UV Mapping

UV Mapping takes a lot of patience if you are doing a very complicated and detailed model. I made mine as a box with my name around it and two smiley faces on the sides. Very simple.

1) The first thing you want to do is find the checkered UV Map Guide (the image bellow). If you are following along with me, then instead of looking for it on google just go ahead right click on the image and save it in your source image file. Don't know where that is? Follow the steps bellow the image.

(go to your documents library file and click on maya. Next click on projects, finally click on default. Click on sourceimages and save the image)

2) What you want to do is make a box. That's the easy part.

3)Right click on your mouse and hold and drag it down to assign new material. This will bring up the option box on the right. Right now what we are doing is placing the checkered map I had you save.

4)In the option panel on the side you can see that the first option says color. click on the little checkered box next to it. When another option panel click Lambert.

5) Click on the same checkered box once more. it doesn't show in the image bellow but another panel will pop up. Where it says image name, click on the little folder. Then when the option panel pops up click on file.

6) Once you've clicked on file click on the little folder once more. You will have to search for the checkered map. Again it's under sourceimages. 

7) Now, your box will not look like the one bellow right away. oh no, it's never that simple. before you lose your mind click on the little icon at the top that looks like a checkered sphere. Then you have your checkered box. Oh but we're not done yet.

8) Next, at the top under Edit UVs click on UV Texture Editor. What's going to pop up is the big red panel but it's going to have your checkered map. to get rid of that so you can see what your doing click on the display alpha channel icon (bottom row, icon third from last). Now since we are doing a simple box we don't need to do anything to it because the map is automatically set up perfectly. So click on Polygons and under that go all the way down to UV Snapshot. A little panel will pop up. Choose what size you want it and under image format save it as a Targa.

9)Now you can open your image in Photoshop (documents, maya, projects, default, images, outUV.tga) and fill in the boxes how ever you want. You can do anything from placing and image to drawing in your own. I drew in my name to where it would look right when it is folded. (My name is Alex not Lexa) Save your image as outUV1.tga (or name it whatever you want. that's just what you can save it as to follow the last step).

10) Go back into maya and click on your model. then click on the little folder once more and look for the image you just saved in photoshop (documents, maya, projects, default, images, outUV1.tga). Then you have your box  =)