Texturing 3D Models

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Edition 1 – 2014

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Preface

This book introduces you to Texturing 3D Models.

This module teaches you to create materials, textures and texturing in Autodesk Maya 2015.
You will learn to create and edit textures which are the most vital contributing factor to the
aesthetics of the animation. Textures bring life to any animation. In this module, you will learn to
create and customize materials, textures, and assign them using UV mapping techniques.

The ARENA Design team has designed this course keeping in mind that motivation coupled
with relevant training and methodology can bring out the best. The team will be glad to receive
your feedback, suggestions, and recommendations for improvement of the book.

Please feel free to send your feedback to the ARENA Design team at the Head Office, Mumbai.

ARENA Design Team

 Table of Contents

Introduction to Texturing
Understanding Textures
Texturing in Maya
Selecting Textures
Summary
Exercise

Hypershade and Materials

Hypershade
Surface Materials
Volumetric Materials
Displacement Materials
Summary
Exercise

Textures and 3D Paint Tool

2D Textures
3D Textures
Mapping Textures
3D Paint Tool
Summary
Exercise

UV Mapping and Texture Editor

UV Mapping
UV Texture Editor
Wrap Image
Summary
Exercise

Answer Key
 Iconography

: Note

: Quick Test

: Quick Answers

: Exercise Answers

: Keyboard Shortcuts

: System Requirements

: Tip
 S es s ion 1
Introduction to Texturing
Learning Outcomes
In this session, you will learn to:
 Understand what are textures
 Differentiate between textures and materials
 Understand process of texturing in Maya
 Select appropriate textures based on various factors

System Requirements

For 32-bit Autodesk Maya 2015

 Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional, Microsoft® Windows Vista® Business (SP2), or

Microsoft®

 Windows® XP Professional (SP3) operating systems

 Windows: Intel® Pentium® 4, AMD Athlon™ processor with SSE3 instruction set support (or
higher)

 2 GB RAM

 10 GB free hard drive space

 Qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL® graphics card

 Three-button mouse with mouse driver software

 DVD-ROM drive

 HDD: IDE, SATA, SATA 2, SAS, SCSI

 Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher, Apple Safari, or Mozilla Firefox Web browsers

For 64-bit Autodesk Maya 2015

 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, Microsoft Windows Vista Business x64 Edition (SP2),
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (SP2), Apple® Mac OS® X 10.6.5, Red
Hat® Enterprise Linux® 5.5 WS, or Fedora™ 14 operating systems

 Windows and Linux: Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon processor with SSE3 instruction set support
(or higher)
  Macintosh® computer: Macintosh computer with Intel-based 64-bit processor

 4 GB RAM

 10 GB free hard drive space

 Qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card

 Three-button mouse with mouse driver software

 DVD-ROM drive

 HDD: IDE, SATA, SATA 2, SAS, SCSI

 Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher, Apple Safari, or Mozilla Firefox Web browsers

1.1 Understanding Textures

A texture, in common parlance, refers to visual and tactile characteristics of a surface. With reference to
Autodesk Maya also, a texture almost conveys the same meaning. However, here surface refers to the
surfaces of material applied to 3D models, created using Autodesk Maya.
More often than not, people get confused between material and texture. Material, typically, refers to the
surface of a substance. Texture on the other hand refers to the quality and properties of that surface. In
other words, it defines the look and feel, which includes factors such as color, light falling on material,
shade, color, design, and pattern on the material. It also includes transparency or opaqueness, its ability to
reflect or refract, continuity of the surface (which might be smooth or bumpy or flowing), highlights of colors
at specific parts of the materials like edges or at turns, and abrasion over a period of time.
For example, a metal like iron is a material. Texture of iron looks shiny and lustrous at times, while at
others, its texture appears dull and lifeless. It might look different when seen in daylight as opposed to
watching it in a relatively dark room. After some wear and tear, iron might start rusting, and hence, its
texture changes. Texture of an iron sphere differs from the texture of crude iron ore or from an iron sheet.
Figure 1.1 shows different textures of iron.
Figure 1.1: Different Textures applied to same Iron Material
1.2 Texturing in Maya

Figure 1.2: Stages in Production - 3D animation

Texturing is the process of applying a texture to a 3D model. A texture can be a preset provided by Autodesk
Maya, or an image created in any software, like Photoshop. A texture can also be taken from a painting,
books, magazines, catalogues, brochures, random photographs, stock photographs, movies, and Internet.
Permutations and combinations of features and techniques can be used to customize these textures further
depending on the requirement, which will be explained in detail later.
As per a story’s requirement, a team of Texture Artists work on writing shaders and painting textures. In big
production houses, the art department provides designs to texture artists which act as benchmark, with
specifications. They work with shading department to create similar textures matching specs, and then pass
them on Lighting department to add lighting and then rig it.
Texturing is an important process in the production process of a 3D movie or clip. Refer to Figure 1.2 for
different stages in production of 3D animation. Once a 3D model is ready, textures are applied to the model,
after which lightings are finalized and then the models are rigged, before their actions are finally animated.
 Quick Test 1.1

1. A __________ refers to visual and tactile characteristics of a surface.

Material Surface
Texture Color
2. Texturing is a process after __________ in Maya 3D production.

Lighting Modeling
Animation Rigging

1.3 Selecting Textures

To pick an apt texture the following factors have to be taken into account:
 Striking Specialty: To begin with, identify the most obvious feature of a texture. For example,
when designing a character like Rapunzel for the movie Tangled produced by Disney*, texture
artists at Disney* have to obviously ensure that Rapunzel’s hair has to be long, lustrous, blonde,
silky, and golden. Refer to Figure 1.3. However, of all these features, the first thing that anyone
will recall about the character is the golden hair. Hence, this texture has to be chosen with
utmost care such that it highlights this striking specialty and should be detailed to the maximum
extent possible.
 Material: Identify the material that the object/character is made of. Refer to Figure 1.4. Observe
the materials that each piece of furniture is made of, and how different they are from each
other. There is a sofa made of leather, a chair made of wood, with a cloth of white and grey
pattern, another chair of blue plastic with brown seating. The texture to be applied can be
selected depending on whether it is to be used on leather, wood, or plastic material.
 Figure 1.3: Golden Hair of Disney’s* character Rapunzel from Tangled

Figure 1.4: Different Materials used for Furniture

 Lighting: Understand the lighting, its angles, and intensity, from the camera’s perspective
for any view. Comprehending lighting and its characteristics helps in selecting suitable textures
for models. For example, the same texture appears differently when observed in sunlight,
moonlight, candle light, and in bulb light. Refer to Figures 1.5 (a) and (b). Figure 1.5 (a) shows
a long flower pot at a corner of the room. Observe the textures of pot, walls, and tiles.
Irrespective of the detailing in the textures of walls and floor in Figure 1.5 (a), if the lighting falls
on the pot from a side as shown in Figures 1.5 (b), the shadows of the leaves dominate the
texture of wall. Also, observe that the texture applied to the pot takes the center stage in this view,
as the light falls on the mustard and black pattern on the pot. Hence, lighting in the scene is a
pre-requisite factor to be accounted for, as it helps determine the kind of texture to be selected.
Figure 1.5 (a): Textures before Applying Lighting

Figure 1.5 (b): Textures after applying lighting

 Figure 1.6: Patterns of wooden textures
 Pattern: Sometimes, textures might change depending on the patterns when applied to same
materials. For example, texture of pine wood is different from that of teak wood. Figure 1.6
shows eight different patterns available as textures of wood.
 Location: Understand the location and the surroundings of an object or character. For
example, water in a glass looks different, as shown in Figure 1.7 (a). It looks different as
compared to water under sea, as shown in Figure 1.7 (b). The location of the object, hence, is
critical when selecting a texture.

Figure 1.7 (a): Water in glass Figure 1.7 (b): Water under sea
 Figure 1.8: Different colors applied to same texture

 Color: Select the color of a texture to the exact description possible. Identify the exact color,
from a palette of colors, which need to be applied to a texture when designing characters to
match the story’s need. For example, the color of sky can change considerably by varying
degrees of blue depending on the storyboard. Refer to Figure 1.8, showing variations of color
in skin tone.
 Shade: Identify the shades and understand their implications on a texture. The same color
might appear different when viewed in different angles. Also, there might be multiple shades of
a specific color available, hence, it is imperative to match the texture to the closest real-life
shade, when emulating objects from real- life. Refer to Figure 1.9. This shows different shades
of white on a white keyboard. It becomes difficult to differentiate between keyboard keys and
the white plastic background if they are of same shade. Hence, when texture color of objects
close by are similar, the difference in their shades adds fineness and detailing to objects.
 Environment: Textures applied on objects look different in different environments. Refer to
Figures 1.10 (a) to (d). Figure 1.10 (a) shows how a building looks at the break of dawn on a
spring morning. Figure 1.10 (b) shows the same building’s view at noon in hot summer.
 Figure 1.9: Shades of white in a white keyboard
The same building on an evening in fall looks as shown in Figure 1.10 (c). Refer to Figure 1.10
(d) for its view on a chilly winter night when the environment is cold and foggy. Observe how
the texture of wall looks different in each of these four environments. Thus, it is imperative that
before selecting a texture, its environment has to be considered.

Figure 1.10 (a): At dawn on a spring morning Figure 1.10 (b): At noon in summer

Figure 1.10 (c): At dusk in fall Figure 1.10 (d): At night in winter
 Surrounding Objects: Reflections, refractions, or shadows are important components to be
considered when finalizing a texture. Refer to Figure 1.11. Notice the reflection of the glasses
and bottle on the tile below. Observe how the bottle casts its shadow on one of the glasses.
Also, notice the refractions in the glasses. These figures would have looked much different if
the tile and glasses were plastic.

Figure 1.11: Surrounding objects’ reflections, refractions, and shadows on textures

 Transparency: Some objects like glass pane are completely transparent, while some of them
might refract light through them. Sometimes bumps in the glass alter the transparency further.
Hence, transparency of an object is a key factor to consider when assigning a texture to it.
Refer to Figure 1.12. This shows a complete see-through glass, a glass with little bumps, and
finally a glass with bumps which are largely distorted.

Figure 1.12: Different transparencies of a glass when a candle is placed behind it

 Luminosity: Understand if an object is radiating heat, if it is glowing due to an outside source,
or if it is emitting light. This helps in classifying an object as incandescent, florescent,
luminescent, opalescent, or incandescent. Refer to Figure 1.13. This shows illuminating floating
lanterns shown in the movie Tangled, a Disney production. See how the texture of the lantern
glows because of a supposed light source inside it.

Figure 1.13: Illuminating floating lanterns from Disney’s movie Tangled

 Feel: Imagine how a texture feels like on touch. Notice if it is smooth, bumpy, hot, cold, or
slippery. Considering tactile properties of a model makes it easy to design an appropriate
texture. Plethora of variations can be created in textures depending on relative smoothness or
evenness of the surface. Refer to Figure 1.14.

Figure 1.14: Different metallic textures selected based on their tactile properties
 Usage: Factorize how long the material has been in use to incorporate its wear and tear into
the texture. Refer to Figure 1.15 which shows different textures of a ruled notebook paper.
Observe how its color changes with time, and how its texture changes when it is crumpled.
Texture might change completely in some cases, like the texture of iron before and after rusting.

Figure 1.15: Paper discolored and crumpled due to usage

1.4 Summary
In this session, Introduction to Texturing, you learned that:

 Material refers to the surface of a substance whereas texture refers to the quality and properties
of that surface.
 Texture defines the look and feel of a material, including its color, lighting, shade, its
design, pattern, transparency, its ability to reflect or refract, smoothness or lack of it, and
abrasion over a period of time.
 Texturing is the process of applying a texture to a 3D model.
 A texture can be a preset provided by Autodesk Maya, or an image created in any software, like
Photoshop.
 Once a 3D model is ready, textures are applied to the model, after which lightings are finalized
and then the models are rigged, before their actions are finally animated.
 Texture has to be chosen with utmost care such that it highlights a striking specialty of the
model.
 Texture is chosen depending on the material it is applied on and the lighting on that object.
 It is important to choose the right pattern, color, and shade when selecting a texture.
 Location of the object, the environment around it and the surrounding objects also play a
key role for finalizing on a pattern.
 Transparency, luminosity, feel, and usage have to accounted for when choosing a texture.
1.5 Exercise
1. Surface of an object is its _____________ and the look and feel of this surface is its ______________.
a. Texture, Material b. Texture, Pattern
c. Material, Texture d. Material, Pattern

2. A reference for a texture can be _______________.

a. Painting b. Photograph
c. Image from Internet d. All of the above

3. 3D modeling in Maya is followed by lighting and then by texturing.

a. True b. False

4. When creating textures it is very important to identify its striking specialty.

a. True b. False

5. Leather, wood, plastic, and metals are ______________.

a. Surfaces b. Textures
c. Patterns d. Materials

6. Angle of lighting in a scene can change the final texture output.

a. True b. False

7. When deciding on a texture for a model, it is important to consider the surrounding objects.

a. Reflections b. Refractions
c. Shadows d. All of the Above

8. When finalizing on a texture it is important to factor the ___________ of an object.

a. Transparency b. Luminosity
c. Environment d. All of the Above

9. Color given to a texture is different from shade of the texture.

a. True b. False
 S es s ion 2
Hypershade and Materials
Learning Outcomes
In this session, you will learn to -

 Use Hypershade Window

 Use Hypershade Editor
 Understand different materials
 Shade with surface materials
 Shade with volumetric materials
 Shade with displacement materials

By default, 3D modeling outputs look like grey plastic moulds. They are brought to life by applying shaders
and materials to them.
Shading means changing the color and its related properties on the surface of an object. The differences
in color can be brought about by either changing the surface characteristics or by changing the lighting on
the objects. This session covers those aspects of shading which are related to the surface characteristics
and materials of models.
Maya Autodesk has various preloaded materials which can be applied almost effortlessly and tailored to
the storyboard’s need. Hypershade is a brilliant tool in Maya Autodesk that helps customize materials.

2.1 Hypershade
Hypershade, in Maya Autodesk, refers to a window that is used in creating and editing nodes corresponding
to lights, shaders, textures, and rendering utilities. It consists of multiple options which, when edited, display
the resultant changes in the visual output.
Shaders in Maya include all those properties of 3D model which give it a definite look. In the process of
texturing, Hypershade window is used as working area for creating and editing shader nodes.

2.1.1 Hypershade Window

To access Hypershade Window, go to Window menu, select Rendering Editors, and select Hypershade.
This opens the Hypershade Window, as shown in Figure 2.1.

