User Guide > Rendering and Render Setup > Shading > Shading Nodes > Maya Render Nodes > General Utilities >
3d Placement
A 3D placement node defines a 3D texture or Environment texture’s positioning and orientation in world space. 3D placement nodes make it easier to texture multiple surfaces as if they were one.
You can reposition 3D textures with numerical precision in the place3dTexture node’s Attribute Editor, or you can use manipulators to reposition textures or labels interactively.
Maya provides two methods to place 3D textures on NURBS surfaces—Interactive Placement or Fit to group bbox (bounding box). Select the method most suitable for your needs. Sometimes using both methods works best.
When you create a 3D texture or project a texture onto an object (rather than apply it as a normal or as a stencil), a cube-shaped icon appears in the scene that corresponds to the size, scale, and location of the texture on the surface. Especially for animated or deforming objects, you must maintain the correct positioning of the texture on the object. (If the object is animated, you could parent the 3D icon to the geometry, for example.)
Find this utility in the Create Bar (see Hide, resize or customize the Create bar).
To use this utility, see Use the 3d Placement utility.