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alphatron

03-04-2002, 07:25 PM

Greetings,

I was wondering if it is possible in Maya 4 to convert some of my 3D texture maps (e.g. bump, specularity, etc..) to 2D on a material I have made. Reason for doing so has to do with animation, as it would be almost impossible for me to create my animation with a material with 3D maps.

Hope someone can help!

Lyr

03-04-2002, 10:28 PM

try converting your shading network to a file texture. This feature is heavily documented in the online docs.

rsalonen

03-05-2002, 01:09 AM

Umm, just a quick question while on the subject.
As the newbie on maya I must ask. What is the difference between 3D and 2D maps? What makes the work different?
I know, it's probably a stupid question, but hey, if I don't ask, I might never know ;)

alphatron

03-05-2002, 09:56 AM

Thanks Lyr..

Do you know whereabouts in the documentation I can find this info?

ME3D

03-06-2002, 12:35 AM

Vetque,
General explanation:
3D texture is a "procedural" made within the 3d ap usually. Using base textures like noise, and fractal you can tweek settings into the image you desire.

2D texture is image (tga,jpg, etc...) that you apply to cover the model object.

Sorry to be so general, but you can find better info on many other sites. Even the maya manuals cover this I'd bet, although I really dont remember.

rsalonen

03-06-2002, 12:52 AM

Thanks ME3D.
I quite understand it now.
But if you have a bump jpg and add it to your object, isn't that some kind of 3d then, I mean it "changes" the surface of the object.

Lyr

03-06-2002, 01:53 AM

Bump maps do not change the surface of the object. All they do is provide normal information for the point bieng shaded to camera. The actual attribute is called normalCamera or something like that.

Displacement maps however do change the actual surface of the object, and they can be 3d or 2d textures.

rsalonen

03-06-2002, 07:45 PM

ah thanks for clearing it out Lyr

ME3D

03-07-2002, 10:25 AM

Ah Lyr ...beat me to the punch....hehe
Yeah lyr is right bump mapping isnt really changing the geometry, which is probably why its a popular method for some detailing.
Added benefit is its faster to render than geometry and displacement mapping.

Least im pretty sure its faster than displacement .....or maybe that was max? Oh i forget.....lol

Lyr

03-07-2002, 10:48 AM

It is faster to render than displacement maps, but it is extremely limited in the amount of "bump" you can give before it looks like complete crap.

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