Single texture for multiple Objects / Instances (3ds Max 2017)
Hello there,
i'm currently modeling a low poly piano, which itself consists (as of now) of multiple parts (body, lid, keys, etc.).
As often the case, texturing the model is where i ran into trouble!
I'm now stuck with a few - presumably -
beginner's questions, i was hoping you guys (and girls) could help me out with!
First of - i was hoping to include all of my textures for the different parts in just one texture map.
I guess the "easiest" way to do so, would be to just attach all of the seperate elements to a single
object and unwrap that.
However, since some parts are likely to share a similar, if not the exact same look (e.g. the keys),
i was looking for ways to maybe save some texture space by keeping these parts seperate and have them
.. sort of .. "source" information from that single texture.
To get that to work, the first thing i tested was unwrapping two single parts, the lid and one of the keys
(of which there are multiple instances), grouping them and applying another "UVW Unwrap"-modifier
to the group. The idea was, having just one of the black keys unwrapped and the texture applied to it,
the "propagate materials to instances" option in the material editor would then just spread that
texture onto the other instances (i.e. the other keys).
I basically figured: if i included just one unwrapped instance of a part, that was going to look
the same as another, in a group and unwrap that group, i'd have to waste less texture space and still
have it be transferred onto the other instances by propagating the material. Does that make sense?
I know it is technically possible to apply another "UVW Unwrap" (which, at that point, wasn't even displaying
in the drop-down-list) to a group, BUT doing so, by choosing it in the regular menu, resulted in a runtime error.
Apparently the "modifier is inappropriate" .. whatever that means
I guess my question is - was that even a viable option? Am i making this way too hard on myself?
Could i've just had the unwrapped keys overlap themselves in the UV-space and achieve the same result?
As you can tell - i have no clue what i'm doing
and help would be much appreciated
THANK YOU!
i'm currently modeling a low poly piano, which itself consists (as of now) of multiple parts (body, lid, keys, etc.).
As often the case, texturing the model is where i ran into trouble!
I'm now stuck with a few - presumably -beginner's questions, i was hoping you guys (and girls) could help me out with!
First of - i was hoping to include all of my textures for the different parts in just one texture map.
I guess the "easiest" way to do so, would be to just attach all of the seperate elements to a single
object and unwrap that.
However, since some parts are likely to share a similar, if not the exact same look (e.g. the keys),
i was looking for ways to maybe save some texture space by keeping these parts seperate and have them
.. sort of .. "source" information from that single texture.
To get that to work, the first thing i tested was unwrapping two single parts, the lid and one of the keys
(of which there are multiple instances), grouping them and applying another "UVW Unwrap"-modifier
to the group. The idea was, having just one of the black keys unwrapped and the texture applied to it,
the "propagate materials to instances" option in the material editor would then just spread that
texture onto the other instances (i.e. the other keys).
I basically figured: if i included just one unwrapped instance of a part, that was going to look
the same as another, in a group and unwrap that group, i'd have to waste less texture space and still
have it be transferred onto the other instances by propagating the material. Does that make sense?
I know it is technically possible to apply another "UVW Unwrap" (which, at that point, wasn't even displaying
in the drop-down-list) to a group, BUT doing so, by choosing it in the regular menu, resulted in a runtime error.
Apparently the "modifier is inappropriate" .. whatever that means
I guess my question is - was that even a viable option? Am i making this way too hard on myself?
Could i've just had the unwrapped keys overlap themselves in the UV-space and achieve the same result?
As you can tell - i have no clue what i'm doing
and help would be much appreciated
THANK YOU!
Replies
I just selected all of the objects and applied another UVW Unwrap (this time available trough the modifiers-list).
I was then able to rearrange the previously unwrapped pieces into a single UV space.
And the texture created that way does apply itself to all instances correctly
(if anyone was wondering)
However, i feel like my approach is just way off ..
Any other suggestions for a better future workflow?
(do people still bump threads these days?)
Anyone? Pleeaasse
2) Yes, you were making it hard for yourself. Generally, instances share an identical modifier stack. So, all you need to is unwrap one of the instanced objects and every other instance of it will reflect that. No extra effort required.
That makes it a lot easier!