Tips for using Maya Artisan (Paint Fur Attributes Tool)

Before using Maya Artisan to paint fur attribute values, learn the Maya Artisan hotkeys for at least the following commands to increase your efficiency as you work with the Paint Fur Attributes Tool:

• press b and drag the mouse to change the brush size (Upper Radius)
• press n and drag the mouse to modify the Paint Value
• press Alt+f to Flood Surfaces with the current Value
• press/release Alt+a to turn Show Wireframe on and off
• press/release Alt+c to turn Color Feedback on and off
• press/release Alt+r to turn Reflection on and off
• press/release 0 to display the Paint Fur Attributes Tool Marking Menu

If these hotkeys do not work, set them by selecting Window > Settings/Preferences > Hotkey Editor and using the information below:

• Under the Brush Tools category, ModifyUpperRadius
• Under the Artisan category, ModifyPaintValue, FloodSurfaces, ToggleWireframeInArtisan, ToggleColorFeedback, and ToggleReflection
• Under the Fur category, PaintFurAttributesMarkingMenu

To paint fur attributes using the Paint Fur Attributes Tool

1. Select the surface(s) or fur feedback you want to paint. Each selected surface must have a fur description assigned to it.
2. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Paint Fur Attributes Tool > . The Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window opens, followed by the tool settings editor.
3. In the Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window set the following options:
   • Fur Attribute - Select the attribute you want to paint values for on the surface. If you are painting attractor set values (see Attractor Set), select one of the Attractor attributes.
   • Fur Description - Select the fur description you want to paint. Only the fur descriptions attached to at least one of the selected surfaces are available for selection; you can only paint on surfaces to which the selected fur descriptions are attached. You can only paint one fur description at a time.
   • Attractor Set - Select the attractor set you want to paint. Only the attractor sets attached to the selected surfaces are available for selection. You can only paint one attractor set at a time.
   • Attribute Map Height and Width - Specify a height and width value for the attribute map. The defaults are 256 and 256.
4. In the tool settings editor, select a Profile, Value, and Paint Operation. For details, see Artisan Tool Settings in the Artisan guide.
5. Drag the brush across the surface.
   TipYou can quickly restore fur attribute values to the prepainted values by deleting the attribute map created when you painted the fur. For details, see Remove maps from fur attributes.

To paint attribute values greater than 1

1. Using the Paint Fur Attributes Tool flood the selected surface with an attribute value of 1:
   • Select the attribute from the Fur Attribute drop-down list.
   • Set the Value to 1.
   • Click the Flood button.
2. Set the attribute Map Multiplier to the number you want to paint. For example, for Length, go to the Details section of the fur description Attribute Editor and in the Length section set the Map Offset and Map Multiplier attributes.

   For details, see Change attribute map value ranges. You can now paint values between 0 and less than the value set for the Multiplier.

   Map Offset

   Set the factor you want to offset the attribute value by. For example, if you want to change the range of values for fur Length from the default 0-1 to 4-5, set the offset to 4.

   Map Multiplier

   Set the factor you want the value multiplied by. For example, if you want to change the range of values for fur Length from the default, 0-1, to 0-10, set the multiplier to 10.

Comb fur

When you paint Direction, you are really changing the Polar value to correspond with the direction you are painting. In effect, you are “combing” the fur.

To comb fur

1. Select the surface(s) or fur feedback you want to paint. Each selected surface must have a fur description assigned to it.
   NoteIf the inclination is set to 0 and the base curl, tip curl, and roll are set to 0.5, combing (or painting the direction) will have no effect.
2. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Paint Fur Attributes Tool > . The Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window opens, followed by the tool settings editor.
3. In the Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window select Direction from the Fur Attribute drop-down list.
4. Select the fur description you want to comb.

   Only the fur descriptions attached to the selected surfaces are available.

5. Drag the brush across the surface in the direction you want the fur to lie.

To restore the fur direction to the fur description values

1. Delete the Polar attribute map created when you painted the direction. For details, see To remove maps from an attribute.

To fine tune the effects of your combing (for example, to smooth values)

1. Select Polar in the Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window and paint the surface using the appropriate tool settings.
   NoteBecause the Polar values are affected only by the direction you comb in (paint Direction), when you comb hair, none of the settings in the Tool Settings editor are relevant. For example, using Smooth is the same as using Replace, and a Value of 1 is the same as a Value of 0.

