Texturing Workflow Overview

Here is a quick overview of the texturing workflow in Softimage:

1. Specify a bitmap file or other image to use for an object's texture. See Applying and Editing Textures.

2. Specify an initial texture projection. This determines how the texture is initially laid out across the object's surface.

   Some types of texture projections also have a texture support. The texture support is a scene object that you can manipulate to modify the projection, for example, to scale and position a label on a bottle. See Manipulating Projections and Supports.

   To visualize how the texture is laid out on the object, you can use the Textured or Textured Decal viewing modes or draw a render region. See Controlling How Textures Display in the 3D Views.

3. To further refine how the image is laid out across the surface of an object, you can modify the UV coordinates of the texture sample points in the texture editor. See Working with UVs in the Texture Editor.

4. When you are satisfied, you can freeze the texture projection. This removes the support object and collapses any UV modifications in the texture projection's operator stack. See Freezing Texture Projections.

   You can continue to modify UV coordinates after freezing. You can also make changes to the object's geometry, and the texture will update properly.

You can use textures to drive other surface attributes besides objects' color. See Controlling Surface Attributes with Maps.

If desired, you can blend multiple textures using texture layers. For example, you can add dirt or rust to an object's basic color using different textures. See Blending Textures with Texture Layers.

As a final step, especially before exporting objects for a game, you can bake objects' color and other surface attributes (see Baking Surface Attribute Maps) or transfer attributes from a high-resolution object to a low-resolution object (see Transferring Surface Attributes (Ultimapper)).