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42.2 UV Maps - DeepUV v1.2 & DeepPaint 3D v2.1 |
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![]() DEEPUV & DEEP PAINT 3D, UV MAPPING A GIRAFFE In this tutorial I'm going to create the hardest-to-paint object that I can think of... a giraffe. The first thing I do is I search on the internet for images of giraffes taken at all different angles. I remove any backgrounds using Photoshop so I can see the contours. Although I can't find a close-up of his feet, I do find a drawing of a giraffe's footprint (top row, third from the left). Since the person who did it included the size of the footprint in milimeters, I'll use that in conjunction with a tiny side-view to build his feet. ![]() Once I've got enough different angles, I start assembling front, back and side views of a generic giraffe. There are two different species of giraffe having different patterns, but at the moment I just need perfect side/top/front images so I use scraps from both types in my montages. They don't have to look pretty, they just need to give me a good representation of muscle/size relationships. I draw keylines in a separate layer as I have done in other tutorials, matching the tip of the nose, ankle bumps, knee bumps, etc. between the side, front and back views. ![]() If you look at the side-view, you'll see that I got the head from one image, the tail from another and the legs from yet another. I use Photoshop's 'Scale', 'Rotate', 'Skew', 'Distort' and 'Perspective' tools to size, rotate and position each part until they all feel like they integrate with each other, and are a true side-image with no distortions. The front view is more difficult to assemble in such a manner because people rarely take photos of a giraffe from the front. And, the back view is impossible to find. I find a back 3/4 view and using the outline from the front view, I fake a back view using my imagination and stolen images of the front of the legs. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be correct enough that you can create a 3D object from the images. I've, many times, already shown you how organic 3D objects are created, so will jump right into the use of DeepUV to generate UV Maps for the giraffe, and the integration with DeepPaint 3D to paint the giraffe's hide. Since there are no tutorials out there telling how to use DeepUV with LightWave objects, this will not be a perfect methods, but at least the methods work (with bugs). I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but until people experiment more with the programs, this will have to do. Here's a LightWave Scene rendering of the giraffe with a fake procedural texture to temporarily simulate spots. ![]() I never trust when a program says that it can load LightWave .LWO objects that it will support all features so I always save out a version which has no skelegons, no weight maps, no subsurfacing mode turned on, and simple surface names (or only one surface) when I'm experimenting. Also, I export the object in LightWave 5.6 format by doing 'File->Export->Export LightWave 5' from LightWave's Modeler, as programs generally accept version 5.6 objects better than version 7.5 objects (version 5.6 objects were less complex, supporting less capabilities). The new features have nothing to do with UV Maps, so you lose nothing by creating the UV Maps using a version 5 object. IMPORTANT - Always finish your object completely before creating UV Maps. After creating UV Maps, no new polygons should ever be added, nor should current polygons move their positions. I save it into the 'C:\Program Files\Right Hemisphere\Deep UV\Examples\' folder as 'Giraffe.lwo'. DEEPUV, USING DEEPUV Using DeepUV version 1.2.0.7, I do a 'File->Open' (CTRL-o) and load 'Giraffe.lwo'. The Material viewport will be to the left, and the Perspective on the right. The Rotate Tool is selected, so I move my mouse over that viewport, hold the left mouse button down, and drag to the left to rotate the object. I press SPACE for the 'Panning' tool, positioning the giraffe; then I use the 'Zoom' tool to size the object. ![]() I'm going to use DeepUV's 'Automatic Mapping' button to completely automate the task of creating the UV Maps with a complex object. Without selecting anything, I press 'Automatic Mapping' button (the Command Panel's 'Mapping' tab in the 'Global Mapping Operations' section). I don't need to do 'Preserve Bitmap' because no Material bitmaps have been created, yet. DeepUV creates a UV Map for every surface name I have created. Realize that the material window may not be displaying the most important UV Map for the object, so if nothing seems to have occurred when you create a UV Map, right-click the Material viewport and select the Material you