Lamp and Texture

Using the existing lampshade from previous tests I tried to create some simple paited wall textures that could be applied to a primitive plain. I would then apply a bump map to create an uneven surface without increasing the level of geometry. To be perfectly honest I was dreading the texturing phase as I knew very little about applying good quality textures. However, after asking several students and observing tutorials online I began to get a better understanding of how the UV texture editor function worked within maya as well as planar mapping.

Before applying a texture to the wall surface I applied a checkered material to the plane. This would act as a good way of seeing whether or not the Uv's were stretched which would cause problems when applying the high resolution texture. I then applied a planar map which would project the checkered material from a particular axis depending on the faces orientation. This should create what seems like a chess board of evenly spaced squares. This indicates that the UV's are evenly aligned. To increase the resolution of the projected texture I needed to adjust the UV's in the Uv texture editor. To increase the resolution I would use the scale tool to reduce the size of the squares. This prevents the texture from pixelating.

Now I needed to create the texture itself. Chris wanted a painted wall with a slight unevenness to it which would appear more realistic than a completely flat surface. I used a texture I obtained from an online cg site which focuses on textures and materials. I used a simple wall texture and altered it in photoshop. When I applied this texture to the plane in my scene the texture was repeated multiple times which created a tiled effect which was not the effect I was looking for. I realized that the image was too low in resolution. To solve this tiled effect I increased the size of the texture and used the clone tool in photoshop to create an uneven look. By offsetting the image I could create a texture that would not replicate itself across the wall surface. The texture would be scattered and rotated which created an uneven looking wall that looked somewhat realistic.

The texture looked adequate at best on its own but required a bump map to pick up the bumps and scratches. A painted wall is never completely flat and usually has holes and blemishes. This would add a certain amount of character and realism to the room. To produce the bump map I simply used the existing texture and adjusted its hue to obtain a black and white finish. Then I increased the contrast of the material in photoshop. A bump map is a very simple way of creating details without increasing geometry. If used well this can produce very effective images while reducing render time. The bump works by overlapping the original texture. All the darker areas appear darker creating recesses and holes while the brighter areas appear raised. Once the wall texture was projected I then applied the bump map. I was very pleased and excited at the result as it began to look more like a painted, rough wall rather than a smooth metal like surface.

Getting the UV's in the right position is key and amplifies the overall look of the object. While observing the professionals in action on various tutorials online I began to understand the texturing process. By applying the checkered material to a surface you are merely determining whether or not the Uv's are stretched. The Uv's themselves are completely separate from the material. When texturing in the future I shall try applying the checkered material to every object then planar map individual objects. Once the object is properly planar mapped and UV'd I can the begin projecting the materials created in photoshop.