Texturing : Concepts and Techniques

Texturing: Concepts and Techniques is about the aesthetics and design issues of creating and using interesting textures for digital 3D animation. This beautifully illustrated, full color book teaches artists how to create stunning and convincing textures using the popular 3ds max TM , Maya ® , and LightWave 3D ® programs. It describes the theory behind many aspects of the software, to give artists a deeper understanding of the technology, and its past, present, and future. It helps readers understand the limitations that 3D animation places on creating quality imagery, and details the artistic techniques behind creating convincing textures, not just realistic or photorealistic ones.The tutorials and techniques included throughout the book don't just show users how to recreate a texture, but take them deep into the tools of the programs to help them really understand how and why they work. After working through the tutorials, users will be able to take their skills to the next level and create their own stunning textures!

Author Notes

Dennis Summers (Royal Oak, MI) holds a BFA in painting and a BA in chemistry from Michigan State University, and an MFA in non-traditional media from The Ohio State University. He is an Associate Professor at Schoolcraft College, and is also a freelance animator

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
How to Use This Book	p. xvii
What You Need to Know	p. xvii
1 Visual Communication, Good Design, and Aesthetics	p. 1
Visual Communication	p. 3
Good Design	p. 5
Value	p. 5
Shape	p. 7
Motion	p. 9
Relative Size	p. 10
Figure/Ground	p. 11
Color	p. 12
Color Relativity and Color Constancy	p. 13
Texture	p. 15
Closure	p. 16
Aesthetics	p. 20
Summary	p. 26
2 Realism, Photorealism, and When Being Convincing is Best	p. 27
Realism	p. 28
Linear Perspective	p. 30
Aerial Perspective and Perspective of Disappearance	p. 32
Preconceptions	p. 33
Photorealism	p. 36
The Frame	p. 36
Two Dimensions, Not Three	p. 36
Relationships Matter	p. 37
Being Convincing	p. 40
Summary	p. 44
3 Technical Issues: The Digital Environment and Delivery Media	p. 45
Color	p. 46
Digital Color	p. 46
Color Mixing	p. 47
Color Space or Color Gamut	p. 48
White Point	p. 52
Gamma	p. 53
Using Gamma as a Design Technique	p. 61
Colorbars	p. 61
Contrast Ratio and Ambient Light	p. 62
Alpha	p. 65
Pixels	p. 65
Frames and Fields	p. 68
Summary	p. 69
4 Materials: Technology and Use	p. 71
Some Definitions	p. 72
What Does a Computer Think a Material Is?	p. 74
It Is All About Light: Some Physics	p. 77
What Does the Software Think a Material Is?	p. 79
Software Interfaces	p. 81
Shaders	p. 82
Material Components	p. 84
The Use of Image Maps and Procedural Maps	p. 84
Complex Materials	p. 86
Mapping and Unwrapping	p. 88
Image Editing and Rendering	p. 89
Summary	p. 90
5 Shaders	p. 91
Surface Shaders: General Description and Examples	p. 92
General-Use Shader Types	p. 98
Light Response Attributes: The Big Three	p. 100
Diffuse	p. 100
Specular	p. 101
Ambient	p. 104
Other Common Shader Attributes	p. 105
Bump Mapping and Displacement	p. 105
Transparency, Refraction, and Translucency	p. 105
Luminescence	p. 108
Reflections	p. 108
Correspondence Chart	p. 109
Summary	p. 110
6 Material Creation Interfaces	p. 111
3ds max Material Editor	p. 112
Material Editor Rollouts	p. 115
Lightwave Surface Editor	p. 121
Adding Texture Maps	p. 126
Maya Hypershade and Attribute Editor	p. 127