wish to see the UV Map for from the 'Materials' menu item. I select the 'Body' Material, select the 'Zoom' tool, with the left mouse button held down I move my mouse up to zoom in. I hold both mouse buttons and move the mouse to center the section of the UV Map I wish to see. ![]() I zoom closer to ensure no face polygons are overlapped. ![]() And, as I check out the UVs that it created, I see that they are not twisted, nor are they overlapping. That means that generally they will allow me to paint on the object without many smudges appearing. However, the manner in which it has done the UV Mapping certainly aren't the decisions a person would make when doing a good UV Map. Not only have the UV Maps not been created symmetrically, but many stragglers have been created. Straggler polygons create edges which tend not to smoothly accept paint. ![]() All-in-all, though, I think it will be workable. If you don't need your object to be viewed closely, a UV Map of this quality should be OK to use. So far, no Material bit maps (image files) have been created, and no channels have been assigned. DEEPPAINT 3D, USING DEEPPAINT 3D Next, we need to pass the UV Maps to the drawing program. Before proceeding, quit any versions of Deep Paint 3D that are currently running. More than one Deep Paint 3D executable may be running at a time. From DeepUV I do 'File->Export->Paint with Deep Paint 3D'. It should run Deep Paint 3D. The 'Material Import' requester will appear. ![]() Up where it says 'Object #0', the UV shows that there are UV Maps associated with the object. The checkerboard pattern indicates that a material is available for at least some part of the object. In the 'Material' section, the lack of checkerboards to the left of each Surface Name indicates that no physical image file is yet associated with a material. When I click in the gray area to the left of the 'Body' surface, a 'Set Material Size' requester appears. 512 x 512 pixels is the default, but 1024 x 1024 is generally what is used. I click in the first box and type 1024, then do the same with the other box. ![]() A 'Material Channel' requester appears. ![]() I click on the 'C' to create a Color Channel. ![]() I choose 'Nothing' because there is no image to load in at the moment, and I want the colors to automatically be set using DeepUV's Material information. 'New Blank Map' appears next to the 'C'. I create a 1024 x 1024 'Nothing' image for each material. Afterwards, a checkerboard pattern should appear beside each material name. ![]() If any of the materials don't have a checkerboard next to them it probably means that you didn't create a 'New Blank Map' for the color channel of that material. Click 'OK' to have it complete everything. If, after it completes, your object doesn't have the colors it should have, return to DeepUV and choose 'File->Export->Send Texture Update'. This will fill the material maps with the colors as defined by the object in DeepUV. When you switch to Deep Paint 3D, a new requester will have appeared. ![]() Click 'YES' to apply changes to the updated materials. If you change the UV Maps at any time, select 'File->Export->Send UV Update' and this requester will appear. ![]() Click 'YES' to apply changes to the UV coordinates. To save the painting, do 'File->Save As...' and choose 'Deep Paint 3D Project Files (*.dp3)'. The default for Deluxe Paint 3D is the 'C:\Program Files\Right Hemisphere\Deep Paint 3D\Examples\' folder. Give it a name (Giraffe), click 'Save' and it will create a folder called Giraffe.dp3, inside the Examples folder, writing all necessary files. Whenever I load the .dp3 file, this annoying requester appears. ![]() I click 'NO'. When the 'Material Import' requester appears, I click 'OK'. DEEPPAINT 3D, LIGHTING If the lighting is too dark for your object, go to the 'Command Panel' and select the 'Settings' tab. I increase the ambient lighting level, and choose 'all-around' lighting by clicking the central ball. ![]() You can also set the lighting angle by choosing one of the eight directional lights. On the left, is all-around lighting. On the right is lighting from the left. ![]() DEEPPAINT 3D, PROJECTION MODE If you had perfect UV Maps, you could paint on your object now... but, since I've done nothing whatsoever to the UV Maps to make them work better than the default automatic mapping, I will turn on 'Projection' mode. In reality? I always use 'Projection Mode' ![]() You can choose 'Start in Projection Mode' by setting the checkmark in 'Show Projection Options' ![]() You can always abort from 'Projection Mode' by clicking ![]() Projection mode uses the surface to define another, straighter and more uniform surface. When you paint without projection mode on, you immediately see the lack of quality that