3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [358]
1. Open the Covered wagon.max file from the Chap 33 directory on the CD.
This file includes a covered wagon model. The Chap 33 directory also includes a 256 × 256 image, created in Photoshop, of the paint that you want to apply to its side. The file is saved as Oregon or bust.tif. (Note that the spelling in the image is rough.)
2. With the covered section selected, choose Modifiers⇒UV Coordinates⇒Unwrap UVW. In the Parameters rollout, click the Edit button.
The Edit UVWs interface opens. In the Modifier Stack, select the Polygon subobject mode.
3. In the Edit UVWs interface, choose Mapping⇒Normal Mapping. In the Normal Mapping dialog box, select the Left/Right Mapping option from the drop-down list and click OK.
The left and right views of the wagon's top are displayed in the Edit UVWs interface.
4. From the drop-down list at the top of the interface, select the Pick Texture option. The Material/Map Browser opens. Double-click on the Bitmap option, and select the Oregon or bust.tif image from the Chap 33 directory on the CD.
The texture appears in the window.
5. Drag the mouse over all the faces for the lower half of the wagon's cover, and select the Tools⇒Flip Horizontal menu command to flip the UVs so they match the top unselected UVs. Then drag and place the selected UVs on top of the unselected ones.
By matching these two UV sections together, you can apply the same texture to both sides of the covering.
6. Select all the UV faces, and with the Move tool, drag them to the center of the Edit UVWs window. Click and hold over the Scale tool, and select the Vertical Scale tool. Then drag in the window to vertically scale the vertices until they fit over the texture. Then horizontally scale the vertices slightly until the background texture is positioned within the wagon's top. When you're finished, click the X button in the upper-right corner to close the Edit UVW window.
Figure 33.14 shows the covered wagon with the mapped bitmap.
FIGURE 33.14
The Edit UVWs interface lets you transform the mapping coordinates by moving vertices.
7. Open the Compact Material Editor. Click on the mapping button next to the Diffuse color, and double-click on the Bitmap type in the Material/Map Browser. Then select the Oregon or bust.tif file from the Chap 33 directory on the CD. Apply this material to the covered wagon top. Click the Show Map in Viewport button (the small checkerboard cube icon) to see the map on the covered wagon.
Figure 33.15 shows the results of the new mapping coordinates.
FIGURE 33.15
The position of the covered wagon's texture map has been set using the Unwrap UVW modifier.
Rendering UV templates
After all the UV coordinates are mapped onto a model, you can paint the desired textures in an external paint program like Photoshop and load the texture back into the Edit UVWs window, where they can be aligned to the correct UVs. Using the Tools⇒Render UVs menu command, you can create a template that can be saved and loaded into Photoshop, showing you exactly where the UV boundaries are.
The Tools⇒Render UVW Template menu command opens the Render UVs dialog box, shown in Figure 33.16. This dialog box lets you set the template's dimensions, set the template's Fill and Edges colors, and show overlaps and seams. The Fill mode can be set to None, Solid, Normals, and Shaded, providing more information about the object.
Clicking the Render UV Template button renders the template into the Render Frame Buffer window where it can be saved to the needed image format. Then within Photoshop, you can make the template layer a background layer that you can turn on and off to show the lines that you need to stay within when creating a texture.
FIGURE 33.16
The Render UVs dialog box lets you render and save a template for painting textures.
Mapping multiple objects
If your model is divided into several different pieces, you're in luck because Max allows you to apply the Unwrap UVW modifier to several pieces at once. When loaded into the Edit UVW window, the wireframe