The let you apply digital paint to your models in Mudbox.
Along with PTEX painting, two basic paint modes are available in Mudbox:
- : Paint is applied directly to the 3D model.
- : Paint is projected onto the model through a 2D stencil image you specify and the color properties of the stencil image are
applied to the model as you stroke over it in the .
Using these two paint modes in combination with the tool properties and other bitmap images provides the possibility for an
unlimited variety of brush tips.
In this lesson, you’ll learn the basics of both techniques to apply paint to the sphere. (For more information on PTEX painting,
see PTEX painting overview.)
- From the main menu, select , then click in the window.
- Select .
- In the Paint Tools tray, select the .
- Stroke across the model to begin painting.
The window appears before any paint is applied, because you need at least one paint layer to paint on a model. The paint layer
stores your paint as a bitmap image.
For more information on paint layer options see Create a new paint layer. (The default layer settings are sufficient for this lesson.)
- Click to create the new layer.
Mudbox creates a paint layer called Paint Layer 1 and you can now paint on the model.
Note that the window automatically switches to display the Paint Layers window.
NoteThe paint layer appears in the same
Layers window location as the sculpt layer you created in the previous lesson. The window displays both sculpt and paint layers, depending on which display option you select at the top of the window.
- Stroke on the model to apply paint.
The default paint color is white.
- To change the paint color, click the box in the Properties window.
The window appears.
- In the window, select a preset color from the array of color tiles or create a custom color by clicking the color wheel, then click
.
- Paint on the sphere.
TipYou can change the (B + drag) and (M + drag) options for the the same way you did when using the tool.
- To erase paint, select the tool from tray, then stroke across paint on the model.
You can also press Ctrl + Z immediately after painting to undo a stroke.
Paint using stencils
You can load images or textures into the and project a portion or all of an image onto a model.
- In the tray, select the brush.
- In the tray, select the grass stencil image called rgb_grass.jpg.
Mudbox loads the grass image as a stencil at the center of the . If the grass image fills the entire , press the key while right-dragging to scale the stencil smaller. For more information, see Move rotate or scale a stencil.
- In the , dolly, track, or tumble the view so the sphere is positioned where you want it to receive paint in relation to the stencil
image.
- Stroke on the stencil to paint using the brush.
The grass stencil disappears as you stroke and paint is projected onto the model based on the stencil image. The stencil reappears
after each stroke.
NoteYou can adjust the transparency of the stencil in the by adjusting its property in the section of the window. Adjusting this property does not affect how paint is applied to the model, it simply makes it easier to see the model
behind the stencil in the .
NoteThe window doesn’t appear since a paint layer already exists. In this lesson you apply the stencil paint to the existing paint
layer. In your own work, you may want to create a new layer to keep the stencil paint separate.
- When finished using the brush, click the icon in the tray to quit the stencil. (Otherwise, the stencil remains active on the brush.)