Re: Animation + Texture mapping in Max


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Posted by Elmek on April 04, 1998 at 16:43:00:

In Reply to: Animation + Texture mapping in Max posted by NovaStrike on April 04, 1998 at 14:57:29:

To apply a texture is quite easy, but moste times
you have to do things in a special order.

Since max uses modifiers like layers then the layer
giving texture cordinates must be below the layer giving
the animation. If not then the texture will not deform on
the model. Mmmm...this is how it worked in max1.2 I have
using the UVW unwrapper been able to sucessfully ignore
this fact but i suppose it might be good to be on the
safe side.

The prodcedure you should follow is this:

1.Model and pose your model.
2.If you have used any modifiers in the modeling
then i think you should collaps the model to a
editable mesh. No special reason, i just like it that way.
3.Add the mapping (read below)
4.Make the material, a bitmap in the diffusemap works
fine. You also wanna make sure you have the 'show in
viewport' button activated so you can see the texture.
5.Apply the material.
6.Apply the animation

If you use max2 then there is a better way of adding
mapping to a model then the plain modes given in
the UVW mapping modifier. It actually works pritty
much like the md2 mapping.

By using the mesh select modifier in conjunction with
the UVW mapping and UVW unwrapp modifiers you can make
just as good model mapping as any md2 model, its just
a bit harder. The way it works is to use the 'mesh
select' as a kind of filter for the texturefaces. By selecting
a bunch of faces and adding a new modifier on top of this
one only the selected faces are passed on to this new
modifier. In other words: You can select the head and
add a cylindrical uvw mapping to these faces only while
you add a planar mapping to the torso and so on.

Procedure for this:
1.Select the faces you want to mapp.
2.Add some type of UVW mapping (not always nessary, sometimes
you can go directly to step 3).
3.Add a UVWUnwrapp modifier, and choose edit. Now you get a small
editor that works pritty much like the other native md2editors, the
main differance is that you cant change the size of the active
mapping area wich is pritty bad, and you can only see the faces you
selected.
4. Do previous steps untill all faces are mapped good.
5. Select all faces with a 'Select mesh'.
6. Add a final UVWUnwrapper. With this youll be able to see how
all the faces are now mapped. This is the main step, all the others
are mainly just to separeate and scale down the parts so that they
wont overlap to much in this step.

When you are done with step 6 you can collaps the mesh if
you like to loose all the modifiers you'v added (it will be
a lot of them) The only little prob is that you then will get
a bunch of extra texturevertices if you decide youll need to
edit the mapping further. I think this is because max passes
on the texturevertices from all steps but im not sure. Anyway
its just a 'inside max' problem so you wont have to deal with it
if you wont need to fix the mapping any more.

I suppose this can be used to bring a existing, and mapped md2
model into max again and rendering cutscenes (use a wireframe
skin as a background in the UVWUnwrapper) and it definatly
should make it possible for max2 users to make there md2 models
completly inside max2, provided that some smart guy writes a
plugin that takes use of the mapping cords ofcours.

Something that Npherno or Philip Martin might want to try would
perhaps be to write a plugin that export a separate file with the
mapping cords from max (both there utilities can export/import
files with texture cords only if im not misstaken). If anyone
of them have access to the max2sdk that is...

Well i hope this helped in some way.
Elmek

: Anyone know where I can find out the descriptions for the animations in the md2?
: ex. frames 0-39 is ideling, there are some frames which I don't understand :)
: ex. frames 124-134 what is the model doing? Is that another taunt?

: Also I have my base frame done for my model. In 3dsmax do I simply apply a planer mapping
: to the base frame after I pose him?




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