   Color feedback is meaningless so you may want to turn it off.

View the attribute map while you paint

When you paint on a surface with an Artisan tool, such as the Paint Fur Attributes Tool, you can view the grayscale fur attribute value map on the surface as you paint. This provides useful feedback when the changes you are painting are not easily detected with the fur feedback. However, viewing the value map while you paint slows performance.

To view the value map while you paint

1. Select the surface or fur feedback you want to paint. The surface must have a fur description assigned to it.
2. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Paint Fur Attributes Tool > . The Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window opens, followed by the tool settings editor.
3. In the tool settings editor, go to the Display section.
4. Turn on Color Feedback.
   NoteColor Feedback does not work on subdivision surfaces.

To speed up painting when Color Feedback is turned on (NURBS only)

1. Press 1 (hotkey) to reduce display smoothness while you paint values.
2. When you are finished painting values, turn off Color Feedback, and press 3 (hotkey) to return to full display smoothness.

Smooth fur values

You can smooth the values you paint using Artisan’s Smooth and Flood operations.

To smooth values

1. Select the surface or fur feedback you want to smooth.
2. In the Rendering menu set, select Fur > Paint Fur Attributes Tool > . The Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window opens, followed by the tool settings editor.
3. In the tool settings editor, select the Smooth operation.
4. Click Flood. The painted values are smoothed.

   Repeat to smooth more.

   TipYou can see the effects of smoothing more easily when Color Feedback is turned on. For details, see View the attribute map while you paint.

Change attribute map value ranges

An attribute map is a two-dimensional image with values that correspond, or map, to attributes of points on a three-dimensional surface. This mapping is relative to the UV parameterization of the surface. Attribute map values are represented by grayscales, with black representing a value of 0 and white representing a value of 1.

Attribute map values are located in the Details section of the fur description Attribute Editor. By default, attribute map value ranges are defined between 0 and 1. You only need to change value ranges when you want to paint or map values other than those defined in this range. For example, you could change the range from 0.2 to 0.5, 2.0 to 3.0, or more commonly, from 0 to 5. For information on painting values, see Paint fur attribute values. For information on mapping values, see Map fur attribute values.

You can set value ranges for all fur attributes except color attributes.

To change attribute map value ranges

1. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Edit Fur Description > FurDescriptionName to display the Attribute Editor, where FurDescriptionName is the name of the fur description you are editing.
2. Go to the Details section, then go to the section for the attribute you want to change value ranges for.
3. Modify the Map Offset and Map Multiplier attributes. For more information see Details.

   Map Offset

   Set the factor you want to offset the attribute value by. For example, if you want to change the range of values for fur Length from the default 0-1 to 4-5, set the offset to 4.

   Map Multiplier

   Set the factor you want the value multiplied by. For example, if you want to change the range of values for fur Length from the default, 0-1, to 0-10, set the multiplier to 10.

Paint equalizer maps

Although you will not typically need to, you can modify the equalizer map that is automatically generated when you render by painting directly on the surface. When you modify the equalizer map, you modify the distribution of fur on the surface. For example, you can paint lower values in areas that are denser than you want. For more information, see Equalizer Maps.

To paint equalizer maps

1. Select the surface(s) or fur feedback you want to paint. Each selected surface must have a fur description assigned to it.
2. In the Rendering menu set select Fur > Paint Fur Attributes Tool > . The Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window opens, followed by the tool settings editor.
3. In the Paint Fur Attributes Tool Settings window select Custom Equalizer from the Fur Attribute drop-down list.
4. Select the fur description you want to paint.

   Only the fur descriptions attached to the selected surfaces are available for selection.

5. If you don’t see the equalizer map, go to the Display section of the tool settings editor and turn on Color Feedback.
6. In the tool settings editor, select an appropriate Value, Profile, and Paint Operation. For details, see Artisan Tool Settings in the Artisan guide.

   Decreasing the Value makes the fur appear more sparse where you paint, while increasing the Value makes the fur more dense.

7. Drag the brush across the surface.

   If you’ve painted a Custom Equalizer Map, when you render the scene, the Fur Render Settings automatically use the custom map. To defer to the default equalizer map, in the Fur Render Settings, go to the Fur Render Options and select Default Equalizer Map from the Equalizer Maps drop-down list. For more information, see Equalizer Maps.