5 U-V Mapping the RF-9 Plasma Gun with DeepUV AM FL Y Figure 5.27 Scale the trigger selection down to size and move it next to the grip’s faces Scale and move TE 124 Figure 5.28 Select the curved notch in the back side of the grip 24 Click Unfold in the Automatic section of the Command Panel to lay the selected area out flat, as in Figure 5.29 ® Team-Fly to remove this watermark Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com Mapping the RF-9 Figure 5.29 Click the Unfold button under Automatic in the Command Panel to group and flatten the notch area Automatic: Unfold 25 Rotate the RF-9 so you can see the front of the grip 26 Repeat steps 23 and 24 for the notch in the front, just behind the trigger (see Figure 5.30) Figure 5.30 Scale and position the curve selection, and the same for the front of the grip Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 125 126 U-V Mapping the RF-9 Plasma Gun with DeepUV 27 Using any of the selection tools, select the remaining bits and pieces all at once, and pack, scale, and move them over to the rest of the grip and trigger group (see Figure 5.31) These pieces represent texturing detail so minute that you don’t need to much except apply a general painting later on, so don’t bother trying to organize them (unless you really want to) Figure 5.31 Select the remaining pieces, and pack, scale, and move them to the rest of the group Pack, scale, and move Sharing U-V Space Notice that the two halves of the grip are nearly, if not perfectly, identical In such cases, if any texture coordinates cross or overlap each other, the texture at that point on the texture map will duplicate (or smear, if the points are crossed) itself on the 3D model once the texture is applied.This is known as sharing U-V space In the case of identical coordinate sections, like the sides of the grip, you could flip one side to match the other, and then place one exactly on top of the other.That way, you only have to texture one side, and the texture would be placed onto both Although this will save space on your texture map, I’d rather have a model that has unique texture on all sides Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark Mapping the RF-9 That concludes the unwrapping of the grip and trigger! No doubt you’re freaking out about now due to all the steps required to unwrap such as small area Most of the U-V mapping from here on out involves the same repetitive stuff, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time 127 NOTE In case you’re having trouble, I’ve saved each of the steps as individual rh3 files in the Chapter Data section on the CD-ROM Step 2: Unwrap the Rear Hoop It’s time to unfold the top hoop at the back of the barrel Because this is one of those goofy shapes that’s one solid piece, I’d like to keep the U-V map for it together The problem is, because DeepUV doesn’t come with a torus-style unwrapping technique, you’ll need to split the hoop TIP into two parts, flatten the sections, and then Before you unwrap the rear hoop, re-attach them Here’s how: remember to save your work Pan and zoom over to the rear hoop Use any one of the selection tools to select all points of the hoop (make sure the Back Faces option is checked), up to and including where the hoop meets the barrel Using the Rotate tool, rotate around the model, selecting/deselecting points until you’re satisfied Click Cut in the Tools section of the Command Panel, then drag the red clump away from the rest at the topleft corner of the texture map (see Figure 5.32) Clicking File, Save, doesn’t the trick if the program bails for any reason; instead, click File, Save As, and overwrite your previous rh3 file Make sure you save it to this format so all information is retained! NOTE Even though it’s most efficient to have both 3D Studio Max and DeepUV open at the same time, both of these programs are memory hogs If you’re running low on space, try shutting down all other programs Otherwise, you can always manually fetch the updated U-V coordinates later, but only if you’ve saved your rh3 file! Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 128 U-V Mapping the RF-9 Plasma Gun with DeepUV Figure 5.32 Select all points of the rear hoop, click Cut, and drag the cluster to the center of the texture map Cut hoop from group There are two ways to map this selection: Interactive: Planar and Automatic: Planar For the sake of expediency, let’s use the Automatic: Planar method To so, click Planar in the Automatic section You should end up with a side view of the selection, as in Figure 5.33 NOTE When you map interactively, you perform the operation manually.The great thing about interactive mapping is that you can manually specify the way DeepUV uses the selected technique when viewing the U-Vs.The Interactive mapping options, like their Automatic counterparts, are located in the Command Panel, but may be collapsed; just click the + sign in the section’s top-left corner to view them Select only one half of the hoop, and cut it away from the other half To so, start by rightclicking on the RF-9 in the 3D viewport, and selecting View, Right (or whatever view will produce a perpendicular view to the hoop) Pan and zoom over to the hoop Click the Rectangular Selection tool, and uncheck the Back Faces option at the very top of the screen This enables you to grab only those points that are visible in the viewport Drag a rectangle around the entire hoop, thereby selecting one half of the hoop (see Figure 5.34) Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark Mapping the RF-9 129 Figure 5.33 Select Automatic: Planar to start mapping the hoop The Planar button Figure 5.34 View the RF-9 from the right and use the Rectangular