This window can be broadly divided into three sections:

 Create and Bins menu, used for creating nodes. It contains Create and Bins tabs. Create Bar
panel on the left side of the Hypershade Window has two sections to create Maya nodes and
to create mental rays. Create Maya nodes options include different materials, textures, and
utilities such as:
  Surface: Surface materials contain twelve shader surface options.
 Volumetric: Volumetric materials contain six volumetric surface options.
 Displacement: These are the third type of material which have displacement
surface options.
 2D Textures: Contains sixteen 2D texture options.
 3D Textures: Contains thirteen 3D texture surface options.
 Env Textures: Contains five environment texture options.
 Apart from the mentioned sections, Create Bar also contains options such as
Other Textures, Lights, Utilities, Image Planes, Glow, and Rendering.

 Editing section is used to edit the nodes created. It contains ten different tabs, including
Materials, Textures, and Utilities. Each of these tabs display an icon for a particular node, which
exhibits the visual properties of that node.
 Work Area section, used to connect the nodes created. This section displays the shading
network of the respective node selected in the tab section. This section helps connect render
nodes, delete render node connections, unclutter shapes by hiding, and transforms.

Figure 2.1: Hypershade Window

2.1.2 Using Hypershade Editor
When a material or a texture is applied to a model, its respective icon is created in the edit section of
Hypershade Window. Materials and textures do not have specific icons to display them in scene view,
hence, Hypershade is used to select and edit a node’s specific attributes.
To edit the material attributes, in the perspective view, select Panels and from the sub menu select Panel.
Click the Hypershade option. This opens the Hypershade Window. Alternately, go to Window menu,
select Rendering Editors, and select Hypershade. This opens the Hypershade Window. This section
already has three default swatches, lambert1, particleCloud1, and shaderGlow1 for all Maya features.
In the Create tab on the left side, select any material. For example, select Lambert material. This
automatically creates an icon or a swatch in the edit section under Materials tab, with a default name
‘lambert2’.
Click and drag the swatch lambert1 and leave it on the model. Alternately, when the cursor is over this
swatch, right-click and drag to select Assign Material To Selection option. Refer to Figure 2.2. The
material automatically appears on the model.

Figure 2.2: Assign Materials to Selection Option Figure 2.3: Arrow Connecting Nodes

Select the model and in Graph menu, click Graph Materials on Selected Objects. In the Work Area
section, a graph appears with all the materials, textures, and nodes. Observe the arrows on lines connecting
different materials and nodes. Refer to Figure 2.3. These arrows represent a stream, which characterize
internal information of Maya. They link the nodes and editing these links changes the connections between
these nodes.
Deleting the link between file1 and lambert1 causes the model to restore its basic grey plastic look, as the
material is removed from it. When the link is removed, Maya can no longer recognize the material and map
it to the related model. These links are helpful in deleting the connections without actually deleting the
nodes.
Show Previous Graph and Show Next Graph options help in switching between previous and current
graphs. Nodes can be grouped together using Create asset from selected nodes. These assets can be
expanded, collapsed, and removed.

Note

When the line with arrow connecting two nodes is deleted, the connection between the nodes
is lost However, the nodes do not get deleted from the work area these nodes can later be
assigned to other objects and reused.

2.2 Surface Materials

Surface materials are the most commonly used materials for 3D models, to cover the models’ surface. To
access surface materials, in the Hypershade window, click the Create tab and in the Maya section, click
Surface. A sub menu, consisting of twelve surface materials, opens on the right side of this tab. Refer to
Figure 2.4. Each of these materials have some exclusive attributes that make them different from other
surface materials.

Figure 2.4: Surface Materials Figure 2.5: Common Surface Attributes

2.2.1 Common Surface Material Attributes
Since each of these materials have different functionalities, they are used for specific purposes. However,
there are some surface material attributes which are common to all. Refer to Figure 2.5 for these attributes.
Attributes which are common to all surface materials include:

 Type: This attribute refers to the type of material (such as Lambert or Anisotropic). When this
is changed from one material type to another, the common attributes shared by the both the
materials remain the same. However, values specific to attributes are lost when the type of
material is changed.
 Color: This attribute helps in choosing the basic color of the material. Double-click the box
beside the Color option to customize the color of the material.
 Ambient Color: This attribute changes the color of the material depending on the color of the
ambience. For example, if the color of ambience is red and color of material is white, moving
the slider to the right increases the Ambient Color values, and blends both the colors. This
makes the white material look pink under the influence of red ambience.
 Incandescence: This attribute changes the color and brightness of the incandescent material.
For example, changing the incandescence value of an iron rod (or charcoal) to red makes it
look like it is hot and burning.
 Bump Mapping: As the name suggests, this attribute makes the surface of a material look
bumpy, rough, or uneven. Note that, in reality, the material does not become rough, it just
appears rough in the output.
 Diffuse: This attribute helps the material reflect light in all directions. Its default value is 0.8.
Sliding this bar to the extreme left makes the value 0 and the material does not reflect any light,
and vice versa.
 Translucence: This attribute changes the capacity of a material to transmit and diffuse light.
Translucence is used for objects such as clouds, wax, or special papers. The object appears
to be absorbing the light and then transmitting it. The light appears as if it is almost passing
through the object when its Translucence is set to 1. Sliding this bar to extreme left makes no
light pass through the object.
 Translucence Depth: As the name suggests, this attribute defines the depth of the
translucence of an object. The bar is at extreme left with value as 0. At this value, no light
penetrates through the object. Sliding this bar to the right increases the virtual distance
between the surface of an object and its light inside.
 Specular Color: This option is useful for selecting the color of the highlight. The default color
value is 0.5. Black color on the extreme left or a value of 0 produces no highlight at all.
 Reflectivity: As the name suggests, this option increases the reflective property of the surface
that it is applied to. The default value for this option is 0.5 and increasing this value to1
ensures a clear reflection on the surface like mirror.
 Reflected Color: This option is used to select the color tone or tint reflections from a material.
2.2.2 Lambert
Lambert material is the most commonly used among all shaders. It is used for all matte surfaces, such as
walls, clothes, or skin of characters. In fact it is one of the default shader available in the Materials tab, with
a swatch called ‘lambert1’ that can be applied instantly on a model.
To create a customized lambert material, in the Hypershade window, go to Create tab, click Surface, and
from the options available select Lambert. This automatically creates a default lambert swatch, ‘lambert2’
in the Hypershade Work Area. Refer to Figure 2.6. With the required model selected in the scene right-
click ‘lambert2’ swatch and select Assign Material To Selection option. The materials gets automatically
assigned to the model selected. To customize this material further, double-click the ‘lambert2’ swatch to
open the Attribute Editor. Change the values in the Common Material Attributes tab of Attribute Editor.
Figure 2.7 shows the render view of a 3D model of a fairy, before and after applying Lambert material to
the fairies dress.

FIgure 2.6: Lambert Shader

Figure 2.7: Before and after applying Lambert Shader

2.2.3 Phong
Phong material is mostly used for materials applied on glassy or glossy surfaces. Their surfaces become
glossier by specular highlights on them.

Figure 2.8: Phong Shader

To create a phong material, in Create tab of the Hypershade window, click Surface option, and select
Phong. Refer to Figure 2.8. This automatically creates a default phong swatch, ‘phong1’ in the Hypershade
Work Area. With the required model selected in the scene, right-click ‘phong1’ swatch and select Assign
Material To Selection option. The phong material gets automatically assigned to the model selected. To
customize this material further, double-click the ‘phong1’ swatch to open the Attribute Editor. Apart from
the Common Material Attributes tab of Attribute Editor there are special properties which help in
customizing this material which include Specular Color, Reflectivity, and Reflected Color. An additional
feature called Cosine Power is used to control the size of shiny highlight on the material. Increasing the
default value 20 increases the size of the highlight.

Figure 2.9: Before and after applying Phong Shader

Figure 2.9 shows render view of the rim of finger ring worn by the fairy. This output was achieved by setting
Specular Color as white, with a Reflectivity value of 0.8. The size of shiny specular highlight was
customized by changing value of Cosine Power to 50.

Quick Test 2.1

1. ______________ refers to a window that is used in creating and editing nodes

corresponding to lights, shaders, textures, and rendering utilities.
UV Texture Editor Render View Hypershade Connection Editor
2. There are ___________ types of surface materials and _________ types of volumetric
materials in Hypershade.
10, 5 5, 9 12, 6 12, 8

2.2.4 Blinn
Blinn material is used usually on models which have soft specular surfaces like brass or other metals.
To create Blinn material, in Create tab of the Hypershade window, click Surface option. From the options
available select Blinn. Refer to Figure 2.10. This automatically creates a default phong swatch, ‘blinn1’ in
the Hypershade Work Area. Select the spheres from 3D model of magic wand in the scene, right-click
‘blinn1’ swatch, and select Assign Material To Selection option. The blinn material gets automatically
assigned to the spheres selected. To customize this material further, double-click the ‘blinn1’ swatch to
open the Attribute Editor. In the Attribute Editor, go to the Common Material Attributes tab and click
Color box. This opens the Color History box, as shown in Figure 2.12. Choose pink and customize this
color further by sliding H (Hue), S (Saturation), and V (Value) bars and click outside the box. This color
automatically appears on the spheres of the wand.

Figure 2.10: Blinn Figure 2.11: Spheres before and after Blinn
 Figure 2.12: Color History box

The Specular Shading tab has a special attribute for blinn called Eccentricity to alter the size of shiny
highlights. Slide the bar beside Eccentricity option to the right to a value of 0.5 to increase the size highlight
on the spheres.
Another specific blinn shader attribute is the Specular Roll Off which is used change the reflectivity on the
specular highlights. Change the value of Specular Roll Off to 0.9 to increase the reflectivity of the specular
surface. Customize the color of spheres using Specular Color to pink. Change value of Reflectivity to 1
to increase the reflective property of spheres to the maximum extent.
Figure 2.11 shows the spheres on the magic wand, before and after applying blinn material to them. Further
customizing makes them appear like pink stones on the wand.

2.2.5 PhongE

PhongE material is similar to Phong shader, except that PhongE is easier to apply and it renders faster. In
addition to features of Phong surface, PhongE has other attributes such as:
 Roughness: This modulates the focus of specularity.
 Highlight Size: This defines the specular highlight size.
 Whiteness: This changes the colors of specular highlights. Either choose a color, or map a
texture to this value to customize it.

Refer to Figure 2.13 for these additional attributes.

Figure 2.13: PhongE Attributes

To create a PhongE material, in Create tab of the Hypershade window, click Surface option, and select
Phong. This automatically creates a default phong swatch, ‘phongE1’ in the Hypershade Work Area.
Refer to Figure 2.14. Select the handle of the magic wand in the scene, right-click ‘phongE1’ swatch, and
select Assign Material To Selection option. The phong material gets automatically assigned to the handle
of magic wand. To customize this material further, double-click the ‘phongE1’ swatch to open the Attribute
Editor.
Slide the Transparency and Ambient Color bars to the right in Common Material Attributes tab. In the
Specular Shading tab most of the attributes are similar to options of Phong. Decrease the Highlight
Size to 0.35 from the default value of 0.5 to decrease the specular highlight size. Increase the value of
Reflectivity to 1 to increase the reflective property of the wand. Figure 2.15 shows the wand before and
after applying PhongE material on the magic wand of the fairy.

Figure 2.14: PhongE Figure 2.15: Wand before and after

applying PhongE
2.2.6 Anisotropic

Anisotropic material is applied on models with grooves on their surface, such as CDs or feathers.
To create an Anisotropic material, in Create tab of the Hypershade window, click Surface option, and
select Anisotropic. This automatically creates a default anisotropic swatch in the Hypershade Work Area
and Hypershade Materials tab called ‘anisotropic1’. Refer to Figure 2.16. Select the handle of the magic
wand in the scene, on which Anisotropic has to be applied. In the Hypershade Work Area, right-click
‘anisotropic1’ swatch and select Assign Material To Selection option. Double-click the ‘anisotropic1’
swatch to open the Attribute Editor. Change the required values in the Common Material Attributes tab.

Figure 2.16: Anisotropic Figure 2.17: Handle before and after

applying Anisotropic
Anisotropic has additional attributes, shown in Figure 2.18, such as Angle, Spread X, and Spread Y in the
Specular Shading tab. Enter the value of Angle to 45 to change the orientation of grooves on handle to
45 degrees. Change the Spread X value to 20 from a default value of 13. This spreads the groove a little
further in the X-direction. Decrease the Spread Y value from a default value of 3 to 2 to decrease the spread
in Y-direction. Adjust the roughness of the material by increasing the Roughness value of 0.7. Select Open
Render View button from the menu and check the specular shade along the handle. Refer to Figure 2.17
to notice the change in the handle before and after applying Anisotropic material to it.

Figure 2.18: Anisotropic Attributes

2.2.7 Ramp Shader

Ramp Shader is an exclusive material which has the ability to change the look of the surface depending on
the light and the angle at which it is viewed Apart from the Common Material Attributes, Ramp Shader
has some special tabs with related attributes which include:
 Color is used to customize the color of the surface. Refer to Figure 2.19 for different options in
Color tab.

Figure 2.19: Options in Color tab of Ramp Shader

 Selected Position which helps set the position of the color entry on the ramp.

 Selected Color to select the color of the color entry.

 Interpolation to define the transitions between colors in the ramp. Options in Interpolation
include:
 None: For no interpolation between colors.
 Linear: For linear transitions in RGB color space.
 Smooth: For smooth transition between colors which blend.
 Spline: For a smoother transition based on neighboring indices.

 Color Input: As the name suggests, this option determines how the color is applied on the
surface. It has multiple options such as:
 Light Angle: This option allows color to be spread depending on the angle of light with
the normal of the surface. The color of the surface where the normal points the light is
shown on the extreme right of the ramp, whereas the extreme left shows the color
where the normal faces away from the light.Refer to Figure 2.20.

Figure 2.20: Light Angle

  Facing Angle: This option allows color to be spread depending on the angle of camera
with the normal of the surface. The color of the surface where the normal faces the
camera is shown on the extreme right of the ramp, whereas the extreme left shows the
color where the normal is perpendicular to the camera. Refer to Figure 2.21.

Figure 2.21: Facing Angle

 Brightness: This option allows color to be spread depending on the brightness on the
surface. The color of the surface where the brightness of the diffuse and translucent
lighting is 1.0 or higher is shown on the extreme right of the ramp, whereas the extreme
left shows the color where the brightness is zero. Refer to Figure 2.22.

