Using Pelt Mapping


Pelts remind me of early turn-of-the-century explorers and trappers who would capture and skin critters such as foxes and wolves and preserve their fur pelts on a circular rack. These furs were valuable commodities that could be traded for whatever the trapper needed. The market for such furs has diminished significantly, but the concept works well for the virtual world as a mapping method for applying textures to 3D objects.

Pelt mapping is simply another mapping method available within the Unwrap UVW modifier. You can access it from the Map Parameters rollout when the Face subobject mode is selected.

Selecting seams

The first step of pelt mapping is to select the seams for the map. To do this, click the Face subobject mode and then use the four buttons located in the Map Parameters rollout to define the pelt seams. These seams are displayed in light blue as they are created.

Note 

All open borders are automatically made into seams.

The Edit Seams button lets you click edges to highlight them as seams. This can be time consuming if you have a complex mesh. The Point to Point Seam button lets you click a starting point; a rubber band line then appears that lets you extend to an ending point. A seam is created between these two points using the shortest possible route. After an ending point is selected, the rubber band remains, letting you add to the seam. Right-click to exit the rubber band and to choose a new starting point.

Tip 

When placing pelt mapping seams, try to position the seams where they aren't readily visible, such as under the arms and legs or down the middle of the back.

The Edge Sel to Pelt Seams button converts an existing edge selection to a pelt seam, and the Expand Face Selection to Pelt Seams button selects all faces that are next to the pelt seams.

The Parameters rollout contains an option to Always Show Pelt Seam. If this option is enabled, then the pelt seam is clearly shown. You also can set the size of the seams to thin or thick.

Positioning the projection gizmo

After the seams are defined, select all the faces that are to be mapped and click the Pelt button in the Map Parameters rollout. A rectangular projection gizmo appears. Orient this gizmo so that it is projected at the flattest part of the map away from the major seam.

Stretching the pelt mapping

With the projection gizmo oriented correctly, click the Edit Pelt Map button. The Edit UVWs window opens with the front projection displayed, and all seam points are positioned in a circle around the selected faces, as shown in Figure 24.12. The circle of seam points is called the Stretcher, and the lines connecting the Stretcher points to the selected faces are springs. The Pelt Map Parameters dialog box, shown in Figure 24.13, also opens.

image from book
Figure 24.12: Pelt mapping positions all seam points in a circle around the selected faces

image from book
Figure 24.13: The Pelt Map Parameters dialog box includes commands for stretching the pelt mapping

The Simulate Pelt Pulling button causes the springs to pull at the selected UV faces causing them to stretch toward the Stretcher using the defined spring properties. Based on the Iterations and Spring properties, you may need to click the Simulate Pelt Pulling button several times. Figure 24.14 shows the UV faces after being stretched.

image from book
Figure 24.14: After being stretched, the UV faces are lined up quite well

The Select Stretcher and Select Pelt UVs buttons let you select and manipulate both the selected faces and the Stretcher points. You can also straighten and mirror the stretcher, or have the UVs snap to seams. If you get confused, the Reset Stretcher button returns the mapping to its starting positions. The Relax buttons can be used to further move the UVs to eliminate any tension in the mapping.

Tutorial: Using pelt mapping

Pelt mapping is especially helpful on characters because they have irregular seams and surfaces. The Pelt mapping method works well for smoothing out character textures.

To use pelt mapping on a character's face, follow these steps:

  1. Open the image from book Lion toy face.max file from the Chap 24 directory on the DVD. This file includes just the face of a lion toy model.

  2. With the face mesh selected, choose Modifiers image from book UV Coordinates image from book Unwrap UVW. Choose the Face subobject mode and select all the face subobjects in the face mesh.

  3. In the Map Parameters rollout, click on the Pelt mapping button.

    A planar gizmo appears in the center of the viewport. Rotate and move the gizmo so it is parallel to the face mesh and in front of it. Click on the Expand Face Selection to Pelt Seams button to ensure that all face polygons are selected.

  4. Click on the Edit Pelt Map button. The Edit UVWs dialog box appears with each seam positioned along the Stretcher. In the Pelt Map Parameters dialog box that appears, click on the Simulate Pelt Pulling button several times until the face is stretched out.

Figure 24.15 shows the UVs for the face mesh stretched and ready to paint.

image from book
Figure 24.15: Using Pelt mapping, you can stretch the UVs for a mesh object




3ds Max 9 Bible
3ds Max 9 Bible
ISBN: 0470100893
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 383

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