occurs when two UVs don't quite connect with each other perfectly, or when UVs overlap. ![]() When you paint in Projection mode, while you're painting, it feels more like you're painting on a smooth 2D surface. You only see the poorer quality when you rotate, zoom, or save your work (or the selection of any tool which forces the program to finalize your drawing). On the left is what it looks like when you're drawing. On the right is what it looks like after it has finalized the line. ![]() Any way you look at it, you get better results when Projection Mode is turned on. The program is polite, telling you when you've asked it to do a procedure that will not be able to be undone, for example. DEEPPAINT 3D, 3D PAINTING Your most useful tool will be the 'Freehand' tool ![]() You choose the size of the brush by holding down the CTRL key while dragging the mouse up or down. A small window called 'MapSize' appears. Drag down to shrink its size. Drag up to enlarge its size. You choose how this tool paints by choosing something from the Comand Panel's 'Presets' tab (F5) in the 'Command Panel'. ![]() I like working with two presets, in particular. The first is called 'Simple Bump' ![]() It has a soft-brush-feel with a natural stroke. You can change the freehand tool into the eyedropper tool so you can grab a color from the screen by holding down the ALT key and clicking with the left mouse button on the color you wish to draw with. The second is called 'Water Color Wash' ![]() It lightens an area, flows abrupt edges together, and adds random texture all at once. It's very easy to change between presets, so have fun experimenting. Two other tools which I use all the time are 'Rotate' and 'Zoom'. There are discrepancies between how these two work and the way you might be thinking they should work (wouldn't it be wonderful if these guys agreed on ONE method). 'Rotate' ![]() It doesn't matter where you click in the view area, moving left and right turns it to the left and to the right with no ability to skew the rotation as you can in LightWave's viewports (rotates around the Y axis).'Zoom' ('z' key) ![]() Clicking and releasing in a window zooms in with each click. Each time that you are in the Freehand tool and switch to a Rotate/Zoom tool, Deep Paint will Each time that you are in a Rotate/Zoom/Pan tool and you switch to the Freehand tool, Deep Paint 3D will render to the reference layer and project meshes. Each time you are using the Freehand tool and you switch back to a Rotate/Zoom tool, Deep Paint 3D will project the paint to the original layers. ![]() There's a bug that sometimes occurs on my computer, under XP, where this requester won't go away. When this occurs, Deep Paint 3D's menus still function, the program works OK, but the window stays open as if it hasn't completed. If this ever happens to you, select the 'Projection Paint' button again or pick the 'Freehand' Tool. When using Projection Paint, the extra waiting is well rewarded by giving you a much better-quality 3D painting. After I've finished drawing one side of the giraffe, I arrange the entire giraffe in the viewport, increase the size of the window, press the 'Print Screen' button to copy the desktop image to the clipboard. I run Photoshop, press CTRL-n to create a new image, select the default (it will automatically size the image to the size of the clipboard), and press CTRL-v to paste the screen image into the new Photoshop window. ![]() I press 'm' to select Photoshop's 'Rectangular Marquee Tool', drag a Rectangular Marquee around the giraffe. I position the rectangle by clicking the left mouse button and dragging the box until it is cropped correctly. ![]() I select 'Image->Crop' to chop the size of the image to the size of the Rectangular Marquee (I could also have used Photoshop's Crop tool). I flip the image, horizontally, by selecting 'Image->Rotate Canvas->Flip Canvas Horizontally' ![]() I position Photoshop's window to the right of my screen so I can see the flipped image. I position Deep Paint 3D on the left side of my screen so I can see both Photoshop window and the Deep Paint Window and use the Photoshop image as reference to complete the giraffe's right side. Some variation is good. A perfectly symmetrical object doesn't feel real. ![]() As I work, I continually rotate the object to all angles to ensure that everything feels real. ![]() ... the insides of each leg needs work. When I rotate the giraffe so I can see both halves of the back of his neck. ![]() ... I'll need to make the lines match. I've purposefully left the brown smooth and unblemished. That makes it easy to modify. I alternate, first drawing with brown, then tan, as I work. After I've completed drawing the tan lines, I'll use Photoshop to drop in texture with 'Paste