Figure 2.22: Brightness

 Normalized Brightness: This options is similar to the Brightness options except that
the total light is normalized. Therefore, the shading is exclusive of the overall light
intensity. Hence, the brightness and its color implications on the surface do not change
relative to the overall lighting in the scene. Refer to Figure 2.23.

Figure 2.23: Normalized Brightness

 Transparency Attributes: These options are useful for changing the transparency of the
surface and transparency color attributes are similar to the Color attributes.
 Incandescence Attributes: As the name suggests, these attributes are useful for giving
incandescent properties to an object to make it look like it is burning. Selected Position,
Selected Color, and Interpolation are similar to the Color attributes.
 Specular Shading: This tab is used for altering the specular on materials. Refer to Figure 2.24.
  Specularity: This option helps in limiting the brightness of specular highlights.

 Eccentricity: This is similar to Eccentricity attribute, part of Specular Shading tab in

Blinn.

 Selected Position: This is used to set the position of the specular color entry.

 Specular Roll Off: This is similar to Specular Roll Off attribute, part of Specular Shading
tab in Blinn.
 Selected Position: This value changes the position of index on x-axis of ramp graph
and is used for changing the brightness of specular reflections.
 Selected Value: This value changes the position of index on y-axis of ramp graph and
is used for changing the facing angle with the view.
 Interpolation: This option is similar to the Interpolation attribute of the Color tab.

Figure 2.24: Other attributes in Ramp Shader

 Reflectivity: These attributes are used for changing the environment and reflected color.
Selected Position, Selected Value, and Interpolation are similar to attributes discussed in
Specular Roll Off. Refer to Figure 2.24.
 Environment: These attributes are similar to the Color attributes and are used to control the
sky to ground environment using a ramp.

 Reflected Color: This additional attribute is used to modify the color from the light of
reflections of material.
 Tip

Reflection Mapping is the process of mapping an image or texture to Reflected Color

attribute for creating fake reflections. Use reflection mapping as a quick alternative to
raytracing for simulating simple reflections.

 Shadow Control: This tab has various options which control shadows and related attributes.

 Shadow Mode: This drop-down list has the following options:

 Normal: This default mode is used if the shadow color needs to be closest to color
position in the ramp shader.
 Shaded Color: This mode is useful for selecting specific color gradients, to blend
shadows with the surrounding objects.
 Constant Color: This mode is useful for selecting a constant color for the shadow.

 Shadow Color: This is used to select the color for Shaded Color or Constant Color
modes.

 Shadow Threshold: This option helps in controlling the spread of the shadows. Higher the
value, lower the spread of the shadow.

To assign Ramp Shader, in the Hypershade window, click Surface, in the Create tab. From the surface
options, select Ramp Shader. This automatically creates a default Ramp Shader swatch in the
Hypershade Work Area and Hypershade Materials tab called ‘rampShader1’. Refer to Figure 2.25. In
the Hypershade Work Area, right-click ‘rampShader1’ swatch, and select Assign Material To Selection
option.
To customize this shader further, double-click the ‘rampShader1’ swatch, to open the Attribute Editor and
change the values accordingly.
 Figure 2.25: Ramp Shader

Click the arrow on the right side of the Selected Color box to open the Ramp Editor in a larger window. A
new window opens with the name ‘rampShader1. color’. Change the Selected Color, Selected Position,
Interpolation, and Color Input values as required. Observe the transitions in the Material Sample swatch.
In the Transparency tab, click the arrow on the right side of the Selected Color option to open the Ramp
Editor of Transparency in a larger window. A new window opens with the name ‘rampShader1.transparency’
which allows editing the Transparency properties. Add a color entry and using the Selected Color box,
specify Selected Position values and choose from Interpolation drop-down menu. Observe the transitions
in the Material Sample swatch.
In the Incandescence tab, click the arrow on the right side of the Selected Color box to open the Ramp
Editor in a larger window. A new window opens with the name ‘rampShader1.incandescence’ where
Selected Color, Selected Position, and Interpolation values can be changed.
Also, adjust other values in Incandescence, Specular Shading, Specular Color, Specular Roll Off,
Reflectivity, Environment, and Shadow Control tabs. If necessary, observe the resultant transitions in
the Material Sample swatch and adjust them further. Select Open Render View button from the menu to
view a sample output. Figure 2.26 shows the crystal on the ring, before and after applying Ramp Shader.

Figure 2.26: Crystal before and after applying Ramp Shader

2.2.8 Layered Shader

Layered Shader is used to apply two or more layers of materials on the same model. Layered Shader is
very useful in overlapping two different looks with distinctive appearances.
Refer to Figure 2.27 for specific attributes of Layered Shader. They are as follows:
 Transparency: This is used to change the transparency of the object.
 Compositing Flag: Choose from Layer Shader node or Layer Texture node to composite
the layers using this option.

 Layer Shaders: Color and transparency are processed together and passed to the layered
shader.

 Layer Texture: Color and transparency are passed separately to the layered shader.

In the Create tab of the Hypershade window, click Surface. From the surface options select PhongE. This
auto- matically creates a default PhongE swatch in the Hypershade Work Area and Hypershade
Materials tab called ‘phongE1’.
In the Create tab, click Surface. From the surface options select Blinn. This automatically creates a default
Blinn swatch in the Hypershade Work Area and Hypershade Materials tab called ‘blinn1’.
In the Create tab, click Surface. From the surface options select Layered Shader. This automatically
creates a default Layered Shader swatch in the Hypershade Work Area and Hypershade Materials tab
called ‘layered- Shader1’. Refer to Figure 2.28. Select the portion of magic wand model in the scene, on
which Layered Shader has to be applied. In the Hypershade Work Area, right-click ‘layeredShader1’
swatch and select Assign Material To Selection option. Double-click the ‘layeredShader1’ swatch. This
opens the Attribute Editor. Now, from the Hypershade Work Area, drag the PhongE swatch to the area
with the green swatch in the Attribute Editor. Do the same with the Blinn swatch. Delete the green swatch
pertaining to the Layered Shader.
From the options available in Compositing Flag, choose the option Layer Shaders. In the Render Pass
Mode, select the option Pass Through. Refer to Figure 2.29 for the change in the rims of the magic wand,
before and after applying the Layered Shader.

Figure 2.27: Layered Shader Attributes

 Figure 2.28: Layered Shader Figure 2.29: Before and After
Applying Layered Shader

2.2.9 Shaderfx Shader

Shaderfx Shader is added in new versions of maya. It allows you to create advance mixing of shaders and
textures by connecting different shading nodes. As you create your shader network, you can visualize the
resulting materials real time in Viewport 2.0.
In the Create tab, click Surface. From the surface options select Shaderfx Shader. This automatically
creates a default Shaderfx Shader swatch in the Hypershade Work Area and Hypershade Materials tab
called ‘Shaderfx Shader1’. Refer to Figure 2.30.

Figure 2.30: Shaderfx Shader

To customize this shader further, double-click the ‘Shaderfx Shader1’ swatch, to open the Attribute Editor.
Click the Open ShaderFX button. This will open the shader editor window which creates three nodes
automatically as follows:
 Color
 TraditionalGameSurfaceShader
 Material

Refer to Figure 2.31 for Shader Editor Window.

Figure 2.31: Shader Editor Window

2.2.10 Other Surface Materials

Apart from the different surface materials discussed so far there are five more shader options available in
Maya 2015. They include Hair Tube Shader, Ocean Shader-used to create effects and simulations related
to ocean and water waves, Shading Map-useful for creating surreal shading effects, Surface Shader used
as a wrap that acts as a connecting node between an object and a keyable attribute, and Use Background
used to catch shadows or reflections.

Note

In Maya, there are two ways to layer textures. First method to layer textures is by using the
Layered Shader, with Compositing Flag option as Layer Texture. The other way is by using
the Layered Texture Node.
 Quick Test 2.2

1. ______________ are the attributes specific to Anisotropic materials which determine the
spread of grooves in the X and Y direction respectively.
Spread X and Spread Y Spread Z and Spread Y
Spread X and Spread Z Spread All
2. Ramp Shader has the Specular Shading, Color, Reflectivity, Shadow Control, Specular
Rolloff, and Incandesence tabs in its Attribute Editor. (True/False)
2.3 Volumetric Materials

Volumetric materials are used to define and customize the volume of space around the 3D models in the
scene. They are useful in creating fog, smoke, dust, and other environment related effects.
To access volumetric materials, in the Hypershade window, click the Create tab and in the Maya section,
click Surface. The sub menu consists of six volumetric materials. Refer to Figure 2.32. Some attributes are
common to all the volumetric materials.

2.3.1 Common Volumetric Material Attributes

Each volumetric material has a different function, however, most of them have some common attributes.
Common attributes include:

Figure 2.32: Volumetric Materials

 Matte Opacity Mode: This attribute is available in the Matte Opacity tab of all materials. There
are three modes. They are as follows:

 Opacity Gain: This value is used to manage the matte value contribution. This is the
default mode for any material.

 Solid Matte: The matte channel value of all the pixels can be made constant using the
Solid Matte mode.

 Black Hole: This sets the matte channel value of all pixels to 0 regardless of what exists
behind the material, thereby creating an imaginary black hole. Matte Opacity value for this
mode is disabled.
 Matte Opacity: This value is used to change the mask value for an object. Matte Opacity
value ranges between 0 and 1, with default value 1 and this value can be modified to assign a
new alpha value.
2.3.2 Environment Fog

Environment Fog is used to replicate the environment around a character in the scene. This environment
includes, but is not limited to, air, dust, smoke, sun, fog, and water. These particles can beautify a scene to
a great extent and make the set up around the characters look realistic.
There are basically two types of Environment Fog options. Refer to Figure 2.33. They are as follows:
 Simple Fog: This is the default fog option in Environment Fog. It contains various attributes
such as:

 Color: Used to change color of the fog.

 Color Based Transparency: Used to change the transparency level of fog. By default, this
value is on.

 Saturation Distance: Used to define the distance away from the camera in the scene
where the fog is highly saturated.

 Use Layer: By default, this option is always turned off. If on, this option allows to customize
the fog by assigning a texture to the Layer attribute.

 Layer: Used to map a texture to the fog.

Figure 2.33: Environment Fog options

  Use Height: By default, this option is turned off, in which case the fog fills the entire camera
view. If on, this option allows in defining Min Height and Max Height to delineate and limit
the fog in the camera’s perspective.

 Blend Range: This gives the vertical range where the fog gradually fades from given
density to zero density.
 Physical Fog: This is the other option in Environment Fog and comes with a check box, below
the material swatch in the Attribute Editor, which needs to be turned on. Features like Fog
Axis and Planet Radius help in managing the fog. Most important feature of Physical Fog is:

 Fog Type: This option has various types of fogs to choose from such as:
 Uniform Fog: As the name suggests, there is uniform density across this type of fog.
 Atmospheric: This fog is denser near the ground and starts to fade as it moves
up.
 Sky: Fog spreads across the sky until the horizon, used typically for long shots.
 Water: Typically used in underwater shots, to show rays of light emerging from above
and scattering in water.
 Water/Fog: Similar to the Water type, except that the fog is uniform.
 Water/Atoms: used for fog in the atmosphere when the camera is the underwater
scene.
 Water/Sky: Used for Sky fog above water, when the camera is underwater in the
scene.

2.3.3 Other Volumetric Materials

There are other volumetric materials with features similar to the Environment Fog. Most attributes are self-
explanatory and can be easily used to customize the material. The other volumetric materials include Fog,
Air, Water, and Sun. Attributes of these volumetric materials are available only to certain Fog Types
selected in Physical Fog. Apart from the common attributes, they have some additional features such as
Decay and Light Scatter.
To create surreal environment around the fairy using volumetric materials, follow this procedure:
In the Create tab of Hypershade w indow , select Volumetric. From the six different types of sub
menu options, select Env F o g , that is, the Environment Fog material. In the Render View window,
go to the Options menu and select Render Settings option to open the Render Settings window. Click
the Maya Software tab in this window. In the Post Processing section, click the Environment Fog
output node. Open the Attribute Editor of ‘envFogMaterial’ swatch in the Hypershade Work Area and
select the Physical Fog check box.
 Figure 2.34: Before and after applying Environment Fog

In the Physical Fog section, from the drop-down list of Fog Type options select Atmospheric. In the Fog
section, decrease the value of Fog Opacity by sliding the bar to left. Decrease the density of fog by
decreasing the Fog Density value to 0.20. Decrease the height of the fog by decreasing Fog Max Height
value to 0.10. Lower the Fog Light Scatter value to 0.7 to decrease the fog light scatter.
In the Air section, customize the color of air, by clicking the box beside Air Color option. Customize the
color in the Color History box. Increase the value of Air Density to 0.015 to increase the density of air.
Increase the value of Air Max Height to 19.5 to increase the height of air around the model. Decrease the
value of Air Light Scatter to 0.7 decrease the scatter value of light around the model.

In the Sun section, increase the value of Sun Intensity to 2. Decrease the value of Sun Azimuth to -26.00.
Decrease the value of Sun Elevation to 30.00 to lower the elevation of sun. Observe the changes in the
environment around the fairy before and after applying Environment Fog as shown in Figure 2.34.
2.4 Displacement Materials

Displacement maps are grayscale textures that are useful in creating real-time changes to the topology of
the surface of the objects on which they are applied. Adding elevations or depressions and all the necessary
surface relief is way easier and faster using displacement map instead of creating individually on the 3D
model of the object.
Displacement map displaces vertices of an object. Alpha Gain Value found in the Attribute Editor is the
one of the chief attributes as it effectively determines the height of displacement of vertices.

