map which can then be used to create beautiful textures. However since our sign will be flat white with no shading, it doesnāt really matter.
25. Press SHIFT + CTRL + S to save your file.
26. In the top left, deleteĀ ās4studio_mesh_0ā³. Then select ās4studio_mesh_1ā³, open theĀ āSceneā menu and changeĀ āCutā underĀ āS4Studio CAS Toolsā to 0. Repeat step 25 but do not override your other mesh.
27. Open S4S again. Under the meshes tab, for each of the non-shadow LODs, import your first mesh. For the shadow LODs, import your second. You may need to make different LODs depending on your meshās complexity.
28. In an image editor, make a 64x64px white png.
29. In theĀ āTexturesā tab in S4S, import your white square as the texture.
30. And weāre done! Save in S4S, put the package into your mods folder and enjoy your new light :)