Page 852 - Kitab3DsMax

Part VII: Advanced Materials
Mapping multiple objects
If your model is divided into several different pieces, you’re in luck because Max allows you to apply the
Unwrap UVW modifier to several pieces at once. When loaded into the Edit UVW window, the wireframe
for each piece is displayed using its object color, which makes identifying the various separate pieces easy.
Tutorial: Creating a mapping for a fighter plane
As a final example of unwrapping, you add a Navy logo to a P-28 Trojan fighter plane. This plane was cre-
ated by Viewpoint Datalabs. The logo was created and saved as a PNG file, which allowed the background
to be saved as transparent. This allows the shiny metallic material to show through the applied logo.
For this tutorial, you add the logo to one of the wings. The tricky part of this tutorial, which you didn’t
have for the earlier rocket tutorial, is that the wing’s ailerons are separated from the wing. This makes it
possible to animate the ailerons.
Note
I realize that all you military aircraft enthusiasts out there know that the logo actually belongs on the fuselage and
not on the wing, but the fuselage isn’t divided into separate parts like the wing, so I’m taking creative license for
the sake of the tutorial. n
To add a texture map to several pieces of an airplane, follow these steps:
1. Open the T-28 Trojan plane.max file from the Chap 32 directory on the DVD.
2. In the Perspective view, select the wing and the aileron and flaps. Don’t select the molding
between the wing and the ailerons.
3. Select the Modifiers ➪ UV Coordinates ➪ Unwrap UVW menu to apply the modifier to all the
selected pieces. Then click the Edit button in the Parameters rollout to open the Edit UVWs win-
dow.
4. From the drop-down list at the top right of the Edit UVWs interface, select the Pick Texture
option. The Material/Map Browser opens. In the Search by Name field, type Bitmap and double-
click the Bitmap option, and select the T-28 Trojan logo.png image from the Chap 32 directory
on the DVD. To focus the bitmap, disable the Tile Bitmap option in the Options panel of the Edit
UVWs window.
The texture appears in the window.
5. Select Face subobject mode in the Modifier Stack and click in the viewport on the center of the
right wing. Then click the Expand Selection button (the one with the plus sign) at the bottom of
the Edit UVWs window to grow the selection. Keep clicking the Expand Selection button until
the entire right half of the wing is selected. Then select the Tools ➪ Break command. Then zoom
out in the Edit UVWs window, and move the separated wing to the top of the window so it
doesn’t overlap any other sections.
The selected wing UVs are separated from the rest of the wing object, which includes both wings.
Tip
Another way to select the faces is to use the Planar Angle value, which selects all the polygons on one side of the
wing. n

804