Post by Anthony on May 18, 2015 17:57:43 GMT
01 The Unwrap modifier
Before we do anything else, our first step is to add an Unwrap modifier to our object. Do this by selecting your object, go to the Modifier drop-down menu and select the Unwrap UVW modifier. This will be added to the top of your stack. In case you didn’t know, the UVW stands for the three co-ordinates that we will be using for the unwrapping. Essentially it relates to the XYZ co-ordinate system but these letters are used instead.
02 Organise your faces
Now that you’ve added the Unwrap modifier, it’s time to edit your model’s UV co-ordinates. Head to the Edit UVs section of the modifier and click the Open UV Editor button. This brings up a window that displays all of the UV information for your object. At first this may seem daunting, but in the next step we’ll take you through the process of sorting through all this information.
03 Flatten mapping
With the modifier still selected, go to the face selection, hit Cmd/Ctrl+A to select all and then inside the UV Mapping window go to Mapping>Flatten Mapping. This will bring up a window with some settings but you can opt to leave all of these at default and the program does a pretty good job. By clicking OK, 3ds Max will automatically flatten each face and organise them so that no overlapping will occur.
04 Render to Texture dialog
To bring up the dialog box, go to Rendering on the top bar and then select Render to Texture. Scroll down a little bit, go to Add and select VRayCompleteMap. This will take all of the reflection and refraction and bake it into one map. Set the width/height of the resulting map and then we’re ready to roll.
05 Bake the texture
For this stage you need to hit the Render button right at the bottom of the viewport. This will show you a flat view of the texture that is being baked and you’ll notice that your shadows are gradually being baked in. Once this is complete, save the image to wherever you want and it’s ready to use back in our scene. You could automatically save the baked images using the Render to Texture dialog box, but this isn’t necessary at this stage.
06 Reapply the texture
We now need to make use of the texture we have already baked. Do this by loading it into the Material Editor and applying it to the object that you have just baked. All the mapping should still line up correctly. We apply the image to a standard material because that’s what your interactive software takes as an input. By doing this to your whole scene you can eliminate the requirement for lights and calculations that are often long and complex.
Why is texture baking helpful?
Texture baking is obviously very useful for creating real-time gaming environments. However, in our studio there unfortunately isn’t much requirement for zombie-filled shoot-‘em-ups. Instead we make use of texture baking to build interactive architectural and product visualisation environments. We create the 3D model, apply the textures, set up the lighting, texture bake the scene and then output to our interactive simulator. This gives the client the freedom to walk round the environment at their own leisure, providing a more immersive and interactive experience.
Before we do anything else, our first step is to add an Unwrap modifier to our object. Do this by selecting your object, go to the Modifier drop-down menu and select the Unwrap UVW modifier. This will be added to the top of your stack. In case you didn’t know, the UVW stands for the three co-ordinates that we will be using for the unwrapping. Essentially it relates to the XYZ co-ordinate system but these letters are used instead.
02 Organise your faces
Now that you’ve added the Unwrap modifier, it’s time to edit your model’s UV co-ordinates. Head to the Edit UVs section of the modifier and click the Open UV Editor button. This brings up a window that displays all of the UV information for your object. At first this may seem daunting, but in the next step we’ll take you through the process of sorting through all this information.
03 Flatten mapping
With the modifier still selected, go to the face selection, hit Cmd/Ctrl+A to select all and then inside the UV Mapping window go to Mapping>Flatten Mapping. This will bring up a window with some settings but you can opt to leave all of these at default and the program does a pretty good job. By clicking OK, 3ds Max will automatically flatten each face and organise them so that no overlapping will occur.
04 Render to Texture dialog
To bring up the dialog box, go to Rendering on the top bar and then select Render to Texture. Scroll down a little bit, go to Add and select VRayCompleteMap. This will take all of the reflection and refraction and bake it into one map. Set the width/height of the resulting map and then we’re ready to roll.
05 Bake the texture
For this stage you need to hit the Render button right at the bottom of the viewport. This will show you a flat view of the texture that is being baked and you’ll notice that your shadows are gradually being baked in. Once this is complete, save the image to wherever you want and it’s ready to use back in our scene. You could automatically save the baked images using the Render to Texture dialog box, but this isn’t necessary at this stage.
06 Reapply the texture
We now need to make use of the texture we have already baked. Do this by loading it into the Material Editor and applying it to the object that you have just baked. All the mapping should still line up correctly. We apply the image to a standard material because that’s what your interactive software takes as an input. By doing this to your whole scene you can eliminate the requirement for lights and calculations that are often long and complex.
Why is texture baking helpful?
Texture baking is obviously very useful for creating real-time gaming environments. However, in our studio there unfortunately isn’t much requirement for zombie-filled shoot-‘em-ups. Instead we make use of texture baking to build interactive architectural and product visualisation environments. We create the 3D model, apply the textures, set up the lighting, texture bake the scene and then output to our interactive simulator. This gives the client the freedom to walk round the environment at their own leisure, providing a more immersive and interactive experience.