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Options, that's the name of the game! And that's why I like Sasquatch so well - for the creative mind, there seems to be no limit to the ways in which a problem can be solved! Take the Texture Panels that control Fur Length, Density, Clumping and etc. If you're a Texture-Painting type person, you can create a UV Map and paint to your heart's content. If you're more of a Vertex-Map kind of dude, you can use LW's toolsets to noodle those shades of Blue, Red and Green, (in Modeler's Weight-Shade Viewport Render-Mode,) until you know more about the Points in your model than you do the follicles of your own skin! Ahhh, but now, what happens if, like me, you've got to try something for yourself before you can feel confident forming an opinion about it? Can you start out with a Vertex Map and then decide you'd like to try your hand at UV Map Painting, and keep all the hard work you've already done? You Betchya!
(Figure 2) The first order of business in doing anything with a UV Texture Map is to create a UV Texture Map, (no, really)! (To better understand the "Fine Art of UV Texturing," you can turn to the chapter on UV Texturing in "Essential Lightwave" by Wordware Publishing http://www.wordware.com/lightwave, or Robin Wood's exceptional, online tutorials at http://www.robinwood.com.) I'm a big fan of the "KISS" (Keep It Simple, Stupid,) philosophy, so when I'm laying out anything Symmetrical, I start by assigning UVs in a Planar fashion. And since most of the Characters I work with are Symmetrical in both Fur Coloring and Length, I use the same UV Map for both! Note (Figure 3) Next up, regardless of where I am with the Surfacing of my Character, I like to practice the mantra of: Cover Yo ASCII! Save the Surface that is being used for Furring, (I don't just save the Model itself, because it is sooo easy to accidentally Save All Objects, or tap the <s> key on a quick jaunt back into Modeler or whatever,) and/or Right-Click and Copy the Fur Surface for quick re-application of your original Surfacing later. Why? Because we're about to make some changes! (Figure 4) In Layout, open the Texture Editor for the Surface you're using for your Fur, and deactivate any Texture Layers you may already have there (by clicking on the check-mark next to the Layer's Name). Create a new Gradient Layer that references the Weight Map you have been using to control your fur as the Gradient's Input Parameter. (Doing so will automatically give you a Gradient that spans between -100% and +100%) Set the existing Key at -100% to the color, 0,0,0. Create a Key at 0%, (You can fine-tune the Key by entering 0% in the Parameter input). Make sure its color is 0,0,0. Create a Key at 100%, this time setting its color to 255,255,255. Set the Smoothing for all Keys to Linear. Note This will make the Surface of your Object reflect the values used in your Vertex Map; Vertices that have a value of 0% will color that part of your Object's Surface black, blending in a Linear fashion to white for the vertices you have set at 100%. (If you use values above 100% or below 0% in the Vertex Map you're using to control your Fur, set the Parameters for your Gradient's Keys accordingly.) (Figure 5) Next, under the Shaders Tab of your Fur Surface, add the Surface Baker Shader. You'll want to Bake To an Image, and Bake only the Color, (so the resultant image only represents the Weight-Map-based Gradient we applied in the previous step). Choose the appropriate UV Map, under the drop-down list-box, set the Image Resolution and Type to whatever you'd prefer working with, and choose an output path and Image Base Name. AntiAliasing and Shading Noise Reduction aren't necessary for what we're doing here, but I like to View Image, which displays the "Baked" Image in the Render Display window when it's done. (Figure 6) Aiming the camera so it "sees" something with your Fur's Surface, turning off Multithreading, (if you usually Render with it active,) and pressing <F9>, and during Rendering, an Image is "Baked" that translates the Vertex Map values into a UV Texture Mapped Image! If the Baked Image looks like something you can work with, replace your Fur Surface's original settings, (which you Saved and/or copied, right?) You can now use the Baked Image to control Sasquatch's settings! Note Surface Baker is a direct part of Layout, it does not exist as a Plug-In and won't work under Screamernet. Surface Baker only works on Tris, Quads and Sub-Patches Surface Baker doesn't work with Multi-threading active. The Camera must see some part of the Object's Surface
to be Baked in order for the Baking to take place. From UV Texture to Weight Map That was pretty simple, hunh? Now, converting a UV Texture Map's data to a Weight Map can't be done with Surface Baker, but don't worry, it's even easier! Note (Figure 7) In Modeler, Under Map | Weight & Color, you'll find Textured Point Map. This opens up a small, prosaic window labeled, "Apply Texture." (As we'll be working with a UV Texture, we won't need to worry about Offset, Scale, or the Axis in which the Texture will be applied.) Under VMap Type, make sure that Weight Map is selected, (because that's what Sasquatch needs to control Length, Density and such). Select an existing Weight Map, or type in a new name to have a Weight Map created as part of this process, and click on the Texture button. We're now presented with a good ol' Texture Editor Window! With the Layer Type set to Image Map, set the Projection to UV, select
the appropriate UV Map, and Image, and instantly, your Weight-Shaded Windows
reflect a Weight Map version of the UV Texture Map! Using these two tools, you have the freedom to go back-and-forth between using Weight Maps and UV Texture Maps to control the myriad aspects of Sasquatch! If you suddenly feel you could get something done more quickly using the "other" kind of Mapping, you can swap your UV for a Weight Map, (and vice-versa,) in no time at all!
Timothy Kaze is copyright Timothy Albee, all rights reserved.
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