Lightmapping for dummies - everybody can do it!
Prerequisites:- 3ds Max 9 (or any other version of Max that has this feature)
- A fully lit and textured model
- Patience
Okay, let's get started, shall we?
I simply assume, you know how to texture and already have your model mapped out and
textured.
Now, you all you need to do, is set up the lights, the way your interior set should be lit (may be throw in a few glowmaps and whatnot for good measure); and then, you can begin the long and tedious process of lightmapping.
Perfect, now go into the
'Render'-dialogue and select
'Render to Texture' (or press
'O') and a dialog-window will pop-up and you won't be able to do much with it.
So, select one of the objects in you scene and you will be presented with a multitude of different options.
I'll just walk you through the most important parts:
First, check the box to enable
'Projection Mapping' and then proceed to the
next section that reads
'Mapping Coordinates' and set the options there to
'Use Existing Channel' (usually you
mapping channel will be 1).
After that's done, head over to the
'Output'-section and first of all specify your texture
size (the exact size of your base texture would be appropriate here).
Then, click on the
'Add'-button and choose
'Complete Map' from the list (you can also play around with some of the settings, see what you can come up with ;)).
After that's done, under the
'Enable'-section, enter what you feel is appropriate, like the filename, save location and whatnot (self-explanatory, really) choose your texture size and finally hit the 'Render'-button.
You should be done now. Rinse and repeat for other textures aswell.
other users are welcome to add and expand on this little tutorial...
Topic: Tutorial - Lightmapping (Read 3800 times)