Into', then I'll make the edges of the tan lines more realistic. They don't let you save until you've left 'Projection Mode', so I click ![]() I press CTRL-s to save (if I've never saved before, I do a 'Save As...' and select 'Deep Paint 3D Project Files (*.dp3)' as the 'Save As Type'). How much you work on a 3D painting has everything to do with how close you'll come to it in your animation. If you'll be zooming in to the face, concentrate on facial details. DEEP PAINT 3D - DEEPUV, MAP If you have drawn on your model in Deep Paint 3D, you can also export the painted version, along with all UV Map coordinates, back to DeepUV. Close any open windows in DeepUV, but don't close the program. In Deep Paint 3D, if you are currently drawing on your model using the Freehand' brush tool, the 'Map' button will be ghosted. ![]() ... either exit from Projection mode, or choose the 'Rotate' tool. When 'Map' button is no longer ghosted, ( ![]() It should flip the screen to DeepUV, should show a window which says 'Importing', and load your object, complete with the textures that you painted, into DeepUV. ![]() Once you have finalized your drawing, you don't want to move any UV edges or your drawing will become extremely warped. If you wish to flatten out UVs or make them so they aren't overlapped in an area, go to the Material window, choose the choose the 'Component Selection Tool'. ![]() There are two ways to spread out UVs so they're not overlapped, and at the same time not move the edges. Either way, first choose the 'Polygon Wand Selection Tool' ![]() Click somewhere in the Material window on the UV you wish to relax. Spreading UVs more uniformly across the UV Map, in DeepUV, is called 'Relaxing' UVs The UV should turn red. ![]() The first method, select the 'Advanced Relax' tool from the 'Tools' section of the 'Unwrapping' area of the 'Command Panel'. ![]() A small requester will appear. ![]() The top three 'UV Knead' buttons will relax your UV area without touching the positon of the vertice points along the edges of your UV. Each of the three kneading methods use a slightly different method of relaxing the UVs, so try all three. Of the three methods, 'Hybrid' tends to overlap UVs. The other method is to, first, shrink the selection so it doesn't include the edge vertice points. I exit the 'Advanced Relax' requester. Then from the 'Select' menu I choose 'Reduce Selection to Non-Seams'. ![]() Next, select the 'Relax' button from the 'Tools' section of the 'Unwrapping' area of the 'Command Panel'. ![]() You get a little more control over the 'Relax' tool if you enter the 'Advanced Relax' requester. ![]() In the Advanced Relax section, set the 'Area Greed' value by dragging the tiny triangle left or right. A second way of adjusting the area greed is to click and hold with the left mouse button on the up and down arrows. Drag up or down. Setting a higher value for the 'Area Greed' flattens UVs more. ![]() After setting the Area Greed, click on 'Relax'. ![]() To pass the new UV coordinates to Deep Paint 3D, select 'File->Export->Send UV Update. Switch to Deep Paint 3D. ![]() Click 'Yes'. Check to ensure that the changes you made allow Deep Paint to paint more smoothly than it was doing. Sometimes using Relax makes a problem worse, rather than better. You'll particularly find this to be the case if you are automatically unwrapping your model. DeepUV's automatic unwrapping defaults are quite good. You shouldn't have to relax many UVs if you choose to automatically unwrap your object. TROUBLESHOOTING DEEPUV / DEEP PAINT 3D UV MAPPING If you are having problems, generally image files haven't yet been created for surfaces. Remember that if there's ever a missing image, you can create one by using Photoshop. To create a texture map in Photoshop, set the background color by selecting the eyedropper tool, then click the 'Set Background Color' box. ![]() Select the color you wish the texture to be by using Photoshop's Color Picker. Create a 'New' image with CTRL-n, select 1024 pixels x 1024 pixels at 72 dots-per-inch as the size (or 512 pixels x 512 pixels if it isn't a very important texture), RGB Color Mode, Select the 'Background Color' checkbox and click 'OK'. ![]() Save the blank texture as your surface's name to be used in the 'Material Import' section of Deep Paint 3D. In Deep Paint 3D, after you've saved your object as a 'Deep Paint 3D Project File (*.dp3), the next time you load the project, it will display that annoying requester. ![]() Click 'NO' and it will bring you to the 'Material Import' window as it did when you originally imported the UV Maps from DeepUV. ![]() If there is a checkerboard next to each surface name, click on them, one-by-one. Check to ensure, in the 'Material Channels' requester, under the