[3DSM] Quick tutorial for baking textures with 3D Studio Max 6

[johnas]

Here's updated tutorial from me how to bake textures in 3DS Max 6. You can use these methods with earlier and later versions of Max. I assume you know how to Map the model before using my tutorial. If you don't know here's excellent tut for Max 5/6 -> UVW-Mapping in 3DS Max by Waylon Brinck. Also there's great video tutorial made by Derek Elliot from Discreet. It's called 3DS Max Games Development Series. I learned lots from it.

This is how my scene looks like before I bake the texture. Nice and simple, I've only used Skylight, remember to change skylight color to white. If you don't your texture will have blueish tone.



Here are the Render options. I've used Light Tracer, if you don't use it textures will look flat without shadows. You'll get to Render options by pressing F10.



Before we go to Baking options press "8". That will open Environment options. From there set the Background color to RGB values to 127. That way texture will look better. If you leave it to black texture will look messy and jagged around the edges.

Then we open Baking options by pressing zero. From there untick the option Automatic Unwrap Mapping. Select the model from what you like to have textures. Click Add from Output menu, then choose DiffuseMap. Scroll down the Baking options and you'll find the size of the texture what you want it to be. Hit the Render button and wait 'til it is finished.

Baked texture is attached, if you wonder why there are black stripes and spots that is because I didn't hide bumpers, door handles etc.

[ML]

good job FlashG, very nice tut

[J5]

There's no picture.

[johnas]

Thanks ML

Pics are not in this topic. Check the link

[Shadow Axel]

ummm... what have i done wrong?

[johnas]

I guess you're using multiple textures?

If so try to detach those parts to objects which are mapped to different textures. Clumsy explanation but hopefully you understood

[J5]

Yeah, explain it clearly please... Bake the image? map it? still confused....

[johnas]

In max apply UVW Unwrap modifier and map the car. If you've used Max I bet you know how to map the car. If you don't there are tut's that explains it. I won't tell how that would too much time and I don't have it much. Here's one tut for example CLICK

Baking means same as Render to Texture.

If you have multiple textures make sure those parts are separated to objects. Otherwise you'll get that kind of texture as Pineapple has. For example: if I wanna use different texturefile to body and undercarriage, I'll detach the undercarriage from body so I got two different objects.

[Shadow Axel]

i don't really get it? when i do that it just comes up with the texture that i made to put on the car?

[NightEye]

@pineapple: The whole thing about 'baking', is to make a texture for your car...
Then edit it (paint details, and stuff) and use it as a texture

So if you already have one, the only thing baking can help you with is some shading on your texture (since most game engines don't have any shading systems)

[johnas]

Pineapple you still got that plain gray texture when you bake it?

I got similar once when I had used multiple textures to one object. You have to have one texture per object when you're baking the textures. After you 've finished baking and you have finalised textures in PS (for example) you can attach the objects together. Hope this makes sense

[Tigga]

Hi,

I've got a problem with this...

I tried it out and I always get black edges around the texture no matter what I do...


Anyone got a solution besides fixing this manually with Photoshop?

[johnas]

There's a small gap between the faces in UVW Map I think. And that's why there's black edges in texture. Try to stich the edges

[Tigga]

There's a small gap between the faces in UVW Map I think. And that's why there's black edges in texture. Try to stich the edges

No, that's not it, i believe...

It's not just on this mirror that I get this error, but on everything else I tried this on I get it also.

Basically the problem is that it renders the texture always 1 pixel smaller than the mapping, so I get black edges, like an outline.

I uploaded the texture in 512², so the error can be seen better... and a copy on wich I put the wireframe I got with texporter over the rendered texture... if you compare them, you can see that the rendered texture is always inside the wireframe, when it should end on the exact same positions of the wireframe...




I also tried this on an older car model wich I had lying around on my harddrive and got the same results.

[ML]

The way I fix the black edges would be using Photoshop. I'm sure there's a correct way to fix it but for now I use photoshop.

[johnas]

Yea I can't figure out how they could be fixed in Max

[Tigga]

Ah well... Then I'll have to do this in Photoshop.

It's just that I'm so lazy and not particulary looking forward to fixing these stupid black edges when I'm texturing the body... :roll:

But thanks nonetheless.

[RedStar]

Yo man im tryin to model low poly car and use this technique. I got a small question, how do u get your car to be baked out like all connected? Whenever i bake myne its like seperated into chunckes and sometimes my fender wouldnt have polies selected but would be sepret on the sides. Just curious, do i need to custom uvw map it or what?

[johnas]

I stitch them by hand so there will be no gaps. Takes lots of time but will look better finally.

If you don't know how to stitch check some mapping tutorials cause I'm lousy to explain that and can't quite handle it myself yet

[Palex]

i've got 2 problems: it bakes in dark colours (black to grey, instead of light grey to white). and when it saves the file, it saves in black&white

And btw, link isn't working