Figure 2.35: Displacement Map

To create displacements in a wall using Displacement Map:

Open the 3D model of a wall in the scene on which displacement map has to be applied. In the Window
menu, select Rendering Editors and select Hypershade. In the Create tab, of Hypershade window, click
Surface. From the Surface options select Lambert. This creates a default ‘lambert2’ swatch in
Hypershade Work Area.
Again, in the Create tab of Hypershade window, click 2D Textures and select File. This creates a swatch
called ‘file1’ in the Hypershade Work Area. Double-click the swatch ‘file1’ to open its Attribute Editor.
In the File Attributes tab, click the browse button on the right of Image Name, select and open the
image of the wall called ‘BrickWall.jpg’. In the Create tab, select Displacement, and click the
Displacement option in the sub menu. Refer to Figure 2.35. Now select the ‘file1’ swatch, press the
middle mouse button, and drag onto the ‘displacementShader1’ swatch to assign it. A drop-down list
appears here, from the options available, select Default.
Select the ‘displacementShader1’ swatch, click and drag it onto the ‘lambert1’ swatch to assign it. From
the options available drop- down list, select Displacement Map. Select the wall in the work area on which
displacement map has to be applied. Right-click the ‘lambert2’ swatch and select Assign Material to
Selection option. Double-click ‘lambert2’ swatch to open the Attribute Editor. Select Render the
current frame button. This opens the view in the Render View window with the elevations and
depressions in the wall. Now, click the output connection icon in Attribute Editor of ‘lambert2’ to open the
related output connection attributes. In the Shading Group Attributes of ‘lambert2SG’ click the output
connection of Displacement mat. This opens the Attribute Editor of ‘file1’. Scroll down past the File
Attributes section; click the arrow beside Color Balance section to open it. Decrease the Alpha Gain
value to 0.05. Similarly, decrease the Alpha Offset value to 0.05. Using the Render current frame button
observe the changes done to the surface of the wall.
Go to the Hypershade Work Area to the Shading group. Select the ‘file1’ swatch and drag on the
‘lambert2’ swatch from the options available and select the color. Using Render current frame button
check the output and if satisfied, save the scene. Refer to Figure 2.36 for displacements on the wall before
and after applying Displacement Map.

Figure 2.36: Model of wall before and after applying Displacement Map
 Keyboard Shortcuts

Command Shortcut
New Scene Ctrl + N
Open Scene Ctrl + O
Save Scene Ctrl + S
Attribute Editor Ctrl + A
Zooms any view or panel Alt + the left and middle button
Select Tool q
Rotate Tool e
2.5 Summary

In this session, Hypershade and Materials, you learned that:

 Hypershade refers to a window that is used in creating and editing nodes corresponding to
lights, shaders, textures, and rendering utilities.
 Hypershade window can be broadly divided into three parts: Create and Bins menu, Editing
section, and Work Area section.
 There are three types of material options available in Hypershade. They are Surface materials,
Volumetric materials, and Displacement Materials.
 There are 12 types of surface materials which include: Lambert, Blinn, Phong, PhongE,
Anisotropic, Ramp Shader, Layered shader, Ocean Shader, Surface Shader, Use
Background, Hair Tube Shader, and Shading Map.
 Lambert material is the most commonly used among all shaders. It is used for all matte surfaces,
such as walls, clothes, or skin of characters.
 Phong material is mostly used for materials applied on glassy or glossy surfaces.
 Blinn material is used usually on models which have soft specular surfaces such as brass or
other metals.
 PhongE material is similar to Phong shader, except that PhongE is easier to apply and it
renders faster.
 Anisotropic material is applied on models with grooves on their surface, such as CDs or
feathers.
 Ramp Shader is an exclusive material which has the ability to change the look of the surface
depending on the light and the angle at which it is viewed.
 Layered Shader is used to apply two or more layers of materials on the same model. Layered
Shader is very useful in overlapping two different looks with distinctive appearances.
 Volumetric materials are used to define and customize the volume of space around the 3D
models in the scene. They are useful in creating fog, smoke, dust, and other environment
related effects.
 Environment Fog is used to replicate the environment around a character in the scene. This
environment includes, but is not limited to, air, dust, smoke, sun, fog, and water.
 Displacement maps are grayscale textures that are useful in creating real-time changes to the
topology of the surface of the objects on which they are applied.
 Common material attributes of surface materials include: Type, Color, Transparency,
Ambient Color, Incandescence, Bump mapping, Diffuse, Translucence, Translucence
Depth, and Translucence Focus.
2.6 Exercise
1. Hypershade refers to a window that is used in creating and editing nodes corresponding to _________.
a. Lights b. Shaders
c. Textures d. All of the above

2. There are three types of material options available in Hypershade which include Surface materials,
Volumetric materials, and Displacement Materials.

a. True b. False

3. ___________ section in Hypershade window is used to connect render nodes, delete render node
connections, unclutter shapes by hiding and transforms.
a. Editing b. Work Area
c. Create tab d. None of the above

4. PhongE material is similar to Phong shader, except that PhongE is easier to apply and it renders faster.
a. True b. False

5. Color Input of Ramp shader, which determines how the color is applied on the surface, has ________
different options.
a. 3 b. 4
c. 5 d. 6

6. Compositing Flag of Layered Shader has ____________________ to composite layers.

a. Layer Shaders b. Layer Textures

c. Both a and b d. None of the above

7. ___________________ is used to replicate the environment around a character in the scene, such as
air, dust, smoke, sun, fog, and water.
a. Displacement b. Surface Material
c. Environment Fog d. None of the Above

8. _________________ are grayscale textures that are useful in creating real-time changes to the
topology of the surface of the objects on which they are applied.
a. Bump Maps b. Displacement Maps
c. Environment Fog d. Surface Maps
 S es s ion 3
Textures and 3D Paint Tool
Learning Outcomes
In this session, you will learn to -

 Use different types of 2D textures

 Understand environment textures
 Use types of 3D textures
 Map textures onto objects
 Create texture maps
 Assign a texture to a material
 Position textures
 Modify textures applied to a surface
 Import image file as texture

Materials are first layers that are assigned to 3D models. After finalizing materials, the next step is to
progress towards designing, mapping, and assigning textures on top of these materials. Just like the skin
of human beings, textures are the topmost layer of the 3D models. Hence, it is imperative that textures have
to be crafted to perfection and flawlessly assigned to the material to give life to a 3D character and object.
Textures are used to illustrate and characterize the object’s surface. Texture maps can be created for
material attributes using texture specific nodes called texture nodes created by Maya. Maya offers four
types of texture options: 2D textures, 3D textures, environment textures, and layered textures. Each of
these textures are designed with distinctive algorithms that generate recurring patterns.

3.1 2D Textures

2D textures, as the name suggests, are 2D in nature. In other words, they are like sheets of paper which
can be used to cover flat or 2D surfaces. To access 2D textures, go to the Create tab in Hypershade
window and click 2D Textures in the Maya nodes.

3.1.1 Types of 2D Textures

Maya offers thirteen types of 2D Textures by default. Refer to Figure 3.1 for the different types of 2D
Textures available. Given here is a description about these 2D Textures:
 Figure 3.1: 2D Textures Figure 3.2: Before and after applying Bulge
 Bulge: Generates a matrix of white squares that blur at their edges on black background.
Uwidth and Vwidth are specific attributes of Bulge surface used to control the width of
these squares in U and V direction respectively. Their default value is 0.1. Figure 3.2 shows
Bulge texture applied on chairs.
 Checker: This generates a checkerboard or a chess board pattern with clear defined alternate
black and white squares. Colors of these squares can be changed using Color1 and Color2.
Contrast is used to control the contrast between two colors and has a default value of 1.
 Cloth: This texture is typically used for clothes and fabrics. Refer to Figure 3.3 for various
Cloth texture attributes. Figure 3.4 shows a tablecloth before and after applying Cloth
texture.

Figure 3.3: Cloth attributes

 Gap Color: Used to select the color of the area between the threads of the fabric.

 U Color, V Color: Defines colors of threads in the fabric in U and V directions respectively.
  U Width, V W i d t h : Used t o d e f i n e t h e w i d t h of threads in the fabric in U and V
directions respectively. When the width is set to 1, the threads completely touch each other
with no gaps between them.

 U Wave, V Wave: Defines waviness of threads in the fabric in U and V directions

respectively to create patterns.

 Randomness: Used to smear the texture randomly in U and V directions. This attribute is
helpful in making the fiber look natural.

 Width Spread: Alters the width of the threads at random places across the length of the
thread.

 Bright Spread: Alters the brightness of the threads at random places by subtracting a
random amount from U Color and V Color values.

Figure 3.4: Before and after applying Cloth

 File: This uses an image file as 2D texture. Refer to Figure 3.5. This option is frequently used for
customized textures and has the following attributes:

 Filter Type: When rendering, the Filter Type defines the sampling technique applied to
the image file. There are three types of options:
 Quadratic, Quartic, and Gaussian: Forms of bell curves, where the centre of
the texture is prioritized over the extreme edges of the textures thereby enabling faster
rendering. Quadratic is the most efficient, and hence, the default filter type.
 Mipmap: This stores average values of large texture maps thereby making it useful
for faster previewing. However, it is not ideal for high quality renders.

 Box: This uses the average value derived by adding the values sampled and divided
by the number of samples taken.

 Pre-Filter: This is used to remove noise in the image file in unwanted areas by defining
the Pre-Filter Radius.

 Pre-Filter Radius: Controls the size of the filtering radius.

 Figure 3.5: File texture attributes

 Image Name: Helps in naming the image file used. This is particularly helpful for naming a
sequence of images used for animation. One of the following formats should be used for
naming the files- ‘name.#.ext’ or ‘name.ext.#’ or ‘name.#’. Here ‘name’ refers to base name
of the file, # refers to the frame number, and ‘ext’ refers to the specific file extension.
The Image Name has the following three options:
 Reload: Used to reload the textures from the specified path in the disk.
 Edit: Used to edit textures using an external application from Maya.
 View: Used to view textures using an external application from Maya.

 Use BOT: Block Ordered Textures (BOT) which use less memory during the rendering
process. If the image is not a BOT file, Maya creates a temporary BOT file for the image
file during rendering.

 Disable File Load: This disables the texture from loading and instead gives a grey colored
output.

 Use Image Sequence: This options enables images to be used as sequence for creating
an animated texture.
 Image Number: Used to keyframe image number value.
 Frame Offset: Offset it if required using Frame Offset.
  Interactive Sequence Caching Options: File textures specified within the range of
the Sequence Start, Sequence End, and Sequence Increment are loaded into
memory only once when Use Interactive Sequence Caching is on. When animating
textures, this option is useful for caching file textures.
Figure 3.6 shows a flower vase before and after File texture is applied on it.

Figure 3.6: Before and after applying File texture on the flower vase
 Fluid Texture 2D: This texture is used on fluids and is very handy when creating oceans and
other water related environments.
 Fractal: Fractal, as the name suggests, generates a self-similar design or pattern with a pre-
defined distribution. It is commonly used as bump or displacement map for simulating patterns
on rocks. It has the following attributes:

 Amplitude: Used to scale all values in the texture.

 Threshold: Used as limiting attribute for all the values related to texture.

 Ratio: Defines the occurrence or regularity of the pattern.

 Frequency Ratio: Defines the frequency or repetition of the pattern.

 Level Min, Level Max: Controls the minimum and maximum number of granulation in the
fractal.

 Inflection: Used for creating bends or puffs in the noise function.

 Animated: Used to animate the noise function when turned on. This can be done using
Time value.

 Time: Used to keyframe the time value of the animation.

 Time Ratio: Defines the ratio at which the animation repeats itself. By default, this value
is equal to Frequency Ratio.
 Grid: This texture generates a grid or lattice like pattern.

 Line Color: Selects the color of lines in grid.

 Filler Color: Selects the color of the spaces in between the lines of grid.

 U Width, V Width: Controls the width of the lines in U and V direction.

 Contrast: Defines the contrast between Line Color and Filler Color.

 Mountain: Generates a texture like a mountain with rocky backdrop. This is also frequently
used as bump or displacement map for generating molds.

 Snow Color, Rock Color: Used to pick color of the snow and rock respectively.

 Amplitude: Used to scale all values in the texture.

 Snow Roughness, Rock Roughness: Used to define the roughness of snow and rock
respectively.

 Boundary: Used to define the irregularities of snow and rock.

 Snow Altitude: Defines the altitude of snow.

 Snow Dropoff: The pace at which snow drops off from the mountain.

 Snow Slope: An angle beyond which snow starts coming off the mountain.

 Depth Max: The number of repetitions of the noise function which decides the granularity.

 Movie: Generates a texture that stores all the data in a single frame which consists of the movie
file. Its attributes are similar to those of File texture attributes.

 Noise: Generates a texture with a random granulations that symbolize noise. Refer to Figure
3.7 for Noise texture attributes. It has the following attributes:

 Threshold: This gives the threshold limit for making the granules uniformly brighter.

 Amplitude: Used to scale all values in the texture. The light areas get lighter and dark
areas get darker when amplitude is increased.

 Ratio: Defines the occurrence or regularity of the noise granules.

 Frequency R a t io : Defines the frequency or repetition of the noise distribution.
 Depth Max: Controls the maximum amount of depth of the noise generated.
 Inflection: Used to generate bends or puffs in the noise.
 Time: Used to keyframe the time value of the animation.

 Frequency: Controls the frequency for the noise. Increase this value to increase the
detailing in the noise produced.
 Figure 3.7: Noise texture attributes
 Implode: This generates the noise around a point defined by the Implode Center, which
looks like something is imploding.
 Implode Center: This defines the centre around which the Implode effect is
generated.
 Noise Type: Used to select the types of noise to be generated. Refer to the Figure 3.8
for a sample output of how these Noise Types look like. Different Noise Types
include:
A. Perlin Noise
B. Billow
C. Wispy
D. SpaceTime

 Density: Controls the density of cells available in Billow noise type.

 Spottyness: Defines the arbitrariness of the Density of cells in Billow noise type.

(a) Perlin Noise (b) Billow (c) Wave (d) Wispy (e) SpaceTime
Figure 3.8: Noise Types
  Size Rand: Controls the arbitrariness of the size of cells in Billow noise type.

 Randomness: Defines the randomness at which cell appear in Billow noise type.

 Falloff: There are different ways in which intensity falloffs for cells in the Billow noise
type which include:
 Linear: Generates a linear fall off from the centre towards the edge.
 Smooth: Generates gaussian falloff.
 FastBubble: Generates blobs with high intensity at the centre.

 Num Waves: Controls the number of waves generated in the Wave noise type.
Figure 3.9 shows a clay pot with a plant in it. Observe the clay pot before and after applying
Noise texture to it.

Figure 3.9: Before and after applying Noise texture

 Ocean: This texture is used to generate the ocean effect. This texture has various attributes
which help in customizing the ocean effect. They include:

 Ocean Attributes:
 Scale: Used to change the scale of texture space.
 Time: Used to keyframe the time value of the animation in the ocean.
 Wind UV: Controls the directions the wind flows in UV direction which thereby simulate
the waves on surface of ocean.
 Wave Speed: Defines the speed at which a wave travels.
 Observer Speed: Used to observe and then cancel transverse wave motion.
 Num Frequencies: Controls the number of wave frequencies between specified
Wave Length Min and Wave Length Max values.
  Wave Dir Spread: Defines the direction in which the wave travels with respect to wind.
 Wave Length Min: Defines the minimum length of waves in meters.
 Wave Length Max: Defines the maximum length of waves in meters.

