by Didik Wijaya
This tutorial needs you to understand basic use of 3dsmax.

You have already knew how to model a dolphin, now it's time to do texturing. In this tutorial you will learn how to texture a dolphin using Unwrap UVW. If you are unfamiliar with Unwrap UVW, you are encouraged to see our previous tutorial about Unwrap UVW, like Understanding Unwrap UVW and Unwrap UVW Texturing.

1. First, download 3D dolphin model here (3dsmax 8 format, zipped). In this file, there's a dolphin model. It is textured with simple color. Later, you will learn how to texture this dolphin using Unwrap UVW.

2. Select dolphin model. Go into Modify tab. Delete Turbosmooth modifier. I prefer to delete Turbosmooth modifier first in order to make the model look more simple in Edit UVW window later. After that, apply Unwrap UVW modifier. Open sub object selection in Unwrap UVW (by clicking minus (-) sign). Activate Face selection. Then select all faces of model in viewport. You can select all faces using region selection (don't forget to turn off Ignore Backfacing in Selection Parameters rollout), or just simply press Ctrl+A in keyboard.

3. Aftrer all faces selected, click Edit button under Parameters rollout. Edit UVW window will appear. In Maps parameters rollout, click Spherical for mapping type. Then, for mapping orientation, make Back viewport active and click Align to View button in Map Parameters. To make viewport active, just right click on that viewport.

4.Image below shows how Edit UVW window looks like right now. Notice that in upper left corner there are some button to modify, like move, rotate, scale, etc. And in bottom right corner, there are several buttons to zoom and pan views. You will use this buttons a lot.

5. Next, we will modify UVW coordinates. Actually you can skip these steps, and go directly to step 8. These steps are useful if you want to have good looking UV template so you can draw bitmap for texture easier.

At the bottom of Edit UVW window, there's Selection Modes. Make sure you are in Face selection. Select all faces like image below. If you can't select any faces, try to change selection into Vertex or Edge and back to Face again. Now, you should be able to select faces.

6. Right click on selected faces, and choose Break (Tools>Break). Now, move separable faces to the right. You will notice that there's a gap with similar edges. You can connect those faces together. Now, change selection to Edge. Select green colored edge like image below (if you select, edge turns red). Just select edges in one side of the gap. Opposite edge will turn color whenever you select edge.

7. Right click on selected edges, and choose Stitch Selected (Tools>Stitch Selected). Those two faces group will be combined each other..

8. Next step, you need to scale UVW coordinate to fit into template area. First, click Option button located at the bottom right of Edit UVW Window and uncheck Tile Bitmap (or from menu Options>Advanced Options and uncheck Tile Bitmap). Now, you should see template area clearly.

Activate one of selection type, Vertex, Edge or Face. For example if you use Vertex selection, select all vertices. Then, scale down object in Edit UVW window. Use Move tool to make object fit in template area.

9. From menu Tools>Render UVW Template. Set image size and click Render UVW Template button. You will get rendered image. Save this image into your computer. When finished, de-activate all sub-object selection by clicking Unwrap UVW row in Modifier Stack.

10. Open rendered UVW template image into your graphics editing software, like Photoshop. Draw textures for dolphin here. Use grey-blue color for background. White color from belly to nose area. And black for eyes.

11. Image below shows sample of finished bitmap textures. Save your drawing as a bitmap file. Don't use image below. You should use your own image, because bitmap texture is depend on how you modify, and scale coordinates in previous step.

12. Back to 3dsmax. Open Material Editor. Select material slot for dolphin (shown as green color). In Blinn Basic Parameters, click small button right next to Diffuse. In Material/Map Browser use Bitmap, and use the bitmap file you created earlier. After you use this bitmap file, your dolphin is now textured. If you want to show texture in viewport, click Show Map in Viewport icon.

13. Final tocuh. Add Turbosmooth modifer. Now, you have beautiful textured dolphin. Download fully textured dolphin model here (3dsmax 8, zipped)

Any question or comments regarding this tutorial should be sent to:
Didik Wijaya, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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