Troubleshoot texture extraction

The following lists common problems related to texture extraction and possible solutions:

Issue	Possible problem	Possible solution
No map is output	File names were not correctly specified in the options window. The application ran out of memory before completion.	Ensure that the map name is correctly specified in the texture extraction options window. Try a smaller resolution map to see if that works, or increase the computers memory (RAM).
Map assignment or numbering is incorrect when extracting multiple maps.	The URange or UStart settings are incorrect.	Check the URange and UStart settings in the extraction options Advanced section and extract another displacement map.
Displacement map appears black or without expected detail.	Very little displacement height information has been recorded. Displacement values between target and source are either zero or negative values. Search distance is too small to capture any detail.	Ensure the search distance is set large enough to encompass both the source and target meshes but not too large. (Measure the distance of the highest displacement using a sculpting brush).
Displacement map indicates sculpted details that plateau or their height appears clipped.	The source and target surfaces are not fully within the region defined by the search distance setting.	Ensure that the source and target surfaces are positioned and aligned correctly. When extracting for subdivision surfaces, you may need to align the low res and the subd surface in a 3D modeling application and reimport the low res surface and extract again. When extracting for subdivision surfaces, you may need to align the low res and the subd surface in a 3D modeling application and reimport the low res surface and extract again. Ensure the search distance is set large enough to encompass both the source and target meshes. (Measure the distance using a sculpting brush).
Displacement map produces stair-stepping artifacts, banding, or detail appears missing when the target surface is rendered.	Too low a bit depth selected when setting the extraction options. The UV shell covers less area (pixels) in the texture map than what is required to preserve the sculpted detail. The scale of the UV shell in relation to the texture image has an impact on how many pixels get assigned to represent the detail on the high resolution model. When a large polygonal face with lots of sculpted detail occupies a very small area on the texture image (UV tile) it will appear soft by comparison to a similar sized polygonal face occupying a larger area on the texture image because its detail is being represented by fewer pixels in the extracted texture image.	Increase the bit depth for the displacement map output to 32 bit (floating point) and extract another displacement map. Increase the area that the UV shell covers by scaling it larger in the original 3D modeling application, import the target model to Mudbox again, and extract another map. Then, extract a map at a higher resolution.
The details on the target surface appear soft or blurred when rendered.	If the Smooth Source Model option is checked a smoothed approximation of the high resolution (source) surface gets used resulting in a blurred or soft appearance when the resulting target surface is rendered.	Turn off the Smooth Source Model option in the texture extraction options window.
Displacement map produces abnormal spikes or artifacts when rendered.	The source and target surfaces do not closely match in alignment or the search distance is set too large to accurately capture details. UV texture coordinates may be of poor quality.	Ensure that the surface source and target surfaces are positioned and aligned correctly. When extracting for subdivision surfaces, you may need to align the low res and the subd surface in a 3D modeling application and reimport the low res surface and extract again. Ensure the search distance is set large enough to encompass both the source and target meshes but not too large. (Measure the distance of the highest displacement using a sculpting brush). Ensure the UVs are laid out on the low resolution version of the model following the requirements described in Prepare a model for painting. Many of the criteria for creating UVs for painting on a model are also valid for ensuring a successful texture extraction.
Displacement/Normal map that gets extracted appears to crease or fold over on itself in localized areas when the target surface is rendered	When the high resolution source and lower resolution target surfaces are not closely aligned, the extraction feature will have difficulty sampling between the two surfaces particularly in concave surface areas.	Ensure the source and target surfaces are closely aligned as much as possible, particularly in the concave areas. This may require editing the low resolution mesh in the original 3D modeling application so it better matches the high resolution source, importing it into Mudbox again, then re-extracting the texture.
Seams appear on the rendered version of the model when the extracted texture is applied to it.	The polygonal faces and the UV faces are very different in shape by comparison Too little space occurs between the UV shells as they appear in the UV View. Many UV shells are rotated at disparate angles to each other.	Ensure the UVs are laid out on the low resolution version of the model following the requirements described in Prepare a model for painting. Many of the criteria for creating UVs for painting on a model are also valid for ensuring a successful texture extraction.
The extracted texture map appears soft when rendered in regions where there was lots of detail on the original high resolution mesh, despite a high resolution map being specified for extraction.	The scale of the UV shell in relation to the texture image has an impact on how many pixels get assigned to represent the detail on the high resolution model. When a large polygonal face with finely sculpted detail occupies a very small area on the texture image (UV tile) the detail gets represented by fewer pixels in the extracted texture image as a result and appear soft in comparison to a similar sized polygonal face occupying a larger area on the texture image (UV tile).	Before exporting the model from the 3D modeling application and importing it to Mudbox, scale UV shells that have more importance to the rendered model so they are larger and will have more pixels assigned to them on the extracted texture.
Sculpted regions that appear smeared or compressed together when the target surface is rendered.	If the target surface and extracted texture map are rendered as a subdivision surface and some UVs are unevenly distributed/proportioned in relation to neighboring UVs, there is a possibility that the edges will be repositioned as a result of the subdivision process at render time resulting in a smearing or the appearance of compression on the sculpted detail.	Modify the UVs to compensate for the compression that may occur as a result of the subdivision in the rendering application, then import the model to Mudbox and extract the texture again.