need material map tips please

[thickly]

hello to all,

new on the forum and relatively new to 3D -- starting out with 3DS Max and Maxwell Beta and I think I've been pretty successful with my first few renders. One thing I am definitely struggling with is mapping and materials. If someone could please provide a little insight, specifically

1. how to avoid the tiled or stretched look when applying maps - are you editing the maps (resize, rescale) before applying them

2. Do you generally apply the same map to color, bump, reflectivity, etc...

3. some explanation of UVW in general -- for some reason I can't get my head around it - do the coordinates relate to XYZ axis? Also how to apply to non-rectilnear surfaces

Also regarding bump maps - sometimes I jack up the scale factor but it does not seem to respond accordingly in the render (I know about the bug that unchecks the map and it make sure it is checked before rendering).

Any insight would be much appreciated. I've spent a lot of time in/out of this forum and the one on the Maxwell sight but haven't been able to find anyone that addresses this issue clearly.

Thanks,

SD

[Devin Johnston]

1. how to avoid the tiled or stretched look when applying maps - are you editing the maps (resize, rescale) before applying them

 

You've just described one of the biggest challenges to mapping; this is something that even the most experienced user has to watch out for. One way around it is to use procedural maps that create a random pattern like cell or noise. If you have to use a map and it's obvious that it's going to have tiling problems then taking it into PhotoShop and editing it will be your best bet.

 

2. Do you generally apply the same map to color, bump, reflectivity, etc...

 

If you have a brick wall that you want to apply a bump to then you would need to convert that jpeg image of the brick wall into a black and white image. Bump mapping as well as opacity uses the black and white areas of an image to create the bump. In Maxwell you must make sure the image is still in an RGB format rather than a grayscale or the bump mapping won't work.

 

3. some explanation of UVW in general -- for some reason I can't get my head around it - do the coordinates relate to XYZ axis? Also how to apply to non-rectilnear surfaces

 

Try some of these sites for tutorials on UVW mapping and texture creation.

http://tutorial.stavit.cz/page.asp?category=0800

http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/sv_home.php

http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/cg_education.htm

http://www.3dcafe.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=38

[WestCAD]

Thanks Maxer for the info.....I also have trouble with this aspect within maxwell and tend to spend a lot of time adjusting scale, tiling etc to get them close.

[thickly]

thanks for the thorough reply Maxer, it is very helpful - although I was hoping you were going to tell me to just hit the "Easy Material Mapping/Scaling" button that I was missing.

Is their an approximate image size that seems to be a good starting point from? ie. if you need to lay in a floor material/color map for a 20' x 20' room, do you shrink your image to a certain size (1,000 pix x 1,000 pix) before applying? Is it generally better to use smaller or larger maps?

sorry, I know the real learning comes from trying things out for yourself, but any tips are very much appreciated.

- SD

[Devin Johnston]

larger maps give you more detail than smaller ones, but there is no standard size that you must use.

[zoppo]

and of course the needed size of the maps depends on the output size.

[warprat]

Hi, first timer here. I do use lightwave been using it for the past 2 years, and i am really trying to use maxwell. so about the mapping issue Zoppo, when u said "and of course the needed size of the maps depends on the output size."

say I need to print out a still which is 10"x10". that means I times that by 300 dpi so I get 3000 x 3000 res. seeing this my maps should all be 3000 res?

am I right?

 

would'nt that be kind of heavy for the machine? please correct me if im wrong.

[zoppo]

not exactly what i ment

 

if you got a pic 3000x3000 and the object to be textured takes e.g. 2/3 of the pic, then its texture should have about 2000x2000. if there is another smaller object in the pic, that object only needs a smaller texture.

 

so it depends on the output size and on how many pixel the object takes in the picture.

 

 

- sorry for my english - i just came in from a bike ride in the deep deep snow. my brain is frozen and overinflated with pure cold oxygen ...

[warprat]

thanks zoppo, I think I get it, I have to set the size accordingly. thank you again.