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Map fur attribute values

 
 
 

Attribute maps are represented by grayscales, with black representing a value of 0 and white representing a value of 1. When you paint a fur attribute on a surface using the Artisan Paint Fur Attributes Tool, Maya creates a map for the painted attribute and associates it with the fur description and the surface the fur description is assigned to. These maps ensure that the attribute values you paint are applied to the surface every time you open the scene.

You can also import value maps for each attribute. Since you cannot paint color attributes on fur, mapping is a particularly useful technique for applying multiple colors to fur, for example, leopard skin. You can create a color attribute map using the 3D Paint Tool and map it to the Base Color and Tip Color attributes by dragging and dropping the switch nodes generated by the 3D Paint Tool. For details, see Apply multiple textures to multi-surface objects . Because Fur can use only simple file texture maps, every texture you import must be “baked” to convert it to a file texture.

You can import and export maps in file formats supported by Maya.

Note

If a file texture is mapped to a fur description attribute and baked, Maya just reads from the image file and does not write out anything. Only when procedural textures are mapped and baked, Maya writes an image file in the furAttrMap folder.

Find out how to:

Apply a single texture to objects

If you are mapping a single texture to a single surface or to a multi-surface object, use the following procedure.

To map a single texture to an attribute

  1. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Edit Fur Description > FurDescriptionName, where FurDescriptionName is the name of the fur description you want to edit.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • If you are mapping a texture to a color attribute, click the Map button beside the attribute in the Attribute Editor. The Create Render Node window appears. In the right panel, click the texture you want to map (for example, for a ramp) and adjust the settings in the Attribute Editor. (To map an existing file, click File and select the file.)
    • Right-click the attribute field and select Create New Texture. The Create Render Node window appears. In the right panel, click the texture you want to map (for example, for a ramp) and adjust the settings in the Attribute Editor. (To map an existing file, click File and select the file.)
    • Create a texture in Hypershade. Drag and drop the texture node onto the fur attribute you want to apply the texture to.
      Note

      The Connection Editor may open when you drag and drop a texture.

      • If you are mapping to a color attribute, select Out Color as the Output and select the color attribute(s) you are mapping to as the Inputs.
      • If you are mapping any other attribute, select Out Alpha as the Output and select the attribute(s) you are mapping to as the Inputs.

  3. In the Attribute Editor, set Bake Attribute to the attribute you are mapping to, or set it to All to bake all mapped attributes.
    Tip

    If you have many surfaces, baking All attributes may take longer. To save time, select the individual attribute you want to bake.

  4. Click the Bake button. The fur feedback will not reflect the mapped attributes until you bake.
  5. If you edit the texture after baking, bake the texture again, or your changes will not take effect. The old texture will be overwritten.
    Note

Apply multiple textures to multi-surface objects

Suppose you create a spotted color texture for a model of a leopard with a the 3D Paint Tool and want to map it to the Base Color and Tip Color attribute of the fur description attached to the leopard. Each surface making up the model has a separate file texture. To map each file texture to the Base Color and Tip Color you need a way to select the appropriate surfaces for the texture.

The following procedures describe the recommended methods of applying file textures to multi-surface objects.

For another method, see Use an alternate mapping method.

To apply multiple textures to attributes on multi-surface objects (in general)

  1. Create a material in Hypershade. (For details, see Hypershade window.)
  2. Select all the surfaces and assign the material to them.
  3. Open the Attribute Editor for the material.
  4. Click the Map button for the Color attribute. The Create Render Node window opens.
  5. In the Create Render Node window, under Maya, click Utilities.
  6. In the right panel, click .

    The attributes for the triple shading switch display in the Attribute Editor.

  7. Under the Switch Attributes section of the Attribute Editor, click Add Surfaces to add the surfaces assigned to the material to the shading switch.
  8. Map each surface to the appropriate texture, as follows:
    • Under In Shape, click the surface name to select it.
    • Click the Map Item button. The Create Render Node window appears.
    • Click the texture you want to map (for example, for a ramp) and adjust the settings in the Attribute Editor. (To map an existing file, click File and select the file.)
    • Select the tripleShadingSwitch node in Hypershade to see it in the Attribute Editor.
  9. Repeat step 8 for each surface.
  10. Select Fur > Edit Fur Description and then select the desired fur description to see its attributes in the Attribute Editor.
  11. Drag and drop the triple switch node from Hypershade onto the fur attribute in the Attribute Editor you want to apply the texture to.
    Note

    The Connection Editor may open when you drag and drop a texture.