 Wave Height: Defines the height of waves. In the graph corresponding to Wave Height,
the right edge represents waves with the longest wavelength and vice versa. For all the
waves to be of same height, ensure that the graph is a horizontal straight line.

 Wave Turbulence: As the name suggests, this attribute is used to manage the turbulence
effects generated as per various frequencies.

 Wave Peaking: These attributes are used to manage the peaks or crests of waves
generated. This can be done using attributes such as Wave Height Offset, Foam
Emission, Bump Blur, Horizon Filter, and Color Mode.

 PSD File: Some of the most intricate and fascinating textures generated by texture artists are
all transformed from basic PSD files. For those who are very good with Adobe Photoshop,
it is imperative that they master the art of converting PSD files to 3D textures and apply them
to objects.

Figure 3.10: PSD File attributes

 Refer to Figure 3.10 for some PSD File attributes. Attributes which help in customizing the PSD
file include Filter Type, Pre-Filter, Pre-Filter Radius, Image Name, Reload, Edit, View, Link
to Layer Set, Alpha to Use, Disable File Load, and Use Image Sequence Image Number
Frame Offset. Following procedure illustrates how some of these specific attributes can be
applied:
 Edit: This opens an external editing software like Adobe Photoshop, where the PSD file
can be edited as required. Clicking the Edit button after this ensures that the edited PSD
file now appears in the scene.

 Reload: Incase the PSD file gets modified at its source destination, after it is already loaded
in the scene, then using Reload option, it is easy to re-load the file in scene, without
opening it.

The Edit and Reload functions allow texture artists to modify and accentuate the textures
immediately. Figure 3.11 shows the wall painting before and after applying PSD File texture.

Figure 3.11: Before and after applying PSD File texture to wall painting
 Ramp: This texture creates a ramp with an array of colors. Working on Ramp texture is easy if
one understands Ramp Shader. It is also frequently used as bump or displacement map to
create unique patterns.

Some important attributes of Ramp texture, as shown in Figure 3.12, include:

 Type: Helps in selecting the direction of colors in the ramp.

 Interpolation: Helps in selecting how colors blend into one another.

 Ramp, Selected Color, and Selected Position: Helps in selecting the colors of the ramp
and defining it. Use this just like a ramp in the Ramp Shader. Selected Color and
Selected Position help in selecting the color and position of a color handle respectively in
the ramp.

 U Wave, V Wave: Alters the waviness of the texture in U and V direction.

 Noise, Noise Freq: Used to alter the noise in ramp and frequency of noise respectively.
 Figure 3.12: Ramp texture attributes

To apply Ramp texture on a plate, in the Hypershade window, go to 2D Textures options and select
Ramp. This creates a swatch in Work Area called ‘ramp1’. Select the model, a plate on the dining table,
to which ramp texture has to be assigned. Right-click the ‘ramp1’ swatch and select Assign Texture’s
Material to Selection. Open its Attribute Editor, go to the Ramp Attributes, click Type drop-down list.
From the options select Circular Ramp. Click the color handle on the left side, below Interpolation
attribute. Click the Selected Color label. This opens the Color History box where a color can be picked.
Similarly, click the middle color handle and using the Selected Color choose the color from the Color
History box. Repeat the same with color handle at the bottom to select a color. Refer to Figure 3.13 for a
sample of how the plate looks like before and after applying Ramp texture.

Figure 3.13: Before and after applying Ramp texture

 Note

Ramp swatch in Hypershade reflects all the changes in attributes done using Attribute Editor
Only changes done using Selected Color, Selected Position, Type, and Interpolation
automatically reflect in the Ramp.

 Water: This texture, as the name suggests, is very handy to create water related textures.
It also has multiple uses when used as bump or displacement map. Water texture has the
following attributes:

 Number Of Waves: Used to specify the number of waves in the texture.

 Wave Time: Alters the time span of the wave. The longer the time span of the wave,
longer it travels after it is generated. This has a default value of 0.

 Wave Velocity: Alters the velocity of the waves on the surface, with a default value of 1.

 Wave Amplitude: Changes the height or amplitude of the wave on the surface.

 Fast: This option when turned off helps quicker rendering of the surface. It is used in
cases when the camera zooms into surface of water and requires to capture detailing on
waves.

 Wave Frequency: Controls the frequency of primary waves. When the frequency of wave
increases, its length decreases.

 Sub Wave Frequency: Alters the frequency of subwaves.

 Smoothness: Alters the smoothness by changing the intensity of secondary waves.

3.1.2 Common 2D Texture Attributes

Apart from the specific attributes mentioned so far there are additional attributes common to 2D Textures.
They are as follows:
 Color Balance: Used to balance color properties of a texture. The Color Balance tab is
present in the Attribute Editor of specific texture, as shown in Figure 3.14. It has following
features:

 Default Color: Used to select the default color of texture.

 Color Gain: Used to boost color by connecting a specific color to the texture’s outColor
channel.

 Color Offset: Used to counter balance color by connecting another specific color to the
texture’s outColor channel.

 Alpha Gain: Used to boost color by connecting it to the texture’s outAlpha channel,
whenever a texture is used as a bump or displacement.

 Alpha Offset: Used to counterbalance color by connecting it to the texture’s outAlpha

channel, whenever a texture is used as a bump or displacement.

 Alpha Is Luminance: As the name suggests, the alpha given to a texture becomes directly
proportional to the luminance of color channel.

Figure 3.14: Common 2D Texture attributes

 Effects: Various effects available include:

 Filter: Used to modify the blur factor and boost the size of filter. This value is directly
proportional to Eye Space value as the farther the object, the greater the blur.

 Filter Offset: Unlike incase of Filter, Maya changes the blur on texture real-time.

 Invert: Inverts all the colors in texture.

 Color Remap: Used to remap the color by editing and accentuating already chosen color.
 Quick Test 3.1

1. Textures in Maya include 2D Textures, 3D Textures, and Env Textures. (True/False)

2. There are ___________ types of 2D Textures available by default in Maya.

Thirteen Seventeen Fifteen Sixteen

3.2 3D Textures
3D textures are useful while creating objects which need to project some depth in them. For example, when
creating a wood-like texture, it is important to show the layers, veins, and grooves to replicate real-life wood.
Such attributes are important as they give an aura of depth to the texture. This is precisely why, in spite of
various 2D textures available, texture artists still prefer using 3D textures for specific models.

3.2.1 Types of 3D Textures

There are various 3D textures available in Create Texture Node window, as shown in Figure 3.15, which
include:
 Brownian: This textures is frequently used for metals. This texture has the following specific
attributes:

 Octaves: Used to control noise frequencies.

 Lacunarity: Used to control the gap between consecutive octaves.

 Weight3d: Used to make the image look like it has mode waves to give it superior 3D feel.

Figure 3.15: 3D Textures

 Cloud: This is a very commonly used texture for reproducing clouds. These clouds become
transparent towards the edges. Refer to Figure 3.16 for a set of Cloud texture attributes. Cloud
texture has the following attributes:

 Color1, Color2: The final color of the cloud is a blend of these two colors.

 Contrast: Used to control the contrast between Color1 and Color2.

 Amplitude: Defines the amplitude of the fractal noise, with a default value as 1.

 Depth: The minimum and maximum values are used to alter the depth of the texture by
changing its granularity.

 Ripples: These values are used for generating ripples in the texture, confined to all three
directions. Default value is 1.

Figure 3.16: Cloud Attributes

 Soft Edges: Used to alter the transparency at the edges of clouds. To make the cloud
entirely opaque turn this option off.

 Edge Thresh, Center Thresh: These values alter the frequencies at the edge and center
of the cloud respectively.

 Transp Range: Controls the transparency range of the cloud where a value of 1 produces
a cloud with soft edges and 0 produces a cloud with sharp edges.

 Ratio: Defines the frequencies of noise generated in the cloud. It has a default value of
0.707.
Figure 3.17 shows the Render View output before and after applying Cloud texture.

Figure 3.17: Before and after applying Cloud texture

 Crater: This texture is used to simulate real-life craters or patterns which have huge color or
transparency variations. It has the following attributes:

 Shaker: This is used to shake up the texture by adding greater detail to it.

 Melt: Manages how each color blends into the other.

 Balance: Controls the balance by varying the ratio of three colors.

 Frequency: Used to manage the frequency of the shaken colors.

 Fluid Texture 3d: This texture is very useful for Fluid Effects.
 Granite: This texture is useful for creating granite-like patterns. It has the following attributes:

 Color1, Color2, Color3, and Filler Color: Used to select three different colors of grains
and the color that fills the gaps in between.

 Cell Size: Defines the size of cells which form the grains.

 Density: Alters the density of cells.

 Mix Ratio: Defines the ratio of one color over the other, with respect to the three chosen
colors. It has a default value of 0.5 which makes Color2 dominate. Value of 1 makes
Color3 dominate, while that of 0 ensure Color1 overrides the others.

 Spottyness: Randomly alters the concentration of each cell to make the granite look more
natural.

 Randomness: Randomly alters the position of each cell.

 Threshold: Manages the threshold of blend between the cell and filler colors.

 Creases: Conjures up a crease between consecutive cells.

 Leather: This texture is used to simulate leather. Attributes of Leather texture are exactly
similar to those of Granite texture except that Granite has three cell color options whereas
Leather has only two. Refer to Figure 3.18 for Leather texture attributes. Figure 3.19 shows a
sofa before and after applying Leather texture.

Figure 3.18: Leather texture attributes

 Figure 3.19: Before and after applying Leather texture

 Marble: This option is used for creating marble like textures. It has the following attributes:

 Filler Color, Vein Color: Used to select filler and vein colors respectively.

 Vein Width: Used to alter the width of veins.

 Diffusion: Controls the blend between the Vein Color and Filler Color.

 Contrast: Defines the contrast between the Vein Color and Filler Color.
Figure 3.20 shows images of floor before and after applying Marble texture.

Figure 3.20: Before and after applying Marble texture

 Rock: This texture is useful for creating rock-like patterns. Refer to Figure 3.21 for Rock texture
attributes, which include:

 Color1, Color2: Used to select colors of grains in the rocks.

 Grain Size: Alters the size of the grain.

Figure 3.21: Rock texture attributes

 Diffusion: Controls the blend from Color1 to Color2.

 Mix Ratio: Decides the ratio of colors, thereby deciding which of the colors dominates.
Figure 3.22 shows 3D rock models before and after applying Rock texture.

Figure 3.22: Before and after applying Rock texture

 Figure 3.23: Wood texture attributes

 Snow: Used for recreating snow textures on surfaces. Snow texture has the following
attributes:

 Snow Color: Used to select the snow’s color.

 Surface Color: Used to select surface’s color.

 Threshold: Defines the slope of the snow on surface, where 0 to 1 relates to 90 to 0

degrees of slope.

 Depth Decay: Controls the blend of decay between Snow Color with respect to Surface
Color.

 Thickness: Alters the thickness of snow on the surface.

 Solid Fractal: Used to create an arbitrary 3D pattern by customizing the frequency distribution,
called fractal.

 Threshold: Used as a threshold to all the other attributes of Solid Fractal texture.

 Amplitude: Used to alter amplitude for all the other attributes of Solid Fractal texture.

 Ratio: Changes the rate of incidence of noise in Solid Fractal.

 Frequency Ratio: Alters the frequency of Ratio on the texture.

 Ripples: These values are used for generating ripples in the texture, confined to all three
directions. Default value is 1.
  Depth: The minimum and maximum values are used to alter the depth of the texture by
changing its granularity.

 Bias: Alters noise in range of -1 to 1 and distorts them towards 1 or 0. This in turn has two
options which include:
 Inflection: Used for applying a bend to the noise function.
 Animated: This option enables Time and Time Ratio attributes to customize the
animation schedule and frequency.
 Stucco: Used to simulate stain-like patterns. Attributes of Stucco are similar to Crater texture.
 Volume Noise: This texture is used to create varied patterns and different types of effects.
Apart from common attributes, it also has multiple attributes including: Threshold,
Amplitude, Ratio, Frequency Ratio, Depth max, Inflection, Time, Frequency, Scale,
Origin, Noise Type, Density, Spottyness, Size Rand, Randomness, Falloff, and Num
Waves.
 Wood: Wood texture is one of the most commonly used 3D texture. The 3D feel of the
texture can be ascribed to the concentric layers in the wood. Some important attributes of Wood
texture, as shown in Figure 3.23, include:

 Filler Color, Vein Color: Used for selecting filler and vein colors respectively.

 Vein Spread: Controls the degree of blend of the vein color into the filler color.

 Layer Size: Controls the thickness of each layer. The default is 0.02.

 Randomness: Randomly changes the thickness of layers.

 Age: Alters the appearance of the wood by making it look old or relatively new.

 Grain Color: Used to select the color of grains in the wood.

 Grain Contrast: Controls the contrast between Grain Color and Filler Color.

 Grain Spacing: Control the distance between grains in the wood.

 Center: Helps define the center of the concentric ring of wood with specific U and V values.
Figure 3.24 shows wooden fence before and after applying Wood texture.

Figure 3.24: Before and after applying Wood texture

3.2.2 Common 3D Texture Attributes

All 3D Textures have some attributes in common. All the common 2D Texture attributes discussed in
Section 3.1.2 are also available to 3D Textures. In addition to attributes such as Default Color, Color
Gain, Color Offset, Alpha Gain, Alpha Offset, Alpha Is Luminance, Filter, Filter Offset, and Invert,
3D Textures have the following additional common attributes:
 Local, Wrap: Wrap is used to wrap and repeat the texture on the object making it seamless.
Local ensures that the texture changes with any change in the dimensions of 3D model.
 Blend: This attribute helps in adjusting the blend between the Default Color with texture’s
color.
3.3 Mapping Textures

Mapping textures establish the connection of a texture with an object’s surface. A texture can be mapped or
plotted onto the surface in multiple ways. An object’s surface might not be planar or spherical most of the
times and how a texture sits on the objects becomes critical in such cases to the overall appearance of the
object. There are multiple ways of mapping or plotting a texture on an object’s surface. These include:

 Normal Mapping
 Projection Mapping
 Stencil Mapping

3.3.1 Bump and Displacement Mapping

Bump maps create a delusion of surface relief on the surface of an object without actually altering its
geometry. In other words, it creates delusional bumps. Displacement maps, on the other hand, create some
elevation or depressions, and related patterns by slightly altering the surface of an object’s geometry, which
means that these maps cause some real-time displacement of the surface on an object.

Quick Test 3.2

1. ____________ and ____________ are two attributes used to dynamically edit PSD files
in PSD File texture.

