Painting > 
Painting basics
 
 
 

Before you begin painting on a model, consider the type of texture map you want to paint (diffuse/color, bump, gloss, reflection), the resolution/size of the image you want to produce, and finally the bit depth for the image.

The paint criteria are, in general, dependent on your rendering software, or your company’s production workflow requirements.

NoteFor best results, review Prepare a model for painting before you paint a model in Mudbox.
  1. Load a model into the 3D View.
  2. In the tool trays, select the Paint tab, and select the Paint Brush.

  3. Stroke on the model to paint.

    The Create New Paint Layer window appears.

    NoteThe first time you paint on a model, the Create New Paint Layer window appears. You must have at least one paint layer in order to paint on a model.
  4. In the Create New Paint Layer window, do the following, then click OK:
  5. Stroke on the mesh in the area you want to apply paint. The default paint color is white.
    NoteThe default color for the Paint Brush tool is white so that when a stamp image is loaded onto a brush, the original color of the stamp image is maintained. Keep this in mind if you change the brush color and use a stamp. You can tint the color of the image when using a stamp by modifying the Color property for the Paint Brush tool.

    How the paint appears on the model is dependent on how you set the Channel setting for the paint layer.

    NoteIf the following message appears: To paint this area, you must first load the UV tile. Hold the cursor over the area and press the up arrow to load or unload the tile. It indicates that multiple UV tiles exist on the model and the area you want to paint on is currently unloaded. You must first load the tile before proceeding. For more information, see Paint across multiple UV tiles.
  6. To undo your previous paint stroke, select Edit > Undo (hotkey: Ctrl + Z).
  7. To erase paint on the current paint layer, click the Paint Erase tool on the Paint Tools tray and stroke across the area you want to erase.
  8. To save your paint work, select File > Save.

    When you save your model, any paint layers you created are saved in the same location as your .mud file in a subdirectory with the same name as your .mud file with a -files extension (filename-files). By default, two images are saved for each layer: a background image that represents the material background color, and an image containing the information you painted.

    To save individual paint layers, see Export a paint layer.

Related topics

Prepare a model for sculpting

Painting presets

Create New Paint Layer window

Save or export your work

Change the paint color

Copy color from a model

Paint using brush stamps

Paint using stencil projection

Paint using layers

Troubleshoot painting

Image bit depth and texture extraction