    • If you are mapping to a color attribute, select Out Color as the Output and select the color attribute(s) you are mapping to as the Inputs.
    • If you are mapping any other attribute, select Out Alpha as the Output and select the attribute(s) you are mapping to as the Inputs.

  12. In the Attribute Editor, set Bake Attribute to the attribute you are mapping to, or set it to All to bake all mapped attributes.

    If you have many surfaces, baking All attributes may take longer. To save time, select the individual attribute you want to bake.

  13. Click the Bake button. The fur feedback will not reflect the mapped attributes until you bake.

    If you edit the texture after baking, bake the texture again, or your changes will not take effect. The old texture will be overwritten.

    Note

To apply multiple textures to attributes on multi-surface objects (using the 3D Paint Tool)

  1. Paint the Maya model using the 3D Paint Tool. For information on using the 3D Paint Tool, see Paint Textures on 3D objects.
  2. Exit the 3D Paint Tool.
  3. Drag and drop the switch node from Hypershade onto the fur attribute you want to apply the texture to.
    Note

    The Connection Editor may open when you drag and drop a texture.

    • If you are mapping to a color attribute, select Out Color as the Output and select the color attribute(s) you are mapping to as the Inputs.
    • If you are mapping any other non-color attribute, select Out Alpha as the Output and select the attribute(s) you are mapping to as the Inputs.

  4. In the Attribute Editor, set Bake Attribute to the attribute you are mapping to, or set it to All to bake all mapped attributes.

    If you have many surfaces, baking All attributes may take longer. To save time, select the individual attribute you want to bake.

  5. Click the Bake button. The fur feedback will not reflect the mapped attributes until you bake.

    If you edit the texture after baking, bake the texture again, or your changes will not take effect. The old texture will be overwritten.

    Note

Use an alternate mapping method

When you paint attributes using the Artisan Paint Fur Attributes Tool or map file textures to attributes, the maps are listed under Maps in the Details section of the Attribute Editor. You can also map attributes from here (file textures only), although you are more likely to use the method described under Apply a single texture to objects or Apply multiple textures to multi-surface objects.

To map fur value attributes to a surface

  1. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Edit Fur Description > FurDescriptionName, where FurDescriptionName is the name of the fur description you want to edit.
  2. In the Assigned Surfaces field, select the surface(s) you want to map values to.
  3. In the Details section, go to the attribute you want to map values to (for example, Base Color).
  4. Go to the Maps section.
  5. Click Add Item. The Import dialog box opens.
  6. Select the value map you want to map to the selected surface and click Import. The Surface name and assigned map appear in the map list.
  7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 for each assigned surface you want to map values to.

To assign a different map to a mapped surface

  1. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Edit Fur Description > FurDescriptionName, where FurDescriptionName is the name of the fur description you want to edit.
  2. In the Details section, go to the attribute you want to assign the maps for.
  3. Go to Maps.
  4. Select the map you want to change.
  5. Click Map Item. The File dialog box opens.
  6. Select the value map you want to map to the selected surface and click OK. The Surface name and assigned map appear in the map list.

Apply animated file textures to objects

Fur attributes can be mapped to animated file textures. Map the attribute in the normal way, animate the filename numbers and then click Bake.

You can apply a series of animated file textures to furry objects to make the fur appear animated. This is useful if you want to animate a character starting with no fur and growing full fur, such as a person turning into a werewolf. For an example, see Make fur spread using animated file textures.

For information on creating a series of animated file textures, see Make fur spread using animated file textures.

To apply animated file textures to an object

  1. Map the texture to the desired fur attribute.
    • Right-click the attribute in the Fur Description node and select Create New Texture.
    • Select the File texture and specify the first texture in your sequence, for example, growFur.1.iff.
  2. To animate the texture filename numbers automatically, turn on Use Image Sequence in the file node. This automatically sets keys for the file textures on a 1 to 1 basis. For more information about this option, see Create an animated image file background.
  3. In the Fur Description node, select the mapped attribute from the Bake Attribute drop-down list and then click the Bake button.
  4. Play the animation to see the animated fur.
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