All images from Inspired 3D Modeling and Texture Mapping by Tom Capizzi, series edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford. Reprinted with permission.

The following, a continuation of the tutorial on Organic Texture Mapping, which was published earlier this month, is next in a number of adaptations from the new Inspired series published by Premier Press. Comprised of four titles and edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford, these books are designed to provide animators and curious moviegoers with tips and tricks from Hollywood veterans. The following is excerpted from Modeling & Texture Mapping.

Import the Textures into Photoshop
Deep Paint can create high-quality 2D image maps by interpolating the 2D ortho-graphic texture images that were created earlier onto a 3D model. This would be very time consuming to do in a 2D paint program. But the 2D editing tools in Deep Paint are not as stable and reliable as the tools in Photoshop; therefore, Deep Paint has a plug-in that facilitates the import and export of 2D images to Photoshop.

[Figure 33] The wing texture is imported from Deep Paint.

The texture maps that were created in Deep Paint are imported back into Photoshop for final clean-up using the Deep Paint plug-in. This process is not only efficient and fast, but it also creates an image of the UVs that appears as a layer in Photoshop that helps in the process of painting textures in 2D.

Wing

1. Open the wing texture in Photoshop. The bottom of the wing will be missing. The barn owl’s wing has a light underside that matches the belly. Import the texture created for the side projection texture into Photoshop (Figure 33).

2. Cut and paste sections of the white spotted texture to the underside of the wing, making sure to keep it on a separate layer than the rest of the wing (Figure 34). Pay attention to the direction of the feathers; if necessary, rotate the feathers (Figure 35).

[Figures 34 & 35] Texture from the side image is cloned on the wing texture (left). The rest of the wing underside is filled in (right).

3. Clean up the white areas and merge with the gray-brown areas. Blend where the two colors meet (Figure 36).