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3D Tutorial: Texturing Aircraft Sheet Metal in PS and 3ds max

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IMPORTANT: To view the tutorial with larger images and screen shots please download the PDF or XPS files. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This tutorial was written exclusively for The3dStudio.com by Rick Johnston of Dreamscape Studios (Member Link). * Texturing Aircraft Sheet Metal (in PS and 3ds max) * Sheet metal is used in constructing aircraft, boats, ships submarines, automobiles and many other products in aerospace, marine and other industries. The sheet metal is generally there to provide a skin and is fastened to an underlying framework. We cannot give a tutorial in the space allowed here to cover all the applications of sheet metal in all industries but we will give you a lesson in aerospace sheet metal texturing. Sheet metal used in spacecraft, aircraft, missiles and other systems are built using sheet metal attached to a framework. The bulkheads provide the major framework and shape of the object, stringers and longerons provide the longitudinal alignment and some strength and the sheet metal skin provides the smooth shape and the majority of the strength in the structure. For wings the structural design is similar but the bulkheads are replaced by ribs. The sheet metal is attached by rivets to the underlying structural components. To give you a better understanding of this here is a diagram of the wing panels of an aircraft showing where these structural members are located. This tutorial will give you brief instruction on how to create a sheet metal texture that looks fairly realistic and detailed. The process for creating these textures is a four step process. This tutorial will document all for steps and instruct you on the techniques of creation of the textures. The process is as follows: Rendering the objects to be textured Creating a bump map from the renderings Creating a detailed bump map Creating a detailed diffuse map from the bump map Applying the texture to the object This tutorial is designed to teach you how to create textures and materials for sheet metal in aircraft applications. It is assumed by the author of this tutorial that the user has a basic understanding of Photoshop. Fig 1-0 sample of rendered object to be textured. Fig 1-0b Rendering used for base image to develop bump maps using Photoshop. Note that it has been cropped in Photoshop. Rendering the objects to be textured When rendering an object in 3dsMax, creating an image to be used in development of textures and materials, I use the maximum settings 3dSMax will allow. Rendering with a black or white background is fine. Save the image as a jpg and use the 100% quality rendering. Save the image in the folder where you intend to make the materials. Creating a bump map from the renderings Creating a bump map from the rendered image is the first step in texturing the sheet metal to be accomplished in Photoshop. Start up Photoshop and open the image you wish to use in creating texture. These renderings must include the entire object to be textured. After opening this image in Photoshop, change the image size to a resolution of 300 pixels per inch. The size of the image is limited due to the large data sizes for graphic images and the maximum sizes usable in 3dsMax for materials. For a general rule, 24 to 28 inches by 6 inches is about as large as you can get for a material map at this resolution. To insure I get the object as large as possible I follow this process. Open the file; change the resolution to 300 pixels per inch. Move guides into place to define the absolute boundaries of the object within the rendering. Use the rectangle tool to define the rectangular area needed by the object within the image. Crop the image to the rectangle previously defined by the rectangle tool. Increase the image size to the maximum I can to allow for the most definition and detail possible. For this tutorial it would be about 10 inches wide. Now create a duplicate layer of the background and set the opacity of the new layer at 20%. Fig 1-1a Original rendering opened in Photoshop with additional duplicate background layer at 20% opacity. Fig 1-1b Color selection box is opened and the medium gray color is selected. Create a new layer between the original background and the background copy layers. Make that middle layer active. Using a medium gray color and the paint bucket tool, fill the entire image with medium gray. Set your secondary color to a darker gray, about half way from medium gray to black. Make this color active and select the line tool. Fig 1-1c Image has medium gray color applied. Note that the duplicate background image shows through the gray paint giving you an outline to help guide you in placement of your sheet metal borders. Set the line tool to draw lines that are 1 to 2 pixels in width. I used 2 pixels for large metal separations between control surfaces and 1 pixel for most cracks between metal plates. Draw lines that represent the borders of sections of sheet metal. Fig 1-2 Borders between the sheet metal have been created using the line tool. Rivets are used to attach sheet metal skin to underlying framework. In some cases by single rows