Adding Texture Maps	p. 133
Summary	p. 136
7 Image Maps and Procedural Maps	p. 137
Image Maps	p. 138
Formats and Compression	p. 138
Resolution	p. 140
Aliasing and Sampling	p. 143
Image Map Interfaces	p. 148
Photoshop for 3D Artists	p. 151
Procedural Maps	p. 156
Checker(board)	p. 157
Noise	p. 161
Gradient/Ramp	p. 167
Summary--Comparing the Two	p. 175
8 Pulling It Together: Initial Tutorial	p. 177
3ds max Tutorial: Using the Material Editor	p. 179
Lightwave Tutorial: Using the Surface and Texture Editors	p. 193
Maya Tutorial: Using the Hypershade and Attribute Editor	p. 208
Summary	p. 221
9 Light and Surfaces	p. 223
Some (Very Simple) Physics	p. 224
Models of Illumination: Local Illumination	p. 227
Models of Illumination: Global Illumination	p. 228
Radiosity	p. 228
Raytracing	p. 230
The Two Together	p. 233
3ds max Tutorial: Raytracing	p. 235
3ds max Tutorial: Radiosity	p. 241
Lightwave Tutorial: Raytracing	p. 247
Lightwave Tutorial: Radiosity	p. 250
Maya Tutorial: Raytracing	p. 255
Maya and Radiosity	p. 259
3ds max Tutorial: High Dynamic Range Image-Based Rendering	p. 259
Lightwave Tutorial: Lightwave High Dynamic Range Image-Based Rendering	p. 261
Maya	p. 263
Summary	p. 263
10 Complex Materials	p. 265
Displacement	p. 267
Double-Sided Surface Material	p. 267
Multiple Surface Materials per Mesh Surface	p. 268
Superimposing More than One Surface Material, Shader, or Texture	p. 268
Additive and Subtractive	p. 269
Difference	p. 269
Multiply	p. 270
Double-Layer Specular Shaders	p. 271
Making Metallic Materials	p. 271
Material Types for Compositing	p. 271
Labels	p. 272
Backgrounds	p. 272
3ds max Tutorial: Tutorial 10A: An Outdoor Scene	p. 273
Lightwave Tutorial 10A: An Outdoor Scene	p. 279
Maya Tutorial 10A: An Outdoor Scene	p. 286
3ds max Tutorial 10B: Fresh Mountain Tea	p. 293
Lightwave Tutorial 10B: Fresh Mountain Tea	p. 297
Maya Tutorial 10B: Fresh Mountain Tea	p. 301
Summary	p. 304
11 Mapping and Unwrapping	p. 305
The Mapping Problem	p. 306
The Mapping Solution	p. 308
One Solution: Projection Mapping	p. 308
Another Solution: Explicit UV Mapping	p. 310
UVs Are Arbitary	p. 312
UVs Are Relative	p. 314
Image Maps May Look Weird	p. 316
Some Specific Software Information	p. 316
3ds max	p. 316
Lightwave	p. 318
Maya	p. 320
3ds max Tutorial: Creating the Head	p. 321
Lightwave Tutorial: Lightwave	p. 326
Maya Tutorial	p. 330
3ds max Tutorial: Creating the Body	p. 335
Lightwave Tutorial	p. 339
Maya Tutorial	p. 342
Summary	p. 344
12 Rendering	p. 345
What Is Rendering?	p. 346
Testing Animation	p. 350
Some Rendering Tips	p. 351
Delivery Media	p. 351
Anti-Aliasing	p. 353
Surface Texture Baking	p. 354
Post Processing	p. 354
Compositing	p. 355
3ds max Software-Specific Information	p. 357
Render Controls	p. 357
Anti-Aliasing	p. 358
Testing Animation	p. 359
Optimizing Renders	p. 359
Surface Texture Baking	p. 359
Post Processing	p. 360
Compositing	p. 361
Lightwave Software-Specific Information	p. 361
Render Controls	p. 361
Anti-Aliasing	p. 363
Testing Animation	p. 363
Surface Texture Baking	p. 364
Post Processing	p. 364
Compositing	p. 365
Maya Software-Specific Information	p. 365
Render Controls	p. 365
Anti-Aliasing	p. 366
Testing Animation	p. 367
Optimizing Renders	p. 368
Surface Texture Baking	p. 369
Post Processing	p. 369
Compositing	p. 370
Summary	p. 370
A About the CD-ROM	p. 373
System Requirements	p. 373
Bibliography	p. 375
Index	p. 379

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Table of Contents