Use Cache and Use Image Sequence Pre Filter and Pre Filter Radius
Edit and Relaod Image Number and Frame Offset

2. Brownian, Rock, and Wood are types of 3D Textures. (True/False)

Bump and displacement maps are an extended feature of textures which enable the texture’s pattern to be
translated on to surface reliefs. For example, when a Checker texture is used as a bump or displacement
map on a flat floor, the floor in the output shows consequent elevations and depressions, because of
squares in Checker texture, on the floors. Refer to Figure 3.25 for the resultant surface relief on the floor.

Open the required model of lamp shades in the scene and go to the Attribute Editor of the ‘phong2’
material applied to these lamp shades. In the Common File Attributes, click the map pertaining to Bump
Mapping. This opens the Create Render Node window, with the texture options. Select Grid texture. This
assigns a Grid bump to the object and opens the ‘bump2d1’ Attribute Editor.
In the Bump Attributes section, decrease the Bump Depth from a default value of 1 to around 0.35. Refer
to Figure 3.26 for Bump Attributes tab. Observe the bumps in the lamp shade using the Render View
window. Figure 3.28 shows the lamp shades before and after applying bump map.

Figure 3.25: Surface relief on the floor

Figure 3.26: Bump attributes Figure 3.27: Displacement attributes

In the editing section of the Hypershade window go to the ‘d_lamp_model:phong2’ swatch, which is the
material assigned to the other three lamp shades. Click the Displacement option in Maya nodes in Create
tab of Hypershade window. This creates a ‘displacementShader3’ swatch in the Work Area. Arrange the
swatches in the Work Area if required and select the ‘displacementShader3’ swatch. Click and drag the
‘d_lamp_model:phong2’ swatch and from the drop-down list, select the displacement map. Now, double-
click the ‘displacementShader3’ swatch to open its Attribute Editor.
 Tip

When an object needs to cast shadow or silhouettes use Displacement Map instead of Bump
as it alters the geometry of the surface of an object real-time thereby casting shadows.

In the Displacement Attributes section of the Attribute Editor, as shown in Figure 3.27, click the map
pertaining to Displacement. The Create Render Node window opens, from the texture options, select
Noise. This opens the ‘noise2’ tab in Attribute Editor. In the Noise Attributes section, decrease the
Amplitude value to around 0.16. Observe the displacements in the texture of the remaining three lamp
shades using the Render View window. Figure 3.29 shows the lamp shades before and after applying
Displacement map.

Figure 3.28: Before and after applying Bump map

Figure 3.29: Before and after applying Displacement map

3.3.2 Assigning Textures

Assigning a texture means to assign a texture node to an attribute of the material on surface. Assigning a
texture to a material is important. There are two simple ways to assign a texture to a material:

 In the scene, open an object on which material is applied. In the Common Material Attributes
section click the map button beside the Color slider bar. This opens the Create Render Node
window. Observe that the textures are highlighted in blue in the Maya node section. Click the
required texture. This is the fastest way of assigning a texture.
 Alternatively, open an object which has a material applied to it. Now go to Window, select
Rendering Editors and select Hypershade. This opens the Hypershade window. From
the textures options in the Create tab, click the required texture to be applied.

If the texture needs to be customized further, select File option. This opens the Attribute Editor, go to File
Attributes section and click the icon pertaining to the Image Name. Now open the required image that
needs to be assigned as texture. Check the output in the Render View. The texture is assigned to the
material. Figure 3.30 shows a vase before and after assigning a texture to it.

Figure 3.30: Before and after assigning textures

3.3.3 2D and 3D Texture Positioning

Place2dtexture and place3dtexture refer to the placement nodes used to position the texture with respect
to UV space. Place2dtexture and place3dtexture are used to modify the texture frames of 2D and 3D
textures respectively. Texture frames are the areas defined by the texture in the UV coordinate space. Most
of the attributes of place2dtexture and place3dtexture in Attribute Editor have two columns referring to U
and V values of coordinate space.
Texture positioning is very critical for high quality animation with higher detailing as it helps us define the
texture’s appearance with respect to the surface it is mapped to. Texture positioning is crucial when the
texture has to be moved, rotated, translated, repeated or wrapped within predefined frames and coordinate
space.

Place3dtexture has similar Transform Attributes as place2dtexture. However, place3dtexture has

additional features in 3d Texture Placement Attributes section that help position the texture interactively
in 3D space. To position a texture using place2dtexture, open the required model, a flower vase, in the
scene, to which texture has already been assigned. Every 2D texture has a related place2Dtexture tab
assigned to it. For finer 2D texture positioning, the attributes in the adjoining ‘place2Dtexture’ tab of the
Attribute Editor of a texture have to be modified. The texture ‘ramp1’ which is assigned to the flower vase
has an adjoining ‘place2DTexture2’ tab in Attribute Editor. In the 2D Texture Placement Attributes
section, change the value of Coverage in U coordinate to 0.500. Refer to Figure 3.31 for place2dTexture
attributes. With this, the texture covers only a specified ratio of the vase.

Figure 3.31: Place2dTexture attributes Figure 3.32: Place3dTexture attributes

To position a 3D texture using place3dtexture, open another scene with a 3D texture applied to a kettle.
Open the Attribute Editor of ‘rock1’ texture and click the adjoining ‘place3dTexture1’ tab. Notice that all
the attributes in Transform Attributes section are similar to place2DTexture’s Transform Attributes.
Refer to Figure 3.32 for place3dTexture attributes.
In addition to these, place3dtexture also has an additional tab called 3d Texture Placement Attributes. In
this tab, click the Interactive Placement button. The Interactive Placement option displays a placement
manipulator that facilitates repositioning the 3D texture.
 Figure 3.33: Before and after place2dTexture attributes

Also, click the Fit to Group BBox button. This ensures that 3D texture can be interactively placed, however
it is assigned with respect to the box surrounding the object. Move the manipulator around to do the
necessary modifications and observe the changes in position of the 3D texture applied to the kettle. Figure
3.34 shows the vase before and after modifying the place2dTexture attributes.
Change the Translate Frame value to 0.400 to move the area covered by the texture across the surface.
Slide the Rotate Frame bar to the right to increase the degree of rotation of the texture on the model. To
modify the repetitions of the pattern on the texture across the base of the vase, change the Repeat UV
values of U and V to 5. Rotate the texture by changing the Rotate UV value to 900. Use the Render View
window to observe how changing the positioning of 2D texture on the vase has changed the overall
appearance of the vase. Figure 3.33 shows the vase before and after modifying the place2dTexture
attributes.

Figure 3.34: Before and after modifying place3dTexture attributes

3.3.4 Transfer Mapping

Transfer Maps editor is very handy for fabricating exclusive texture maps beyond the default options
available in Maya. The texture map of mesh attributes of original model can be blended with texture map
of the second one with different geometry using Transfer Maps editor. Transfer Maps window, as shown
in Figure 3.35, is useful for transferring one mesh characteristics to another mesh.
To create texture maps using Transfer Maps editor: Firstly, take two objects, one of which is used as a
source mesh and the other as a target mesh. Here, the vase to the left is taken as a target mesh and the
one to the right with high mesh is considered as the source mesh. Go to the Lighting/Shading menu and
select Transfer Maps to open the Transfer Maps window. Adjust the Transfer Maps window to view the
model in the scene. In the Target Meshes tab, click the Add Selected to add the target mesh object. Now,
select the object in the scene whose meshes have to be transferred. In the Source Meshes tab, click the
Add Selected to add the source mesh object. In the Output Maps tab, select the Diffuse button. To save
the diffuse map, click folder icon beside the Diffuse Map option. This opens Select window. Type the File
Name as ‘transfer_map_vase’, select the File type as ‘Tiff’, and click Save and click the Open button.
Select the output map file format as Tiff.

Figure 3.35: Transfer Maps Editor

 Figure 3.36: Maya Common Output

Now, go to the Maya Common Output tab, as shown in Figure 3.36, and open it. Change the Map Width
and Map Height value to 1024 each for higher resolution. Open the Sampling quality drop-down list and
select High (8x8). Increase Fill texture seams value to 3.

Select the target vase and move it using the Move Tool. Adjust it such that it merges completely with the
source vase and they overlap. In the Target Meshes tab of the Transfer Maps window, click the Display
drop-down list. Here, select Envelope. This displays the envelope around the vase. Observe that the
envelope is too big compared to the vase. Decrease the Search envelope (%) value enough to cover the
source vase.

Click the Bake button to bake the source and target objects together. This process might take some time
to finish. Select the source vase and move it aside using the Move Tool. Observe how a new pattern is
created on the target vase, and yet it is different from the source vase. Refer to Figure 3.37. Delete the
source object if it is not required in the scene.

Figure 3.37: Before and after applying Transfer Maps

3.3.5 Importing Image as Texture

To import an image as a texture: select the required model, tablecloth, in the scene on which the texture
has to be applied. Go to the Shelf bar and select the Blinn material. The Blinn material is automatically
applied to the tablecloth. Now, in the Attribute Editor of the ‘blinn2SG’ and go to the Common Material
Attributes tab, click the icon corresponding to the Color attribute. This opens the Create Render Node
window.
Select the File texture from the 2D Texture options. This automatically creates a ‘file4’ swatch in the Work
Area, linked to the ‘blinn2SG’ material swatch. In the Attribute Editor of ‘file4’, go to the File Attributes tab
click the folder icon pertaining to the Image Name to assign an image to the texture node. Select the image
file ‘tablecloth_texture. jpg’ in the Open window. Click the Open button to assign this image file to texture
and open it in the scene as a texture on the tablecloth.

Figure 3.38: Before and after Importing Image as Texture

In the File Attributes section, click Filter type drop-down list. From the options, select Mipmap. This
option is useful for quick previewing. Select the Pre-Filter check box, to cancel the noise in the texture if
required. Increase the Pre-Filter Radius to 4 for smoother results. Select the Use BOT check box. This
creates a temporary BOT file for the image file when rendering. This uses less memory, although it might
slowdown the render process. View the tablecloth in Render View window and save the scene. Refer to
Figure 3.38 for a sample output of the tablecloth before and after importing image as texture for tablecloth.
3.4 3D Paint Tool

3D Paint Tool is a magical tool offered by Maya to create the most appealing and exquisite textures. 3D
Paint Tool provides a virtual paint brush which enables painting texture maps in a workspace view. It is
extensively used to create and custom bitmaps and enhancing the final texture maps.

3.4.1 Importing Image as Texture

In simple words, 3D Paint Tool allows painting in 3D space. This can be done using Artisan or Paint
Effects brushes.
3D Paint Tool can be used to paint:
 Textures directly on models
 Attributes like bump, color, or polygons
 Custom bitmaps
 File textures produced in other software

Painting is done on the surface texture which is already assigned to a model using Hypershade and 2D
and 3D Textures. When you select the 3D Paint Tool, Maya prompts you to assign a textures to surfaces.
These textures get stored in a new folder in 3DPaintTextures folder of current project.
3.4.2 3D Paint Tool Setting

3D Paint Tool settings can be changed in Tool Settings Editor. Different attributes of 3D Paint Tool are
as follows:

 Brush: Used to select and modify the type of brush to paint. Refer to Figure 3.39. The Brush
tab has the following features:

 Radius (U) (Artisan): Available only when an Artisan brush is selected. This option is used
to set the upper limit (hence, denoted as U) of the radius of the brush possible when
painting with a stylus.

 Radius (L) (Artisan): Available only when an Artisan brush is selected. This option is used
to set the lower limit (hence, denoted as L) of the radius of the brush possible when painting
with a stylus.

 Scale (PFX): Available only when a Paint Effects brush is selected. This option is used
to scale the paint effect. However, the aspect ratio of the paint effect remains same.

 Width (PFX): Available only when a Paint Effects brush is selected. This option is used
to change the width of the brush.

 Artisan: Used for selecting some predefined Artisan brush profiles that can be painted on
texture. This feature also allows to choose an image and create a new brush profile that
paints that image.

 Paint Effects: Used for selecting some predefined brush profiles that can be painted on
texture. The best advantage of this feature is that a part of some brush options grow as the
brush is dragged or painted longer. For example, the volume of leaves and flowers gets
added automatically as the flower mesh brush grows. It comes with three additional options
which include:
 Last Brush: Helps pick the brush last used.
 Edit Template Brush: Allows editing the brush, and changes applied to brush start
appearing from the next paint stroke.
 Get Brush: This opens Visor window that has multiple predefined Paint Effects brush
options.

Tip

If an image needs to be repeated randomly in a painting, the image can be converted into a
brush profile. For example, if multiple roses need to appear in the background, select a rose
of your choice and create a new brush profile and use this brush wherever a rose needs to
be shown.
 Figure 3.39: 3D Paint Tool options

 Rotate To Stroke: Helps in rotating the strokes of brushes that do not uniformly bend at
curves.
 Color: Used to select color and opacity for the brush chosen. Refer to Figure 3.38. It has the
following features:

 Color: Used to select a color using Color Chooser box.

 Opacity: Used to change the opacity of the brush. If Opacity is 0, brush stroke is not visible
on the scene.
 Flood: Used to select color or opacity that floods the texture to either fill or erase. Different
Flood attributes include:

 Color: To flood the texture with a color, pick a color from Color Chooser.

 Opacity: Controls the opacity of the Color that floods the texture.

 Flood Paint: Floods the Color selected upon choosing this option.

 Flood Erase: Erases the flood of Color upon choosing this option.

 Flood: This has two options:

 Flood All: Floods the complete texture with the Color or Opacity selected. Upon
erasing, that part of texture goes back to its last saved version.
 Flood Selected Faces: Floods only a part of texture selected using a polygon or a
surface.
 Paint Operations: Used to select the type of paint operation and related blend options. These
include:

 Artisan: Used for selecting some predefined Artisan brush profiles that can be painted on
texture. This feature also allows to choose an image and create a new brush profile that
paints that image. It has the following operations:
 Paint: Used for painting with selected Artisan brush.
 Erase: Used for erasing with brush.
 Clone: Used for cloning with brush.

 Paint Effects: Used for selecting some predefined brush profiles that can be painted on
texture. The best advantage of this feature is that a part of some brush options grow as the
brush is dragged or painted longer. For example, the volume of leaves and flowers gets
added automatically as the flower mesh brush grows. It has the following operations:
 Paint: Used for painting with selected Paint Effects brush.
 Smear: Smears adjacent colors along the stroke of brush.
 Blur: Blurs the effect created by stroke of brush.

 Set Erase Image: Helps in setting the other image that has to appear after erasing an
image.

 Reset Brushes: This options resets all the brush types to their default settings.

