Originally posted by lisa_gonzalez
Hi there, welcome to SM.

Originally Posted by

Thanks for the welcome

It sounds like you are trying to map your polygons using sub-d mapping tools rather than polygon ones. To map your polys, just use the projection tools under edit polygons -> texture .

Originally Posted by

OK, that was my problem. I was going to subdiv surfaces --> texture instead of edit polygons --> texture. I thought, though, that Mike used subdiv surfaces in his tutorial. (After watching the tutorial again I can see that he actually did use edit polygons --> texture.)

About the sphere question, if your can't select the faces of your sphere it sounds like you have made a NURBs sphere, rather than a poly one. You don't use UV mapping for NURBs surfaces, you use different texturing methods.

Originally Posted by

Yes, I have half a NURBS sphere squashed down to make the roof of the temple, and I couldn't map it. Is there an easy way to map NURBS surfaces?

I think you mean that Mike was using wireframe on shaded option, so that you can see the wire frame of your object whilst still being in shaded mode. To turn this option on, make sure you are in shaded mode (press 5 on your keyboard), then (in Maya 6.5) go to shading under the panel menu, and turn on wireframe on shaded .

Hope this clears up a few things, good luck

LisaG

Originally Posted by

Originally posted by Gtea
I think I can answer your questions.

Firstly lets deal with most simple one - the wireframe on shaded.

In your window that you want to see the wireframe on - open shading then click on wireframe on shaded. There is also a smooth wire frame function that makes it abit cooler if you want to use that.

As a further little option to all this - If you are in wireframe mode but it all looks alittle messy and complex then go to DISPLAY>CUSTOM POLYGON DIPSLAY and click the little box. When the menu pops up firstly click on OBJECTS AFFECTED>ALL, then move down to the bottom move the Backface Culling option box from OFF to ON and then at the top under where you selected ALL before make sure BACKCULLING is selected. This makes it look kinda like shaded mode but wireframe aswell.

Next question. NURBS are not like polygons and they are generated with their own UV coordinates already unwrapped and you place textures on like decals on a model.

So firstly open up the Hypershade which is in WINDOW>RENDER EDITORS>HYPERSHADE and create a material which ever one suits your purposes i.e LAMBERT/BLINN then assign it to the piece of geometry that you are wanting to map? I think you said a Dome. You can do that by dragging it with your middle mouse button onto the Dome. Then back in Hypershade click on the material you just made, this will bring up its attribute editor in Maya - if not in Maya press CtrlA once or twice. Then next to the colour (I am english (color)) slider is a checker box click it. The create render node box appears, click on the file tab. ****before you do this it gets abit more complex on the top of the create render node box there is a selection you need to make, whether you want your file you use the inherent UV coordinates of the NURB surface (normal) to cover the surface, or (projection) if you want to make your own one much like how you to polygon UV projections kinda. Find the 2dplacetexture node then mess with this until you have the placement of the texture on the surface you want. I suggest using the interactive placement button and doing it that way. If you cannot find the 2dplacetexture node in Hypershade click on it if you can see it, if you cannot click on the file node then in the attributes box the tab should be there. Their are other ways but thats not the question.

Sorry if this seemed too simplistic for you, I am not sure what level you are at.

Gtea
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fear is the mind killer
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Originally Posted by

Originally posted by Gtea
the best way to map a cube is not to. When a shape is generated each vertices is assigned a uv coordinate - the reason for UV mapping by projections is to put order into complex model. - However a cube has perfectly fine UV coords already. So, generate your cube and assign it a material then select it and look in uv editor, you should have large UV's. Select UV picker overall the uv's and scale down so they all fit in the top right hand square, snapshot your uvs and paint away.

Nice and easy. I recommend buying Learning Maya 6 Foundation - you can get it from amazon quite cheaply, it is exellent for starters then move onto maybe doing some of the simplymaya stuff. Dont try to run before you can walk.

Originally Posted by