Creating High Res Polygonal Models
9. Assign a single shader to the entire mesh at the object level. At this point you no longer need the shaders that are assigned to your mesh. You should save a separate scene file containing the mesh with these shaders just in case. Then create a single shader and assign it to the entire mesh. In the hypershade use the edit delete unused nodes command to get rid of the old autoColor shaders.
Example File: PrimitiveMan_Example_03.mb
Note that the selectProjection script only works while the autoColor shaders are still on the object. After you remove them you will have to either pick projections manually or use the scrollUp and scrollDown scripts.
10. Delete unused nodes.
Advantages and disadvantages of laying out UVs with autoColor.
Advantages.
1. Creates a UV set that automatically updates to match smooth level 0,1 and 2.
2. Color feedback allows artists to better visualize the end results of the projections.
3. UVs can be generated quickly allowing more time to be spent painting texture maps.
4. Produces an accurate 2D representation of a 3D object.
Disadvantages.
1. UVs cannot be selected and edited individually.
2. Shells cannot be sewn together to eliminate texture seams.
3. Require 3D paint software in order to be totally effective.
VII. Handing your model over to a character setup artist.
Production pipeline.
Having a production pipeline in place when you are creating smoothed polygonal characters can eliminate wasted time, speed up production and improve the quality of the finished model.
This is a generic production pipeline for creating smooth polygonal models. The goal is to have as many people working at the same time as possible to eliminate wasted time.
Note that the Modeler/Texture artist and the character setup artist are working at the same time. It is also sometimes possible to have the character setup artist provide the animators with a low res stand in for the character once the rig is built. This way the animators can start working while the setup artist is still setting weights and working out the deformations of the high res mesh.
Remember to clean up your scene files, name all nodes and group them into an organized structure. Delete any extraneous layers. Organization will save you headaches down the line.
Merging the UV reference file with the setup file.
In this proposed pipeline you will notice that the modeler/texture artist and the character setup artist are should be finishing their files at about the same time. Now it is time to merge the file containing the UVs and texture information with the file containing the character rig and skin weights. The resulting file can be cleaned up and organized then saved as a reference file which animators can have access to.
1. Clean up your file containing the UV reference All UV reference objects should be named and grouped together. Delete all layers and any extraneous geometry. Run file - optimize scene size.
3. Import the UV reference file into the setup file.
4. Move the UV reference group off to the side.
5. Transfer UVs from each UV reference object to its bound counterpart. Note that a single UV reference can be used for multiple objects. For example the right and left hand can use the same UV reference. Make sure the normals are facing the right direction.
6. Link all polygonal geometry to a control (generally the scale cube) using the MEL script smoothOperator. In order for the transfer to work correctly the UV reference and its skinned counterpart must be on the same smooth level. The MEL script smoothOperator changes the smooth level of all the geometry in a character and the UVreference at the same time. This ensures that the UV transfer always functions correctly when the characters smooth level changes.
To use smoothOperator make sure that all the polygonal geometry in the character has a polySmoothFace node. Select all the polygonal geometry in the character and the UV reference then select any object to use as a smooth control. I usually use the scaleCube or parent of the rig. Hit the link button. the last object you had selected is now a control object for the smooth level of the entire character. Select the control obect by itself. click on the numbers in the smoothOperator window to set the value of all the polySmoothFace nodes on the character.
Hiding and locking the UV reference
It is important that you hide and lock as much of your work as possible. The best way to avoid having your coworkers accidentally set keyframes on or delete important objects out of the scene is to turn off the visibility and lock all the channels. Put all nodes into an organized file structure. Try to group all nodes for a character into one group and eliminate any extraneous layers. This will make working on a scene with multiple characters much easier.
Remember that if someone accidentally keys or deletes something that they shouldn't have it is partially your fault for giving them access to that object in the first place.
1. Hide all UV reference objects and the UV reference group by turning off visibility.
2. Lock all channels
3. Make all channels non keyable.
4. Place the UV reference group in the do not delete group.
5. Try display-show all to make sure nothing shows up.
Special Thanks goes to Ted Forgrave for his assistance in developing this process and for writing the following scripts:
autoColor.mel
autoProjection.mel
deleteInput.mel
selectProjection.mel
smoothOperator.mel