 Blend Mode: These options are useful in setting different modes of blending a base or
available color into a paint or selected color. Blend Mode includes:
 Default: This is the default mode where the brush blends into a predefined output color.
 Lighten: This blends the output color by lightening it as compared to the darker color.
 Multiply: Multiplies the available color with the paint color.
 Screen: This option multiplies the inverse of blend between available color and paint
color.
 Overlay: This superimposes or overlays paint color over the available color.

 Clone Brush Mode: This brush has two options:

 Dynamic: The source object selected for clone moves along with the brush.
 Static: The source object selected for clone remains static and does not move with the
brush.

 Set Clone Source: This option is used to set an area on the surface as clone which is later
replicated.

 Blur Intensity: This option is used to control the intensity of blur created.
 File Textures: This tab has different attributes which are useful in creating and assigning File
textures on which painting is done. Different features include:

 Attribute to Paint: Used to select the attribute of the File texture that needs to be painted.
Already existing attributes of materials such as Color, Transparency, Specular Color,
Reflected Color, Reflectivity, Bump Map, or Translucence can be selected using this
feature.

 Assign/Edit Textures: As the name suggests, this attribute opens an Assign/ Edit File
Textures window that is used to either edit or assign a texture, with options similar to
Convert to File Texture options. Refer to Figure 3.40 for Assign/Edit File Textures
window.

 Save Textures: Used to save textures.

Figure 3.40: Assign/Edit Textures

 Reload File Textures: Used to reload a file, incase it has been edited in some other
software temporarily.

 Update on Stroke: This option updates the texture after every stroke painted. This option
is very useful when used with IPR rendering to immediately view the changes made while
painting.

 Save Texture on Stroke: This option is used to save the texture after every stroke painted.
Turn this option on for automatically saving texture.

 Extend Seam Color: This option extends the color of the texture to the background, past
the shell for better switching to texture attributes while rendering.
3.4.3 Using 3D Paint Tool

To use 3D Paint Tool, go to the Texturing menu, and select 3D Paint Tool. This opens the Tool Settings
box of 3D Paint Tool. Click and drag to zoom in to the scene. Press the Alt key and click to pan the camera.
Go to the Tool Settings of 3D Paint Tool and in the File Textures tab, click the Assign/Edit Textures
button. Change Set X and Set Y value to 1024 each with Keep aspect ratio option is selected and then
click the Assign/Edit Textures button.
In the Paint Operations tab, from the Paint Effects options, select the Paint radio button to paint with
the brush. In the Paint Effects options of Brush tab, select Visor to open window, and choose from
different preset brush options. Click the ‘flowers’ folder to open it. Select the required flowers and minimize
this window. In the Brush section of Tool Settings decrease the Scale (PFX) value to 0.5 to decrease
the scale of these flowers. Drag the mouse on the scene and the flower mesh automatically appears in the
direction dragged.
In the Paint Operations tab, select the Paint radio button. In the Color tab, click the Color label and
select the eye-dropper tool. to pick a color. Hold the letter B to decrease the Brush Radius (U). In the
Brush tab, select the Artisan brush option. Drag this over the leaf design on lamp shade. Notice volume
being added to leaves.
In the Paint Operations section, click the Clone radio button to clone these flowers. Click the Set Clone
Source button to select a source for clone. Select a flower, a source, which needs to be cloned. Drag mouse
over the other part of the lamp shade where the cloned flower need to appear. Similarly, select another
flower on the top and drag mouse over the other part of the lamp shade where the cloned flower need to
appear. If not satisfied with the flower cloned, select the Erase radio button in Paint Operations tab, to
erase this flower.
Now, with the Erase brush rub over the unwanted part of the lamp shade to erase the clone. Refer to
Figure 3.41 and observe how beautiful the lamp shade now looks with all the painting done using 3D Paint
Tool.

Figure 3.41: Before and after using 3D Paint Tool to paint

3.4.4 Surface Collision and Interactions to Paint Effects Strokes
 To add surface collision and Interactions to Paint Effects strokes:

 Shift select the Paint Effects Stroke and the collision geometry in the scene.

 Select the Texturing menu and click -> Paint Effects -> Make Collide. Refer to Figure
3.42.

 The Strokes and Geometry can now collide.

 Click and move the geometry around the Paint Effects Stroke to see the collision.

 In the Attribute Editor of paint effects stroke, click the Tubes rollout and select Creation
tab to turn on Surface Snap. Refer to Figure 3.43.

Figure 3.42: Make Collide

Note

The start position of each tube now snaps to the closest points on the surface of the collision
geometry. If some strokes interpenetrate the geometry, turn on Surface Collide.
 In the Attribute Editor of paint effects stroke, click the Tubes rollout and select Behaviour
tab. Select the Force section and turn on Surface Collide. Refer to Figure 3.44.

 You can set the Collision Method to specify which side of the geometry you want to
collide.

Figure 3.43: Surface Snap

Figure 3.44: Surface Collide

 To add Surface Attract to Paint Effects strokes:

 In the Attribute Editor of paint effects stroke, click the Tubes rollout and select Behaviour
tab. Select the Force section and set Surface Attract value to adjust the strength of the
attractive force. Refer to Figure 3.45.

 To specify the area affected by the force, set the Max Attract Distance value accordingly.

Figure 3.45: Surface Collide

Keyboard Shortcuts

Command Shortcut
Increase or decrease Brush Radius B
Zoom in Alt + Right mouse button
Pan the Camera Alt + Middle mouse button
Attribute Editor Ctrl + A
3.5 Summary

In this session, Textures and 3D Paint Tool, you learned that:

 Texture maps can be created for material attributes using texture specific nodes called
texture nodes created by Maya.
 Maya offers four types of texture options: 2D textures, 3D textures, environment textures
and layered textures. Each of these textures are designed with distinctive algorithms that
generate recurring patterns.
 2D textures are 2D in nature, like sheets of paper which can be used to cover flat or 2D
surfaces. Maya offers thirteen types of 2D Textures.
 Different types of 2D Textures include: Bulge, Checker, Cloth, File, Fluid Texture 2D,
Fractal, Grid, Mountain, Movie, Noise, Ocean, Ramp, and Water.
 Apart from the specific attributes for each of these textures, some tabs in Attribute Editor are
common to all 2D Textures which include Color Balance and Effects.
 Maya also provides Environment textures, or Env Textures, specifically used for creating
environment related effects in the backgrounds such as sky, cubical, and spherical
environments.
 3D textures are useful while creating objects which need to project some depth in them.
 Different types of 3D Textures include: Brownian, Cloud, Crater, Fluid Texture 3D, Granite,
Leather, Marble, Rock, Snow, Solid Fractal, Stucco, Volume, Noise, and Wood.
 All the common 2D Textures attributes are also shared by 3D Textures. In addition, they also
have common attributes such as Local, Wrap, and Blend.
 A texture can be mapped or plotted onto the surface in multiple ways. Commonly used
mapping methods include: Normal, Projection, and Stencil.
 Bump maps create a delusion of surface relief on the surface of an object without actually
altering its geometry whereas Displacement maps create some elevation or depressions,
and related patterns by slightly altering the surface of an object’s geometry.
 The texture map of mesh attributes of original model can be blended with texture map of the
second one with different geometry using Transfer Maps editor.
 Place2dtexture and place3dtexture refer to the placement nodes used to position the texture
with respect to UV space, used to modify the texture frames of 2D and 3D textures respectively.
 Assigning a texture means to assign a texture node to an attribute of the material on surface.
 3D Paint Tool allows painting in 3D space. This can be done using Artisan or Paint Effects
brushes.
 3D Paint Tool settings include Brush, Color, Flood, Paint Operations, and File Textures.
3.6 Exercise
1. Texture maps can be created for material attributes using texture specific nodes called texture nodes
created by Maya.
a. True b. False

2. Attributes and tabs in Attribute Editor which are common to all _____________ which include Color
Balance and Effects.

a. 2D Textures b. 3D Textures
c. Env Textures d. None of the above

3. Edit option in PSD File texture launches an internal application in Maya which helps to edit the PSD file.
a. True b. False

4. Attributes of Leather texture are exactly similar to those of Granite texture except that Granite has
______________ cell color options whereas Leather has only ___________ cell color options.

a. 2, 3 b. 3, 2
c. 3, 4 d. 4, 3

5. Commonly used mapping methods include:

a. Normal b. Projection
c. Stencil d. All of the above

6. Bump maps create a delusion of surface relief on the surface of an object without actually altering its
geometry whereas Displacement maps create some elevation or depressions by slightly altering the surface
of an object’s geometry.
a. True b. False

7. Using Transfer Maps editor the texture map of mesh attributes of original model can be blended with
texture map of the second one with different geometry.
a. True b. False

8. ________________ refer to the placement nodes used to position the texture with respect to UV
space, used to modify the texture frames of 2D and 3D textures.

a. Place2dtexture b. Place3dtexture
c. Both (a) and (b) d. None of the above
9. 3D Paint Tool can be used to paint:

a. Texture directly on models b. Attributes like bump, color, or polygons

c. Custom Bitmaps d. All of the above

10. File Textures tab of 3D Paint Tool has different attributes which are useful in creating and assigning File
textures on which painting is done.
a. True b. False
 S es s ion 4
UV Mapping and Texture Editor
Learning Outcomes
In this session, you will learn to -

 Map UVs to objects

 Create UV Sets
 Normalize UVs
 Edit UVs
 Relax and Untangle UVs
 Separate UVs
 Attach UVs
 Wrap image

4.1 UV Mapping

UV texture coordinates (UVs) are 2D texture coordinates that are used to define 2D coordinate system
called UV texture space. UVs are crucial as they have information of the coordinates that connect for
surface meshes to the textures on them. Without these connections nodes, texture cannot be applied onto
the surface of a model.
Though these UVs are automatically created by Maya, it is imperative that texture artists need to master
the concepts of mapping UVs. Mapping UVs is pre-requisite, when the default UVs created need to be
rearranged, or the model is modified, or to customize mapping of textures by editing UVs for optimal output
of the texture designed. With Mapping the user can modify the appearances of 3D models in a scene of
Maya.

4.1.1 Introduction to UV Mapping

UV Mapping is the process of creating, arranging, customizing, editing, and mapping the UVs using the UV
Texture Editor. UV Texture Editor is a brilliant tool provided by Maya that helps us alter the topology of
UVs laid out on a 2D mesh representation.
4.1.2 Applying UV Mapping

Create UVs menu provides different options to map UVs which include: Planar, Spherical, Cylindrical, and
Automatic Mapping. They differ in the way they are projected onto a mesh. UVs can be created for different
polygonal surfaces using different UV mapping techniques which include:
 Planar UV mapping: Planar Mapping is used to map UV textures onto the planar surfaces by
projecting them through a plane. Go to the Create UVs menu and select Planar Mapping. The
Planar Mapping Options window opens. This window has various options which include:

 Fit projection to: Used to position the projection manipulator. It has two options including:
 Best plane: This automatically selects the best plane to project onto the object’s face.
 Bounding box: This option is used to choose one of the Project from directions using
manipulator fit within the object’s bounding box.

 Project from: Used to choose the axis - X, Y, or Z - for projection on the object’s face.
Choosing Camera option ensures that projection happens onto the object’s face though it
is not exactly through X, Y, or Z axis.

 Keep image width/height ratio: Used to lock the width to height ratio of the image so
that it is not altered.

 Insert projection before deformers: Used to insert projection onto a texture on an object
before it is deformed. This alters the placing of the texture along with the animation or
deformation of the object’s geometry.

 Create new UV set: Used to create a new UV set and name it using the UV Set name
box.

Refer to Figure 4.1 which shows UVs of fairy’s dress mapped using Planar Mapping option.

Figure 4.1: Before and after Planar UV Mapping

 Cylindrical UV mapping: Cylindrical Mapping is used to map UV textures onto the cylindrical
surfaces by projecting them inside an imaginary cylinder. Go to Create UVs menu and select
Cylindrical Mapping. The Cylindrical Mapping Options window opens. This window has
various options which include Insert projection before deformers and Create new UV set
similar to Planar Mapping attributes. Refer to Figure 4.2 which shows UVs of fairy’s dress
mapped using Cylindrical Mapping option.
 Spherical UV mapping: Spherical Mapping is used to map UV textures onto the spherical
surfaces by projecting them inside an imaginary sphere. Go to Create UVs menu and select
Spherical Mapping. The Spherical Mapping Options window opens. This window has two
options: Insert projection before deformers and Create new UV set, similar to Planar
Mapping attributes. Refer to Figure 4.3 which shows UVs of fairy’s dress mapped using
Spherical Mapping option.
 Automatic UV mapping: Automatic Mapping is used to map UV textures onto the random
surfaces by projecting them from multiple angles. Go to Create UVs menu and select
Automatic Mapping. The Polygon Automatic Mapping Options window opens. This has the
following attributes.

Figure 4.2: Before and after Cylindrical UV Mapping

 Planes: Used to specify the number of planes for the Automatic Mapping projection, such
as 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, or 12 planes.

 Optimize for: Automatic Mapping projection can be optimized depending factors such as
Less distortion, or Fewer pieces.

 Insert projection before deformers: This is similar to Planar Mapping attribute.

  Load projection: Allows to create a custom polygon that acts as a reference for Automatic
Projection.

 Shell layout: Used to specify the location of UV shells in UV texture space. This has
options such as:
 Overlap: Overlaps the final projection within the 0 to 1 UV texture space in the UV
Texture Editor.
 Along U: Shell is laid out along the U axis.
 Into Square: Shell is laid out within the 0 to 1 texture space.
 Tile: This option tiles the final UV projections in a separate 0 to 1 UV space.

Figure 4.3: Before and after Spherical UV Mapping

 Scale mode: Used to select from different modes for scaling the UV shells.
 None: Does not scale the UV.
 Uniform: Scales the shells by locking their aspect ratio.
 Stretch to Square: UV shells are stretched to fit the 0 to 1 texture space.

 Shell stacking: Used to specify how UV shells are stacked in the UV Texture Editor.
This includes two options which are:
 Bounding Box: The shells are stacked in a bounding box created around each shell.
 Shape: The shells are stacked based on the shape of each shell.

 Create new UV set: This is similar to Planar Mapping attribute.

 User-defined UV mapping: User can customize how the texture can be mapped onto the
required surface.

