Texture Mapping



The first image uses flat shaded color, useful for visualization during the modeling stage. The 2nd image uses 2 bitmaps, one for the hair (256 x 256) and one for the face (a 512 x 512 pixel .bmp file). To apply the map correctly I used the Texporter plugin to create a cylindrical texture map in Photoshop (see separate Tutorial). The Unwrap UVW Modifier, built into 3DStudio Max 2.5, helped to fine tune the placement of the Texture Coordinates.


Per Vertex Coloring


VRML supports Per Vertex Coloring, but in most cases the results are disappointing. However the classic example of where such a technique might be useful is offered above. Note how the striations follow the lines of the mesh, so the orientation of the edges becomes an important part of the design. Noise added to the skin may heighten the sense of realism.


Through the use of Vertex Colors you can acheive subtle shading effects, although you do not necessarily have much control over the results. As in the example above, Vertex Colors may actually be extracted from an applied texture map, although the clarity of the image will be affected by the density, or number of vertices in the model.

The image above right uses only Vertex Colors for mapping. The Vertex Colors were derived from an applied texture map, as shown on the left. When you apply the Vertex Color Utility to a mapped object, Scene Lighting, as well as the applied Bitmap, determine Vertex Colors. To see the results, remove the Bitmap from the Material Editor. The new Vertex Colors are stored in the Vertex Color Modifier, added to the stack. But to access and edit these Colors, you must collapse the stack into an editable mesh first; then in the Modify Panel you are given the option to edit the Vertex Color.

Stasia McGehee
November 14th, 1998