Maya for 3D Printing - Rapid Prototyping
In this course we're going to look at something a little different, creating technically accurate 3D printed parts.
# 46 02-01-2011 , 03:07 PM
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Ok?? I thought the same as dango and rhet!!! hmmm I did my spitfire arse about then Im sure...cant remember now LOL...If you arent sure mate...do what I do sometimes...have a template cube model/uv ready to go...then texture it in PS or whatever and experiment that way...I dont know if this is good practice but I do it to see what effect it has on the cube first...rather than a complex geo....

mate good luck...that looks like a ton of work! Like the kitchen, reminds me of the one we had on the farm when I was a wee lad....

cheers bullet


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"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes
# 47 02-01-2011 , 03:57 PM
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Thanks a whole heap mate. Here's a visual of my issue. The one on the left is uv mapped before smoothing and the one on the right is uv mapped after smoothing. I like uv mapping before smoothing because it allows me to go back to my low poly version and still retain a normal looking texture. The bad thing is that when I smooth, it creates an ugly seam and I can't find an option that prevents that during the smooth action.

Uv mapping after smoothing seems better but I'd rather do things the industry standard way. If it's still better to map a glass before smoothing, is there some option or trick I can do to prevent that nasty seam?

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# 48 02-01-2011 , 05:03 PM
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hmmm thats weird...if the geo is fine it shouldnt be doing that?? I will have a squiz in the morning mate...by then some one in the European or American region may answer?? sorry dude...was sleeping...midnight fridge raid.

cheers bulletuser added image


bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes
# 49 03-01-2011 , 02:42 AM
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Dude....I have tried to get that seam but I cant...I did a glass with thickness and one without and still couldnt get it to do it?? The only thing I can think of though, it didnt appear in your second one...is there are some unmerged verts? or duplicate faces or something thats weird...I will keep trying mate

cheers bullet


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"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes
# 50 03-01-2011 , 02:46 AM
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LOL, maybe it's user error, idk. It's a low poly glass with a cylindrical uv projection on it. Then once I smooth the glass, it distorts the seam like that. In fact it does that on almost all my objects but most of them, I can hide the seam from the camera so it's not an issue. I'll fire up Maya and record myself making a cylinder, doing a simple map on it and then smooth. Maybe you'll see something I'm not doing right..hopefully.


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# 51 03-01-2011 , 03:00 AM
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Ok I got it.....I deleted horizontal edges but DID NOT use the delete edge/vertex....so there are undeleted verts that are causing mine to create the seam. Select your object, take note of the verts and either merge or delete...see if that changes it. Then I started adding edge loops...they slowly went away...so it must be the UV editor trying to interpolate from the bottom to the top....you must have no edge loops in between?

cheers bullet

EDIT: It is the lack of edge loops by the look of it mate...I just had a glass with no edge loops on the body...had the seam..then selected all those faces and added divisions...it disappeared.


bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

Last edited by bullet1968; 03-01-2011 at 03:04 AM.
# 52 03-01-2011 , 04:21 AM
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That was really awesome of you to go the distance to try and help me out like that, I really appreciate that. However, in my case it was a different problem. Before I posted the video, I double checked all my smooth settings one by one. Check marking the "Smooth All" option fixed it. I was pretty sure I tried all the smooth options before but must have skipped that one. "Smooth Internal" and "Do Not Smooth" options result in the seam but the "smooth all" option eliminates it. Nonetheless, I'll keep in mind that extra vertices can cause it too.


Edit: Here's what the issue was
YouTube - GlassUvMapping


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Last edited by Perfecto; 03-01-2011 at 04:38 AM.
# 53 03-01-2011 , 04:56 AM
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Sweet mate!!! at least you found the problem...can I ask why you are smoothing?? I never use it any more...I just use the 'smooth preview' or are you running an earlier version of Maya??

cheers bullet

EDIT: I think again (brain pain) that it comes down to Maya and its interpolation of a grid...whether UV based or geo based (smoothing)...I could be wrong but its the same issue I deal with when producing a terrain model for machine control in road building. If the triangles in the mesh are too close or vary too much in 'Z' (which means height chirone he he he he) then the motor grader computer tries to adjust its 3m blade a thousand times per metre. In my case its hard as I have to reduce the amount of triangles to get the machine to accept the model...but when I use Maya I have to remember that less triangles (quads) isnt always what is required. The way it works with UV's still has me puzzled in a way...ctbram may enlighten me but I THINK UV's are basically projected onto the 'skin' geo but can be moved anywhere on the skin but is subject only to change in direction?? (without altering the geo) I think I just confused myself but I know what I mean LOL.


bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

Last edited by bullet1968; 03-01-2011 at 05:13 AM.
# 54 03-01-2011 , 05:02 AM
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I use smooth preview for most everything but for the glasses, smooth preview creates a seam..but if I do a smooth on it, no seam. I keep my geo low poly except for when I want to do a final render, then I smooth everything and save it as a different file name. I try to delete history on everything, then after I do a smooth, I keep the history so I can control the divisions in the channel box.


Don't be satisfied with what you can do but rather strive to do the things you can't do!
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# 55 11-08-2011 , 01:15 AM
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Door finished. Tomorrow I'll model a quick window and I'll be ready to finish up my uvs.

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# 56 11-08-2011 , 03:04 PM
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The completed window and door

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# 57 11-08-2011 , 04:02 PM
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My textures don't show up in the viewport unless I have it set to hi res. I could have sworn it didn't need to be on high res to see them b4. Increasing the hardware texture res doesn't work either.

edit: Just watched my video down below and sure enough hi res is not turned on. Any idea what I did to end up having to turn on hi res to see my textures in the view port?


Don't be satisfied with what you can do but rather strive to do the things you can't do!
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Last edited by Perfecto; 11-08-2011 at 04:04 PM.
# 58 11-08-2011 , 04:31 PM
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I found a work around although I still dont know what's causing the issue. My workaround is to shut down Maya, re-open Maya, create a new file, import my scene file, then all is good.


Don't be satisfied with what you can do but rather strive to do the things you can't do!
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# 59 11-08-2011 , 08:43 PM
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UVs and Modeling done

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# 60 12-08-2011 , 07:48 PM
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I just had a load of fun. I went out shopping for textures. I went to fabric places, flooring places, etc. Chain stores won't usually give you permission to take pictures, but privately owned places will. So if you need textures, don't be afraid to grab your camera and go out shopping. I didn't even have to take any pictures at the fabric stores as they gave me lots of books that had samples in them. I still need wood textures, but there weren't any local places I could go to take some snapshots.


Don't be satisfied with what you can do but rather strive to do the things you can't do!
Exceed Expectations!
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