Refer to Figure 4.4 which shows how the UVs of fairy’s hand are mapped using Automatic Mapping.
 Figure 4.4: Before and after Automatic UV Mapping

4.1.3 Create UV Sets

UV Sets are sets of UVs arranged together for a surface mesh. Sometimes, a single UV texture is not
sufficient to deliver the required effect, and texture artist might have to use a combination of UV textures
for this. In cases like these, it is recommended to make sets of UV textures which need to be re- used as a
collection.
To create a UV Set, go to the Create UVs menu and select Create Empty UV Set from options. Refer to
Figure 4.5. This creates an empty UV Set. This has the following attributes:
 Create UV Set name: Used to specify the name of the new UV set.
 UV Set Sharing: Used to specify if the UV Set needs to be shared for every instance, or Per
Instance Shared, or Per Instance Unshared.

Figure 4.5: Create Empty UV Set

 Figure 4.6: Relationship Editor to link UVs

Go to the UV Sets option and from the drop-down list select UV Linking. The Relationship E d i t o r window
opens, as shown in Figure 4.6. Ensure that UV-centric UV linking is selected in the drop-down list. On the
left-hand side, under the UV Sets, click the ‘uvSet’ created. Now, go to the Edit menu under the UV Sets.
From the drop-down list select the Rename UV Set to rename ‘uvSet’.
This opens the Rename UV Set Options dialog box. In the New UV Set Name, enter the required name.
Click Rename button to apply the new name. Now, in the Relationship Editor window, on the right-hand
side, under the Textures, click the texture which needs to be linked to specific UV set. This automatically
links the texture to the UV set ‘Fairy UV Texture’. Under the UV Sets options, on selecting the UV set, the
texture linked to it automatically gets highlighted, under the Textures option.

4.1.4 Normalizing UVs

As the name suggests, Normalize UV options helps in normalizing or scaling the UVs within the UV texture
space range of 0 to 1.
Go to Edit UVs menu and select Normalize. The Normalize UVs Options window opens, as shown in
Figure 4.7. These options are used to scale the selected faces in UV space. It has the following features:
 Collectively: This ensures that UVs of selected body of fairy collectively fits into the 0 to 1
space of texture and is the default option.
 Each face separately: This ensures that the UVs are scaled for each selected face separately.
 Preserve aspect ratio: This feature is used to lock the aspect ratio to scale UVs uniformly.
 Figure 4.7: Normalize UV Options

Refer to Figure 4.8. Look at how the texture coordinates are fit into 0 to 1 texture space of every selected
face. In other words, each face is normalized separately.

Figure 4.8: Before and after Normalizing UVs

Quick Test 4.1

1. UV texture coordinates (UVs) are 2D texture coordinates that are used to define 2D
coordinate system called ______________.

UV Texture Space UV Texture Editor Hypershade Split UV

2. ___________ is a brilliant tool provided by Maya that helps us alter the topology of UVs
layed out on a 2D mesh representation.
Unfold Hypershade UV Texture Editor UV Set Editor
4.1.5 Editing UV Options

Select the model of dress of fairy in the scene. Go to Window menu and select UV Texture Editor. The
UV Texture Editor window opens with the UV set, as shown in Figure 4.9. The Edit UVs menu and the
UV Texture Editor have different editing features which include:
 Normalize: Used to normalize or scale UVs.
 Unitize: Used to reposition the UVs in texture space of UV Texture Editor.
 Flip: Used to UVs by specifying either Direction or Coordinate.
 Rotate: Used to rotate UVs.
 Grid: Used to reposition UV as per specified grid in UV space. It has the following options:

 Map size presets: Maps the size of Grid U and Grid V options to normal presets.

 Grid U: Specify the number of grid lines in U dimension of texture space.

 Grid V: Specify the number of grid lines in V dimension of texture space.

 Move UVs to: This inturn has the following options:

 Pixel border: Moves UVs to borders of grid intersection.
 Pixel center: Moves UVs to centre of grid lines.

Figure 4.9: Editing UV Options

 Align: Used to align the UVs specified.

 Align selected UVs to minimum U: Aligns to left.

 Align selected UVs to maximum U: Aligns to right.

 Align selected UVs to minimum V: Aligns to bottom.

  Align selected UVs to maximum V: Aligns to top.
 Delete: Used to delete UVs.

Apart from these Edit UVs and UV Texture Editor has various editing features used to customize UVs
further.

Figure 4.10: Perspective View and UV Texture Editor View

4.2 UV Texture Editor

UV Texture Editor has the texture spread on a imaginary 2D mesh, is used to edit UV textures by
performing various actions, such as rotate, flip, relax, unfold, cut, split, sew, merge, delete, and attach UVs,
and then assign them back on the models. Refer to Figure 4.10 for the perspective view and UV Texture
Editor view of fairy’s face. Using UV Texture Editor UV textures can be easily viewed, coordinates can be
modified and textures can be interactively edited. To access UV Texture Editor go to Window menu and
select UV Texture Editor or go to Edit UVs menu and then select UV Texture Editor. This opens the UV
Texture Editor window with the selected model’s texture spread on the editor.

4.2.1 Relaxing and Untangling UVs

One of the most frequently used options in UV Texture Editor is Relax UVs. Relax UVs option relaxes
the texture and spreads it further on the UV Texture Editor. This tool is very handy to untangle and sort high
density of texture coordinates accumulated at same place. Relax UVs option is useful in defining to what
extent the texture needs to be relaxed, spread, and untangled.
 Pin UV border: Used to specify if the position of the UV borders need to be maintained.
 Pin UVs: Used to specify UV to pin. It has options such as:

 Pin selected UVs: Used to pin selected UVs only.

 Pin unselected UVs: Used when certain UVs need not be shifted or moved.
  Edge weights: Specifies the edges post relaxation. It has options such as:

 Uniform: This option makes all edges uniform and is the default option.

 World space: This option is used to maintain the original world-space angles.

 Maximum iterations: Specify number of relaxation iterations to be performed on the UVs

for required relaxing of UVs.

Refer to Figure 4.11 for a sample output of a face on UV Texture Editor before and after relaxing.

Figure 4.11: Relaxing and Untangling UVs

4.2.2 Separate UVs

UVs can be split or separated into parts using Split UVs option in Edit UVs menu. This option is also
available in UV Texture Editor. This effect can also be achieved using Cut UVs option in Edit UVs menu.
In the scene, select the model which needs to be separated. Go to Window menu and select UV Texture
Editor. The UV Texture Editor window opens. Scale the UV texture if required. Now, select some UV
coordinates using the mouse which need to be separated. Notice that some UV coordinates get selected.
Go to the Polygons menu and select Split UVs (or Cut UVs). This splits the UV coordinates selected
from the rest of the texture.
Go to the Move UV Shell Tool icon and select it. Click the UV texture on the left of the UV coordinates
which were split. Using the manipulator, move this split texture to the extreme left and observe how this
separates from the rest of the texture. Refer to Figure 4.12 for a sample output of a face on UV Texture
Editor before and after splitting and separating.
 Figure 4.12: UVs separated with Split UVs option

4.2.3 Unfold Attach UVs

You can unwrap the UV mesh for a polygonal object while trying to ensure that the UVs do not overlap.
Unfolding UVs helps to minimize the distortion of texture maps on organic polygon meshes by optimizing
the position of the UV coordinates so they closely reflect the original polygon mesh.
A UV mesh is made of UVs similar to how a polygon mesh is made of vertices. Unfolding a UV mesh refers
to the process of cutting a seam in the UV mesh and then unfolding along that seam. The process is similar
to cutting a seam along a shirt and laying it flat on a table. By laying the UVs flat, you can easily paint a
texture on the 2D surface, which you can then wrap around the model.

Unfold works well in situations where UV meshes are created from polygonal models that have complex
organic shapes. In these situations, other projection methods may not be as successful and automatic
mapping would produce too many individual UV shells that would necessitate many move and sew
operations afterwards. For example, polygon models that are prone to overlap via other projection methods
are ideal for unfolding. You do not need to unfold non-organic poly mesh forms. In these cases, other
projection techniques would be better suited and more straightforward. For example, a wall can be planar-
projected or a bottle can be cylindrically projected.
There are two methods for unfolding a UV mesh:
 Smooth UV tool

 Unfold Command

Note

The unfold command lets you select from two different methods. The Unfold3D method is a
faster, more reliable alternative to the Legacy method. For example, in one unfold operation
you can eliminate degeneracy and distortion, even at complex corners.
Refer to Figure 4.13 for a sample output of a face on UV Texture Editor before and after applying Unfold.

Figure 4.13: UVs separated with Unfold option

4.2.4 Attach UVs

Sew UVs option is used to attach two different UV textures along their borders. However, it does not
move the textures together. Separate textures can also be merged using Merge UVs option. Both these
options are available in Edit UVs menu and also in UV Texture Editor. Merge UVs option is more
popular as it is better equipped to merge UV shells, unlike Sew UVs. This is because Merge UVs option
can combine two shells without affecting the third, whereas in case of Sew UVs, multiple shells get
combined parallelly as they share the edge which might not generate the effect required.
Go to the Polygons menu and select Merge UVs to merge the selected UVs. The Merge UVs Options
window opens. The Threshold value of specify the longest distance within which UVs will be automatically
attached.
Refer to Figure 4.14 for a sample output of a face in UV Texture Editor before and after attaching.

Figure 4.14: UVs attached using Merge UVs option

 Tip

To move and also sew textures quickly, use Move and Sew UV Edges option to join two
different UV shells along borders. The smaller UV shell is automatically moved to the larger
UV shell and merged along the edges.
4.3 Wrap Image

Wrap Image is a perfect tool to automatically create a new image, with reference to a source image specified.
Click Wrap Image option in Edit UVs menu to open Warp Image Options window. It has the following
options:
 Source image name: Here, specify Source image name and path of the source file for
reference.
 New image name: Specify New image name and path of the output file destination.
 Background mode: This option is useful for specifying color around the texture edges
while wrapping image to differentiate pixels along edges from background. It has two modes
which include Automatic to automatically interpolate color with respect to background and
Fixed Color to which uses color specified using Background color.
 File format: Used to specify new image’s file format.
 Source UV set: Used to select the source UV set used for reference.
 Destination UV set: Used to select the target UV set for destination.
 X resolution: Controls the X-axis resolution of the final image in pixels.
 Y resolution: Controls the Y-axis resolution of the final image in pixels.
 Overwrite existing file: Overwrites the target file, if a file with similar name exists in the
destination.
 Bilinear filtering: This filter averages the colors in the target new image created thereby
making it softer without loud contrasts.
 Include alpha: Used to include the alpha channel when creating the new image.
 Tiled: This tiles and repeats the source image along UV directions if UV texture space exceeds
the image specs.
 Keyboard Shortcuts

Command Shortcut
Fit in the selected area F
Attribute Editor Ctrl + A
4.4 Summary
In this session, UV Mapping and Texture Editor, you learned that:

 UV texture coordinates (UVs) are 2D texture coordinates that are used to define 2D
coordinate system called UV texture space.
 UV Mapping is the process of creating, arranging, customizing, editing, and mapping the UVs
using the UV Texture Editor.
 UVs can be created for different polygonal surfaces using different UV mapping techniques
which include: Planar, Cylindrical, Spherical, and Automatic Mapping.
 UV Sets are sets of UVs arranged together for a surface mesh. New UV sets can be created
using Create Empty UV Set and can be renamed, edited, deleted, and linked to textures using
Relationship Editor.
 Normalize UV options helps in normalizing or scaling the UVs within the UV texture space
range of 0 to 1.
 Using UV Texture Editor UV textures can be easily viewed, coordinates can be modified and
textures can be interactively edited.
 UV Texture Editor is used to move, rotate, scale, flip, align, and delete UVs.
 Relax UVs option is useful in defining to what extent the texture needs to be relaxed, spread,
and untangled.
 UVs can be split or separated into parts using Split UVs and Cut UVs options.
 Sew UVs and Merge UVs options is used to attach two different UV textures along their
borders.
 Wrap Image is a tool to automatically create a new image, with reference to a source image
specified.
4.5 Exercise
1. UV Mapping is the process of creating, arranging, customizing, editing, and mapping the UVs using
the UV Texture Editor.
a. True b. False

2. UVs can be created for different polygonal surfaces using different UV mapping techniques which include:

a. Planar b. Cylindrical
c. Spherical and Automatic d. All of the above

3. New UV sets can be created using Create Empty UV Set and can be renamed, edited, deleted, and
linked to textures using _________________.
a. Attribute Editor b. Graph Editor
c. Relationship Editor d. All of the above

4. Clicking a specific texture name under Textures option in Relationship Editor automatically highlights the
UV set name, under UV Sets, that it is linked to.
a. True b. False

5. ________________ options helps in normalizing or scaling the UVs within the UV texture space range
of 0 to 1.
a. Scale UVs b. Transform UVs
c. Edit UVs d. Normalize UVs

6. Shortcut buttons in UV Texture Editor include:

a. Rotate selected UVs clockwise b. Flip U

c. Move UV Shell Tool d. All of the above

7. UV Texture Editor has the texture spread on a imaginary 2D mesh, is used to edit UV textures by
performing various actions, such as rotate, flip, relax, unfold, cut, split, sew, merge, delete, and attach UVs,
and then assign them back on the models.
a. True b. False

8. Relax UVs option is useful in defining to what extent the texture needs to be:

a. Relaxed b. Untangled
c. All of the above d. None of the above
9. UVs can be split or separated into parts using __________ and _____________ options.

a. Split UVs and Merge UVs b. Move and Sew UV edges

c. Split UVs and Cut UVs d. Cut UVs and Merge UVs

10. _____________________ is used to attach two different UV textures along their borders.

a. Sew UVs b. Move and Sew UV edges

c. Merge UVs d. All of the above
 Answer Key

Quick Answers Exercise Answers

Quick Test 1.1 Exercise 1.5

1. Texture 1. Material, Texture 2. All of the above
2. Modeling 3. False 4. True
5. Materials 6. True
Quick Test 2.1 7. All of the Above 8. All of the Above
1. Hypershade
9. True
2. 12, 6

Quick Test 2.2 Exercise 2.6

1. Spread X and Spread Y 1. All of the above 2. True
2. True 3. Work Area 4. True
5. 4 6. Both a and b
Quick Test 3.1 8. Displacement Maps
7. Environment Fog
1. True
2. Thirteen

Quick Test 3.2 Exercise 3.6

1. Edit and Reload 1. True 2. 2D Textures
2. True 3. False 4. 3, 2
5. All of the above 6. True
Quick Test 4.1 7. True 8. Both (a) and (b)
1. UV Texture Space 9. All of the above 10. True
2. UV Texture Editor

Exercise 4.5
1. True 2. All of the above
3. Relationship Editor 4. True
5. Normalize UVs 6. All of the above
7. True 8. All of the above
9. Cut UVs and Merge 10. All of the above
UVs