# painting your textures in photoshop To paint your textures, you first need to create your [[UV mapping overview|UV maps]]. From there, we can save a reference image and start playing in Photoshop. So you have your mesh cut, folded, and packed and ready to paint. Good for you. ## take a snapshot In the UV Editor, use the pull-down menu for **Image > UV Snapshot**. ![[Pasted image 20230315110622.png]] In the UV Snapshot Options dialog box… - make sure you are saving to the **images** folder your project folder - set Image Format to TIFF (PNG is OK, but TIFF is better quality) - set Size to 1024 by 1024 (or 2048 by 2048 for higher resolution textures) ## work in photoshop Open your snapshot image file in Photoshop. By default, it is going to look a bit wonky. You should see the grey and white checkerboard that is Adobe’s way of indicating transparency. You should also see a light grey outline of your UV map. Make a new working file by using pulldown menus for **File > Save As** and creating a PSD file. This will give a nice layered construction file for building up your texture. ### add a background Add a background color so you can see where you are working. My approach is to create a new Solid Color Adjustment Layer. Click the tipped over circle icon at the bottom of your Layers menu and choose Solid Color… Then choose a solid black or white color. Move that layer underneath your UV reference layer. ![[Pasted image 20230315111908.png]] ### rename and lock reference layer Double-Click the _Layer 0_ name in your Layers menu. Change the layer name to something like _UV reference_. With the layer selected select the padlock icon at the top of your Layers Menu to lock the layer. As you work, keep that reference layer at the top of your layer stack so that it is easy to see where you are working. ![[Pasted image 20230315112305.png]] ## create new layers for textures Now the fun begins. Make a new layer for creating your new textures. You could paint in textures, use patterns, bring in image files of textures or patterns. Separate your work into multiple layers for ultimate control of building up a texture. For example, have a base pattern on one layer and a rough texture on another so you can play with opacity and blending modes. The creativity is up to you. My list of [[web backgrounds]] has some places for downloading texture tiles. I need to add more sources relevant to 3D texturing. For now, you can search for [free seamless tiles](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=free+seamless+tiles&ia=web) to find images that are great for repeating tiles. If you are new to using Photoshop, here’s a list of places where you can [[learn photoshop]]. ## prep for return back to maya Once you have your texturing work done (or just want to test it out on your model), you can save out your work as a new texture image. First, though, you should do some processing to prep the file. Anything that is outside the UV map reference area will not be visible on the mapped object. It is a waste of file space to have anything there. You can erase (bad) or layer mask (good) out those areas to hide them. This will make a difference in your file size. It isn’t much but if you have tens or hundreds of texture files, it will make a difference. Turn off your Color Fill background layer since that’s not needed. You can also turn off your UV reference layer since that will be visible in the map when you apply it (could leave it on and have visible grey edges if you want). ![[Pasted image 20230315124851.png]] **File > Save** the PSD file to have your overall construction file safe. **File > Save A Copy** to create the actual texture map file. You can still use a PSD or TIFF format, but turn off Layers option to flatten the image. You can also use a naturally flat file format like PNG. ## apply the texture in maya Switch back to your scene in Maya. Apply a new material to your object. Select the object and **Right-Click** and scroll down to **Assign New Material**. You can use a Maya material like _Lambert_ or _Phong_, but I prefer using an Arnold _aiStandardSurface_ material. ![[Pasted image 20230315120148.png]] **Assign New Material > Arnold > _aiStandardSurface_** to apply the new material. In your Attribute Editor, find the section for **Base > Color**. Click on the little arrow/box icon at the right end of the Color line. Then pick **File**. ![[Pasted image 20230315123323.png]] The Attribute Editor should change to a _file1_ tab. Go to **File Attributes > Image Name** and choose the file folder icon on the right side. Navigate to the **images** folder and choose your flattened texture file. ![[Pasted image 20230315123524.png]] You probably can’t see the material on the object yet. Click into your perp panel and press 6 on your keyboard. You can also toggle on the textured icon in the panel menus. ![[Pasted image 20230315123927.png]] You should now see the texture material on your 3d mesh. Pretty cool, huh? Remember, this is an Arnold material so you will need to add an Arnold light to add shadows and render. Don’t forget to change your panel pull-down **Renderer > Arnold**. ![[Pasted image 20230315124743.png]] --- Learn more… - [Intro to Texturing YouTube video from Academic Phoenix Plus](https://youtu.be/zPinIjj_F8s) and here is [part 2](https://youtu.be/5Pc8eBxs0sY) --- tags: #3d #maya #resources home: [[! 3d modeling- maya]]