Color channel ( 'C' ) that each has an actual path to an actual, existing, image file (Preferably in the directory where the 'Deep Paint 3D Project File (*.dp3) is to be found). ![]() This is also where you might rename the obtuse names Deep Paint 3D gives to images, giving them more understandable image names. Deep Paint 3D tends to use material names like M2CA0.tif. You can change those strange names using Windows, then select them one-by-one from here. If the path points somewhere other than the folder where the 'Deep Paint 3D Project File (*.dp3) is, move each photo that isn't in that folder, but is somewhere else, to that folder. After moving all of the proper images to that folder (or creating them) enter the 'Material Channel' for that material by clicking the checkerboard symbol next to each name, then click on the C (Color Channel). Click on 'Image', then pick the image that's in the folder you just copied them to. Ensure that every material has a material image associated with it (If it just says 'New Blank Image', replace that with an actual image that you created in Photoshop), if one is 1024 x 1024, make them all 1024 x 1024 and you'll have less problems. Ensure that they all have a path which points to an actual TIF image for each material. I like using TIF because there is no loss to the image quality. When you're done, from then on each material should load properly into Deep Paint 3D (until you try doing a 'Save As...', giving it a different name. When you do a 'Save As...', the old picture paths pointing to the old folder will be retained and the image that will be modified will be the one in the old folder. I think that's both annoying, and confusing. I would have made it so the program cloned each image, making a copy of each of them, placing the copies into the new folder). Never remove, delete, or modify any file in a project folder which has been givin a cryptic name such as M0CA0.tif. If you do, you might destroy all of your work. Always back up the entire folder if you start hard-wire modifying images and image names. This is not the typical way they suggest (as they suggest so little). They're just methods which have allowed me to use DeepUV with LightWave in the past. PHOTOSHOP, MANUALLY MODIFYING DEEPPAINT 3D CHANNEL You might wish to modify a texture using Photoshop, instead of using Deep Paint 3D. In this case, I'd like the brown area of the giraffe to be textured like a giraffe rather than just being a plain brown color. ![]() To work on a DeepPaint 3D channel image, I need to export the image. In the 'Layers' tab of the 'Command Panel', I select 'Body' as the Material. ![]() I select 'Export All to PSD' from the drop-down menu (indicated with the red arrow). ![]() I save it using the default name 'Deep3D_Body.PSD'. I created a bump channel as well as a color channel just to show what the document looks like. When I load the exported image into Photoshop, It has created three layers: " Body: Wireframe"I delete the Bump layer by right-clicking on that layer and choosing 'Delete Layer' because I didn't need that channel anyways, then turn off the visibility on the 'Body: WireFrame' layer by un-choosing the eye symbol to the left of that layer's name. ![]() Now that I've exported the image and prepared it, I first need to create a giraffe hide without stripes. I find a photo on the internet with large areas of brown hide. ![]() I select Photoshop's 'Clone' tool ![]() From the brush drop-down I select a wide brush size, select 100% for both the Opacity and Flow, then point to an area of brown hide while holding down the ALT key. I click so it will remember that area as the area to clone. I move to a white stripe and click, dragging the cloned image as I paint each white line with hide. Sometimes, particularly if you've picked a too-large brush size, a ghost line will appear along the cloned line you paint. ![]() In that case, just point to the hide just to the side of the ghosted line and paint another cloned line. Keep doing it until there's no trace left of the ghost. ![]() I keep my left index finger poised over the ALT key at all times. Then, I can point with my mouse, press ALT and click with the left mouse button to define a new area to clone, then stamp to use the cloned area. The cloned hide should feel natural, and no trace of the white lines should remain. ![]() At all times, you should clone a section of hide that has similar texture and brightness. ![]() Once I've completed removing the white lines... ![]() ... this wouldn't tile well. PHOTOSHOP, HOW TO TILE AN IMAGE ![]() In order that something times well, there mustn't be irregularities in darkness, the top and bottom of an image have to match each other, and the left side of an image must match the right side. To