Introduction to Maya - Modeling Fundamentals Vol 2
This course will look in the fundamentals of modeling in Maya with an emphasis on creating good topology. It's aimed at people that have some modeling experience in Maya but are having trouble with complex objects.
# 1 25-05-2013 , 05:19 PM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9

Help w/ UV Problem - Hopefully a simple fix!

Thanks to anyone who takes a stab at this one, I've been stuck on this for two days!

I'm brand new to Maya, and have just figured out the basics of UV mapping. I've mapped an object in Maya 2013, and now I'm trying to export it to Maxwell Studio 2.7.20 (all plugins are up to date). While still in Maya, the object's textures/uvs appear as expected in the view port, as well as when the scene is rendered.

When I export to Maxwell Studio, the object is fine, but the texture is messed up. Specifically, the object displays the main background colour of the texture map itself, but not the actual texture.

I've included a couple screens to describe the problem, as well as the maya scene file itself, in case there are any brave souls who wish to dig deeper.

Thanks in advance, I'm extremely grateful for any help.

Cheers!
Matt

HW Specs:
Maya 2013
Maxwell 2.7.20
(All plugs up to date)
Mac OSX 10.7.5
12GB Ram

Attached Thumbnails
Attached Files
File Type: zip RoofEdge2.zip (956.3 KB, 361 views)

Last edited by mattler; 25-05-2013 at 05:21 PM.
# 2 25-05-2013 , 06:00 PM
daverave's Avatar
The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: England
Posts: 4,472
I don't use Maxwell but I can see it has a texture editor look in there see if there is a option for file size..................dave




Avatar Challenge Winner 2010
# 3 25-05-2013 , 06:34 PM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
Thanks Dave, that was a really good thought. I'm almost certain it's going to be something simple like that.

I played around with the UV scaling in Maxwell Studio with no luck. I also double checked that the materials were properly assigned in Maxwell, and that texture mode was enabled.

I made another object that was almost identical with no problems. This is causing smoke to emanate from my ears.. user added image

# 4 25-05-2013 , 06:58 PM
daverave's Avatar
The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: England
Posts: 4,472
Check to see if the normal are facing the correct way in maya.................dave




Avatar Challenge Winner 2010
# 5 25-05-2013 , 07:29 PM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
Another good call Dave.. I should have also mentioned that I did that too. The normals are all as one would expect them (outward facing).

Cheers

# 6 25-05-2013 , 07:43 PM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
Another thing worth mentioning... when I first imported the object into Maya, it was OBJ. I extracted the faces of the object and turned them into their own objects, and used them to project UVs, which I mapped in Photoshop.

As I said earlier, I made another object that is very similar to this one, and used the same workflow with great results. With respect to the object in question, however, I've noticed it behaves differently than the first in Maya. Specifically, when you select one of the surface objects that has a uv/texture map applied to it, part of the face vanishes, revealing the grey colour of the shader belonging to the object beneath it.

See attached.

Either way, I have a feeling this might have something to do with it. Perhaps the uv or the material hasn't been applied and/or connected properly?

Cheers

Attached Thumbnails
# 7 25-05-2013 , 07:48 PM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
If someone was willing to export this as an OBJ with a MTL an FBX, or a 3DS and then reupload it, I'd be hugely appreciative!

# 8 25-05-2013 , 09:07 PM
daverave's Avatar
The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: England
Posts: 4,472
I cannot upload your file as Im running maya 2009, could you show the UVs and are you overlaying them...............dave




Avatar Challenge Winner 2010
# 9 25-05-2013 , 09:23 PM
daverave's Avatar
The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: England
Posts: 4,472
Try selecting the face and deleting it, I think you have a mesh on top of a mesh............dave




Avatar Challenge Winner 2010
# 10 25-05-2013 , 09:46 PM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
No worries Dave!

Here are the UVs, plus a couple other pics that might help. Is it normal to have that many items listed in the UV sets menu?

Cheers!

Attached Thumbnails
# 11 25-05-2013 , 10:31 PM
daverave's Avatar
The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: England
Posts: 4,472
I don't think I have seen a shader network for some thing so simple like that before, select your object and do a auto projection then stitch a few pieces together to reduce the amount of UV shell then do a snap shot and of to photoshop............dave




Avatar Challenge Winner 2010
# 12 26-05-2013 , 02:38 AM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
Hi Dave,

Yes.. this is what I'm doing with my Saturday night.. it's come to this user added image

I took part of your advice and simplified the network. Basically what I did was mimicked exactly how the material was set up in the first object I did (the one that worked fine). Now I no longer see the textures in Maya, just the background colour of the UV map itself.

When I select the textured objects in the viewport, their corresponding UVs are selected in the UV Texture Editor window as well, and that window shows the proper texture map being present, so I'm not sure what to think.

Cheers,
Matt

Attached Thumbnails

Last edited by mattler; 26-05-2013 at 02:46 AM.
# 13 26-05-2013 , 07:42 PM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
Originally, this was imported into Maya as an OBJ. It was one sold object, and I individually extracted each surface face that would be receiving texture, and then used each of these new "surface" objects to generate the UV map.

Just now, I extracted two faces from the original mesh, and applied a checker texture to it without problem.

For some reason, it seems like none of the faces that were originally extracted from the main mesh (any of the rust coloured surfaces) are capable of accepting any textured surface at all. I tried to apply a checker texture to one of the rust coloured surfaces, and all I got was grey. See attached.

So is there anything that would stop a surface from being able to accept texture?

Cheers!

Attached Thumbnails
# 14 27-05-2013 , 12:36 AM
Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 9
Problem solved - scrapped it and started from the beginning.

For the other noobs, the lesson here is that you don't need to chop up your objects to UV them. For some reason I had it in my head that I had to turn each surface into its own object. As Dave alluded to, it was way overly complex for what it needed to be.

I'm simply selecting the faces of the object I'd like to UV now, without breaking it up. Worked like a charm.

Thanks for taking a stab at it Dave..

Cheers

Posting Rules Forum Rules
You may not post new threads | You may not post replies | You may not post attachments | You may not edit your posts | BB code is On | Smilies are On | [IMG] code is On | HTML code is Off

Similar Threads