Black blotches and cheeckerboard

# 1 15-08-2007 , 02:53 PM

Registered User
Join Date: May 2007

Posts: 15

I've run into this problem many times. Seems like I've spent half my time in Maya looking for a solution.

I'm working on a static mesh, and well into the project I suddenly get this black blotchy checkerboard pattern on my skin (see attached .jpg - it's supposed to be all smooth blue, and up until a few hours ago it was). I have no idea why it happens, where it comes from, what it means, or how to fix it! (Or turn it off if it's a "feature"). Can someone please help me. I have lost a lot of good work, because my only recourse (so far) when it happens is to go back to an earlier version of the file before the problem occured.

I had this mesh almost finished. I saved the file and shut down Maya. When I came back after lunch and opened the file, my mesh is ruined. As far as I can tell none of the verticies have changed. I suspect (but don't know for sure) that it has something to do with normals, and I have looked in vain for something in the normals section of the program. About the only thing I ever do with normals is reverse them when I occasionally find them facing the wrong way (due to my own sloppiness).

Thanks in advance, I really need an answer to this. :headbang:

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# 2 15-08-2007 , 03:00 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2005

Location: Boston, MA

Posts: 2,314

try normals>set to face
and normals>conform
normals>set vertex normal
then try normals>set to face

and if that doesnt work, try normals>soften/harden

it looks like a normals error to me...

Environment Artist @ Plastic Piranha
www.joopson.com

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# 3 24-08-2007 , 08:10 PM

Registered User
Join Date: May 2007

Posts: 15

Thank you for the suggestions. I never did get the mesh to look the way it did before the problem occured. I think I have determined that using the cleanup tool (specifically "Edges with Zero Length" and "Faces with Zero Geometry") is the cause of the problem. "Unlocking Normals" in the normals menu went a long way towards correctiing the problem, maybe 75%. (Why were normals locked in the first place? Nothing I ever did.) But none of the other commands in that menu (alone or in combinations) returned the mesh to the pristine state it was in originally. Once again I had to return to any earlier version of the file, losing large quantities of work.

I simply don't use the "Remove Geometry" section of the cleanup tool anymore, unless I have specifically saved the file before doing so. Probably a good idea anyway. Thank god for revision control. user added image

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Black blotches and cheeckerboard

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