Selection tool with Back Faces unchecked to select one half of the hoop’s points Uncheck Deselect 10 In selecting the hoop, you may have grabbed points on the barrel, which will show up as a tiny red dot in the tiny blue cluster in the top-left portion of the texture map To deselect them, hold down the Alt key and apply any of the selection tools to that area 11 Notice that the hoop in the texture map is now red and blue, indicating that half of the points have been selected Click Cut in the Command Panel to separate them from the other side of the hoop 12 Using the Move tool, drag one half away from the other (see Figure 5.35) Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 130 U-V Mapping the RF-9 Plasma Gun with DeepUV Figure 5.35 Deselect any bogus points, excise half of the hoop from the other half, and move it away Cut half and move 13 The two halves of the hoop are the U-Vs as viewed by DeepUV straight on from the right, in a planar fashion, but they are not relaxed—that is, the halves are not taking on their natural volumetric form as they would in 3D space To see what I mean, with all points of only one half selected, click Relax in the Tools section of the Command Panel In a few seconds you’ll see DeepUV gently relax the points so they even out NOTE Relaxing the points at this time is not required; I just wanted you to see the Relax feature in action Relaxing is a way to get your U-V mapped portions to rest naturally on the texture map.That way, when it comes time to actually texture, the bitmap won’t distort or smear when applied to the model 14 Repeat step 13 for the other half (see Figure 5.36) 15 Next, join the two halves to create a single, 2D map representing the hoop To begin, with the top half selected, choose Edit, Transform, Flip Horizontal This flips the back portion of the hoop, so it faces toward you 16 Position both halves as I have in Figure 5.37 You want to join the outer edges of both halves, because these represent the top of the hoop 17 Use the Lasso tool to select the points at the joined edges of both halves Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark Mapping the RF-9 Figure 5.36 Choose Relax for each half so the points spread themselves proportionately Figure 5.37 Select the outer points of each half.These points represent the top of the hoop 18 Here’s the cool part: With the edge points selected, click Join in the Tools section Because the selected points actually neighbor/belong to each other, DeepUV will allow them to re-join each other, just as they were joined before you cut the one half away from the other Figure 5.38 shows the halves joined as one Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 131 132 U-V Mapping the RF-9 Plasma Gun with DeepUV Figure 5.38 Click Join in the Tools section to join the two halves together The Join button 19 Select the entire hoop in the texture map area, and once again click Relax This will relax all the points naturally, and you should end up with a nicely unfolded hoop as shown in Figure 5.39 20 That’s it for the hoop; scale it down and move it aside (Just try to keep track of where things are so you know what’s what when you arrange your texture map at the end!) Figure 5.39 Select all of the hoop’s points and click Relax The Relax button Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark Mapping the RF-9 Seams Now is a good time to quickly explain seams.When you paint the textures on your completed texture map, the U-Vs as laid out will correspond to locations on your 3D model In the previous example, the hoop’s halves were joined at the top halves, and not the bottom halves.That way, when DeepUV relaxed them and the whole thing became flat, the outer edges represented the seam, underneath the hoop.You could just as well have joined the halves together using the bottom points, but that would leave a noticeable seam at the top half It’s better, if you have the option, to re-join halves in a way that puts the seam in a location that’s difficult to see, if not totally invisible, to the players in the video game Step 3: Unwrap the Barrel The barrel is the long shaft that connects the front muzzle to the grip and back hoop Normally, for a shape like this, you could use Interactive: Cylinder mapping to quickly unwrap the thing, but I’d rather isolate and unfold the back and bottom first, because they will get separate texture detail, TIP before unfolding the rest of the barrel Select the Rectangular Selection tool, and check the Back Faces option to select it so you can see all points of the barrel Remember, before you unwrap the barrel, save your work by clicking File, Save As, and overwriting your previous rh3 file In the 3D window, switch to a side view of the RF-9 so you can see it perpendicularly Create a rectangular selection around the entire barrel Chances are, your selection includes points from the grip and rear hoop (and muzzle, but hold off on that a second) Deselect them by dragging around them while holding down the Alt key, as I have done in Figure 5.40 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark 133 ... File, Save As, and overwrite your previous rh3 file Make sure you save it to this format so all information is retained! NOTE Even though it’s most efficient to have both 3D Studio Max and DeepUV... any of the selection tools, select the remaining bits and pieces all at once, and pack, scale, and move them over to the rest of the grip and trigger group (see Figure 5.31) These pieces represent... under Automatic in the Command Panel to group and flatten the notch area Automatic: Unfold 25 Rotate the RF-9 so you can see the front of the grip 26 Repeat steps 23 and 24 for the notch in the front,