First Low Poly...Request Texturing...Help.

[lockdown2000]

So, this is my first LOW POLY model, I know it ain't much but heh, you have to start somewhere.

I realize there are some triangles, but I will work those out a little later.

I need help with the Texturing. I read the whole UVW maping tutorial on 3dtotal, and I added the UVW Unwrap without the UVW mapping and split it apart and then packed the UV's. And then I texported it. So the head is in one place and then body is in another place on the one LARGE image. I then colored it sorta. and when I went to add the textures on all they do is is "wrap" the model. It streches it out and doesnt apply the correct texture to the correct place, so the head is mapped onto the torso etc etc, I tried rotating it, but it doesnt help. I dont know what i am doing wrong.
Can you please tell me, in STEPS, how to do it. Like how should my modifier stack look etc etc.

Thanks a bunch.

[lockdown2000]

Forgot the model, whoops;

[shift]

Right ok.

1. UVW Map everything - first map every poly to 99 or some number u won't use.
2. Work your way from the soles of the feet up - most everything will need to be planar mapped, but split up areas like the front and back of the legs.
3. You can collapse each uv map after mapping.
3. Once you've done that use texporter, selecting the right id. there are a few tick boxes you need to check, just fiddle till you get the right result.
4. Save each image produced by texporter
5. Open up photoshop (or otherwise) and put all the texported images into one image, trying to use up as much space as possible on the texture sheet.
6. Save the file, and you've got the base texture.
7. Create a new material slot and put the texture into the diffuse channel.
8. Apply to the mesh.
9. Add a UVW Unwrap modifier.
10. Select by id and scale, move and rotate each map to fit over the relevant area of the texture.
11. After that you can texture it.

umm hope that helps, it's off the top of my head but essentially correct. Hope you can follow it.

Dan

[lockdown2000]

Thanks, i understood that for the most part.

BUT:

"5. Open up photoshop (or otherwise) and put all the texported images into one image, trying to use up as much space as possible on the texture sheet."

How exactly do I do this.

I see those textures of human faces and how it is unwraped and all, how do you do that? Like you said, put them together. I just put the images side by side, but there is a lot of empty space inbetween it. Am I supposed to like "connect" the images, by rotating them. Or what? Sorry for being such a pain, just textures confuse the hell out of me. Procedurals Im ok with, acutally uv maps etc blow my mind.

[shift]

well for the face usually you'd unwrap the front and the back seperately using planar mapping. Well, that seems the simplest way to me. The head is the hardest area to texture though, so you'll pick it up over time if not this time.

it doesn't matter if you rotate things on the texture sheet because you can align things in the Edit Unwrap window.

Again not sure if that was the help you needed but.. well, there it is :P Good luck, lockdown!

Any other queries feel free to ask.

[Mike-3DT]

yeah what shift said - if you are using max 5 though, you just need to add a uv unwrap & then you can go in & select faces that will map flat. for the head, as an example, I'd select the face, up to the hairline at the top, the cheekbones at the sides and the chin at bottom & hit "apply planar map" in the UV unwrap mod - NOT adding a uv modifier. In the edit UV window, I'd move that to one side, outside of the main square. Then map one side of the head, then the other, then the top. Then I'd move these into position & weld the UV's so it's as if you got the side of the face, turned it 90 degrees & stuck it back on. With the top of the head, weld along the hairline as far as you can without distorting the UV's. Legs & arms I map front & back & then weld those together down the outside of the arm, so that the seam will be along the inside of the arm, near the body so it will be seen less. try to have as few pieces as possible - lots of little bits make it hard to paint over but only weld pieces together that go together obviously.
Once you have all the pieces done & welded as much as possible, move them back into the main square in the edit window. Scale pieces depending on how much texture space they need. I.e. scale the face up because it will need a lot of detail & scale the soles of the shoes down because they won't be seen much. Now move all the pieces into position, rotating & scaling further if need be - you want as little unused space as possible.
When that's all done, use texporter to export the uv map into photoshop & paint away.
A final tip: (that I gave to downup recently,) if you can't remember what a piece on the uv map corresponds to on the model, create a new layer & put a dot or blob of a bright colour on it, say red or green - really bright so it will stand out. now save as a tga or jpeg or whatever & apply it to your model. it should show up in the viewport. Now go back into photoshop & delete the layer from the psd (or you can just hide the layer & use it again when you are unsure of a piece.)

[lockdown2000]

heh thanks.

One last question

When you guys are saying like, edit each section independatly and then attach them, I am having some problem.

Do you have ONE UV UNWRAP? Becuase, I click EDIT, I get one piece, but then when I add another one, and hit edit I do see the old unwrap, or when I go to click GIZMO and rotate and hit edit again the front side or the old one dissapears.

And next. For each section I.E. HEAD/TORSO I should select the faces and assign an ID number? But when I pack the Uv's and export out, when I go to remap them as a texture, how would I tell 3d max that THIS SECTION (torso or whatever) on this ONE image goes to THIS ID...

or should I make each texture seperate? Because then I can understand mapping the ID's with it.

[shift]

ok in the unwrap modifier click edit

you get the view up with the unwrapped mesh all over the place, and the texture in the background. if not you have dones something wrong :S

anyway, there is a drop down box from which you can select by id, which means you can select the id controlling soles of the feet for example.

go through one by one and you can scale and rotate the unwrapped mesh to fit the correct area on the texture.

wrote that quick without ref so hope it is right! should be.

[Mike-3DT]

Yeah in max 5 you just add one unwrap (no uv mapping mod at all) & you can assign planar maps from within the unwrap mod, just select a group of faces & hit the planar map button & the section will show up in the main square, on top of all the other bits. Move it outside the square & gradually as you work through, you end up with an empty main square & then you weld parts, move them back into the square, rotating & scaling as necessary. no need for material ID's so once its done, just texport, paint & apply.
Max 4 you will need to go the multiple uv mods & material id's.