remove the irregularities in darkness I'll still use Photoshop's clone tool, but I'll set the Fill to 15% - 35%. ![]() In this way I can clone a light area, using it in the dark areas to equalize the intensity. I can also clone a dark area, using it in the light areas to raise the intensity. ![]() This makes it better, but still, a tiled image must be capable of being set side-by-side, and top-to-bottom, without a line showing. I tile again, and there's still darkness in the lower-left corner. ![]() I lighten the bottom left by stealing from the top left. ![]() Now that I've gotten the brightness to be consistent, I still have to eliminate the line that occurs when it tiles. To do that, I'll make a rig that's specially designed to fix the problem. First, I'll change the image size so it will be an even number of inches high and wide (8" x 5.5"). This will help when I'll laying down guide lines. I turn off 'Constrain Proportions' so the image can be forced to the size I want. I make sure that I don't stretch the image too much, though. ![]() I enlarge the canvas size by doing 'Image->Canvas Size...' and make the canvas three times bigger. ![]() I turn on the rulers by pressing CTRL-r (it toggles). ![]() I drag a guide from the left ruler and place it exactly on 8". I drag a second guide from the top ruler and place it at 5.5" ![]() I do the same at 11" down and 16 inches across. ![]() I've numbered the boxes so you'll be able to follow me. I make sure that 'View->Snap' is checkmarked and 'View->Snap To->Guides' is selected. ![]() I start with the untiled image that I've made in the central #1 box. Using the guide lines, I select Photoshop's 'Rectangular Marquee Tool' and drag a rectangle which snaps around square #1. I lift the square off by pressing CTRL-ALT, then dragging the mouse, then stamp it into squares #2, 3, 4 and 5 with the left mouse button. ![]() I press CTRL-h to hide the guides. Using Photoshop's clone tool, I press ALT while pointing to the boundary between 1 and 3, then clone it at the boundary between 1 and 5. I ALT define the boundary boundary between 1 and 2, cloning it at the boundary between 1 and 4. Once they're blended, I press CTRL-h to unhide the guide lines, repeat the process of lifting square #1 and pasting it onto squares #2, 3, 4 and 5. I keep repeating the boundary cloning process, then the successive paste of #1 into 2, 3, 4, 5 until when I remove the guide lines, there's no line. ![]() Once I've completed making the pattern, I define the pattern by selecting square #1 with a Marquee rectangle, choosing 'Edit->Define Pattern' and giving it a pattern name. I enlarge the image to 1024 x 1024, do CTRL-A to select all, then DELETE to remove everything. I select Photoshop's 'Pattern Stamp Tool' ![]() Then, I select the newly defined hide pattern and it will seamlessly tile throughout the 1024 x 1024 square. ( Although that is how you create a pattern to tile, I decided to size it to 512 pixels wide and stamp it six times... Then, I cloned any remaining imperfections to make it non-symmetrical). ![]() PHOTOSHOP, ADD HIDE TEXTURE TO BODY MAP IMAGE First, I return to the photoshop image I exported. I ensure that the 'Base Layer: Color' layer is selected. I select Photoshop's 'Magic Wand' tool ![]() At the top of the window I set 'Tolerance' to 30, then click in the brown area to select it. I choose 'Select->Similar' to select those colors and all browns that are within the tolerance level of 30 become selected. I go to the window of the hide that I just created, CTRL-a to select everything and copy the 1024 x 1024 hide to the clipboard. I choose 'Edit->Paste Into' to replace the plain brown with textured hide. Then, I do 'Layer->Merge Down', to merge the new 'Paste Into' Layer with the 'Base Layer: Color'. After they've been merged, the two remaining layers MUST be called 'Body: WireFrame' and 'Base Layer: Color'. ![]() Finally, I 'File->Save', overwriting the old Photoshop document with the new version. To actually initiate the change, I return to Deep Paint 3D, choosing 'Import All from PSD' from the 'Layers' tab of the 'Command Panel' drop-down menu. DEEP PAINT 3D, KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS File Menu:CTRL-n New Edit Menu:CTRL-z Undo Selection Menu:CTRL-a Undo Selection Tools:SHIFT + Selection Tool Add to Selection Floaters:ENTER Drop Floater While Painting:CTRL + Move Mouse up/down Brush Size Zoom Tool:'z' or CTRL + SPACE Zoom Tools:'e' Eraser The Color Swatch:SHIFT + Left Button Click Add Color Gestures:Right Click + Move Mouse left Undo Channel Selection:1 Color Palettes: Rotate Tool:'r' Held Down + Move Mouse Rotate Spline Tool:'g' Selects Spline Select Tool Pan Tool:SPACE + Move Mouse Pan Line Tool:Move Mouse Scale Polygon As with DeepUV... |