Basic UV Mapping and
Texturing
IT0077 – 3D Design 2: Module 2
Subtopic 1
Texture Mapping
The use of two-dimensional images to add color and detail to
three-dimensional objects has been a big part of computer
modeling and animation from the very start. This technique is
known as texture mapping, and it is practically an art form all
its own.
UV texture mapping is a necessary part of completing a model.
UVs provide space for painted images to be placed on your
model.
In Maya, using UVs goes beyond texture mapping. Having good
UVs also provides you with a surface on which to paint skin
weight maps, fur attributes, and simulation parameters. UV
mapping has been simplified in Maya to a couple of tools, and it
can be done very rapidly
A good UV layout will also minimize stretching, warping, and the
appearance of seams between the parts of the UV map. UV
layout is a term that refers to the 2D configuration of the UVs on a
surface
The u- and v-coordinates specify the location of that dot on the
surface of the box. If you unfold the box and then place a grid
over the flattened box, you can plot the position of the dot using
the grid.
U-coordinates are plotted along the horizontal axis
V-coordinates are plotted along the vertical axis.
The u- and v-coordinates specify the location of that dot on the
surface of the box. If you unfold the box and then place a grid
over the flattened box, you can plot the position of the dot using
the grid.
U-coordinates are plotted along the horizontal axis
V-coordinates are plotted along the vertical axis.
UV Mapping
Planar mapping projects UVs onto a mesh
through a plane. This projection is best for
objects that are relatively flat, or at least are
completely visible from one camera angle.
The Best Plane Texturing Tool assigns UVs to
the faces you select based on a plane
computed from vertices you specify.
You can select the faces you want to map
before you choose the Best Plane Texturing
tool, or you can choose the tool and then click
each face you want to map.
To map based on the best fit plane of the selection
1.Select the faces you want to map UVs onto.
2.Select UV > Best Plane Texturing Tool.
3.You click faces to add them to the selection.
4.Select one or more faces on which you want to map
the texture. You cannot marquee-select the faces—
you must select the faces one by one, or select the
faces before using the operation.
(CONT..)
5.Press Enter.
6.Select one or more vertices (right-click
on the mesh and choose Vertex to
switch to selecting vertices).
7.Press Enter.
8.Use the UV Editor to view and edit the
resulting UVs.
To project from a plane defined by the view.
1.Select the faces you want to project UVs
onto.
2.Tumble the perspective view, or track an
orthographic view to look at the faces.
3.Select UV > Camera-Based.
To map based on a planar projection.
1.Select the faces you want to project UVs onto.
2.Select UV > Planar > The Planar Mapping Options window
appears.
3.Set the following options as required:
• Click Best Plane to position the manipulator based on the faces you selected.
• Click Bounding Box to position the manipulator based on the bounding box of the mesh.
4.Click Project.
5.Use the projection manipulator to control how the plane distributes
UVs.
6.Use the UV Editor to view and edit the resulting UVs.
Cylindrical mapping creates UVs for an object based on a
cylindrical projection shape that gets wrapped around the mesh.
This projection is best for shapes which can be completely
enclosed and visible within a cylinder, without projecting or hollow
parts.
1.Select the faces you want to project UVs
onto.
2.Select UV > Cylindrical Mapping.
3.Use the manipulator to change the position
and size of the projection shape.
4.Use the UV Editor to view and edit the
resulting UVs.
Spherical mapping create UVs using a
projection that is based on a spherical shape
wrapped around the mesh. This projection is
best for shapes which can be completely
enclosed and visible within a sphere, without
projecting or hollow parts.
To create UVs using a spherical mapping technique
1.Select the faces you want to project UVs onto.
2.Select UV > Spherical Mapping.
3.Use the manipulator to change the position and size
of the projection shape.
4.Use the UV Editor to view and edit the resulting UVs
You can display the image associated with a texture in the UV
Editor. The image appears behind the UVs so you can rearrange
the UVs in relation to the image.
This icon is always set as ON by default
When Shade UVs is turned on any selected UV shells appear
shaded in a semitransparent way. Areas where shading appears
more opaque indicate the regions of overlap. Overlapping UVs are
often undesirable because any associated texture maps will also
overlap on the related surface meshes
When Shade UVs is turned on any selected
UV shells appear shaded in a
semitransparent way. Areas where shading
appears more opaque indicate the regions of
overlap. Overlapping UVs are often
undesirable because any associated texture
maps will also overlap on the related surface
meshes
To display overlapping UVs in the UV Editor
1.In the UV Editor, select any UVs or UV shells whose display
you want to appear as shaded.
2.Do one of the following:
•In the UV Editor menu, select Image > Shade UVs > .
The UV Map Shading Options window appears to let you modify the default settings for
color and opacity.
• Click the Shade UVs icon ( )located on the toolbar of the UV Editor.
UV Sets
You can create multiple arrangements of UV
texture coordinates for a surface mesh using
UV sets. UV sets are useful when an object
requires multiple UV layouts for different
textures (known as multi-texturing).
If you are planning to pre-light the surfaces in
your scene (also referred to as light baking),
you’ll want to use UV sets to store the
shading and lighting color information from
the rendered appearance of a polygon mesh
directly on the color per vertex information for
the mesh.
The main steps to set up multi-texturing are:
1.Assign multiple textures to an object’s material.
2. These textures can be assigned to different material attributes,
such as Color and Incandescence, or assigned to a single attribute
using a Layered Texture node.
3. Create UV sets with different layouts.
4. Link each UV set to a given texture using the Relationship Editor.
Examples
The following examples show UV sets used to texture a brick wall.
In both examples, the UV sets are:
unitizedUVs—for the repeating brick texture.
planarUVs—for the non-repeating texture.
In this example, the
UV sets are
connected to
textures on different
attributes of the
material—Color and
Transparency.
The quickest way to create UV sets is while you map UVs. When you map UVs, open the
options window, turn on Create New UV Set, and type a name in the UV Set Name box. For
example, if you create two planar mappings, one from the top and one from the side, type a
new UV set name each time you map.
Alternatively, you can start with an empty UV set and then create UVs.
To create an empty UV set
1.Select the object, then select UV > Create Empty UV Set > .
2.In the Create UV Set name box, type the name of the empty set and click Create.
3.Select the new UV set (see Switch between UV sets).
4.Create UVs with one of the mapping operations or by copying.
Subtopic 2
PSD Network
To open the Create PSD Network Options, select Edit >
Create PSD Network in the Hypershade window or
Texturing > Create PSD Network in the Rendering menu set.
Lambert Blinn Phong Phong E
The following table shows the Color yes yes yes yes
default available channels that Transparency yes yes yes yes
correspond to the layer sets that are Ambient Color yes yes yes yes
created when you create the PSD Incandescence yes yes yes yes
file. Bump Map (Normal Camera) yes yes yes yes
Displacement yes yes yes yes
Eccentricity yes
Specular Roll Off yes
Roughness yes
Highlight size yes
Whiteness yes
Cosine Power yes
Your psd network will be in the “sourceimages” of your
project folder.
Select the attributes you want to add textures by
selecting the attributes under the Attribute Selection and
when you are done, click the Greater Than symbol (>).
When you are done with your settings, click Create and
Maya will automatically create a PSD File and will
connect your selected attributes to your Object’s
shader/material.
When you are working inside the
PSD file of your Object or Texture file.
You need to work inside the Group
layers for them to take effect in your
3D Object.
END OF MODULE
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