on either side of the break and in other cases single rows inclusive within the sheet metal plates. There are two major types, cap rivets that have rounded heads and flush rivets which have caps counter-sunk into the sheet metal. Most often World War II and previous aircraft used capped rivets. Later World War II aircraft like the Mustang, and after the war, most often use flush rivets. Turn the background copy layer off and merge the visible layers Capped rivets will use a light gray circular gradient within a circle of dark gray and flush rivets just use a dark gray circle with medium gray center. Size of the circles is very important. The rivets in most cases are between ¼” and 3/8” in diameter at the cap and therefore must be very small in the maps. I like no more than 6-8 pixels in diameter. For larger maps like you would use for the wing or fuselage, the rivet size should be no more than 4 pixels. In this tutorial we are going to place both types of rivets so that you will see how to do them. First we will do the capped rivets. They will be located on the left side of the bump map. See fig 1-2a. Fig 1-2a Image of capped rivet shown a short distance from a sheet metal break in a close up. A gradient is used inside of a dark gray outline. Note this image is a very close view. Now you will need to copy the original rivet to the opposite side of the sheet metal break. Copy the capped rivets you have created by selection of them together and then deselect the dark gray line in between them. Deselect a bit of medium gray on either side of the line to give you some error room. Copy the selected rivets around equidistantly along the lines representing the breaks in the sheet metal. This will appear to be rivets holding the skin on to the framework below. To make a flush rivet, simply make a circle about the same size of the capped rivet. Then make a slightly smaller medium gray circle on top and centered of the dark gray circle. This will leave a dark gray circle. You can also use the shape tool in Photoshop with the fill selection off. Place this the same way you did the capped rivets. See fig 1-2b Fig 1-2c Fig 1-2b The above image is the finished bump or texture map. Notice that capped rivets are placed on the left and flush rivets are placed on the right. The file should be saved as ____bmp.jpg. In this tutorial the files saved as MtlBmp.jpg Creating a Diffuse Map from the Bump map Now you need a diffuse material to match the bump map. The natural thing to do is save the bump map as a new file called ___dif.jpg In this tutorial the files was as MtlDif.jpg. Now select a couple of new colors to represent the sheet metal color. I am using a couple of light grays. Using the paint bucket tool with a tolerance of 5 or 6, fill the various sections with slightly different colors of gray. The rivets will not be painted if you are using the correct tolerance. The result should look like the image below. Fig 1-5 Diffuse material after adding a color to it similar to a bare metal. Note there are 3 different shades of light gray used because every sheet of bare aluminum on aircraft has a slightly different tone. Now select another light gray color to paint the rivets. Go around to all the rivets and paint them with the same color using the pain bucket tool. Reset the tolerance at 25 for this operation and you should get good results. See the image below. Fig 1-6 This image shows the progressive painting of the rivets using the paint bucket tool. The tolerance should be at 5 or 6. MtlDif.jpg Notice the capped rivets are more visible than the flush rivets. The flush rivets are barely noticeable. Now apply the texture and diffuse materials to the model and adjust the reflectivity, shininess and glossiness. See the image below for a final rendering of the materials applied to the object in 3DSMax. Round head rivets on the left of the material show up really well and are well defined. The flush rivets on the right of the material barely show up. When used on an entire aircraft, this technique really works well. Quarter turn Zeus fasteners, screws can be done with this same technique. Quarter turns are used to secure removable inspection panels from the skin of the airplane for maintenance and inspections of controls and engine components. They would be slightly larger than the capped rivet and have a small black rectangle or cross in the center of the gradient light gray to med gray. The screws would be about the same size as rivets but would include the black cross or rectangle. These differences would be required on the bump and diffuse textures. Applying the texture to the object In 3ds max, open the file provided in this tutorial and apply the materials provided. The diffuse map is called MtlDif.jpg and the textures are called MtlBmp.jpg. Use your material manager to apply these materials and then apply a UVW to the object and adjust it as needed to get the above result. Good modeling

Full description

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
IMPORTANT: To view the tutorial with larger images and screen shots please download the PDF or XPS files.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This tutorial was written exclusively for The3dStudio.com by Rick Johnston of Dreamscape Studios (Member Link).

*** Texturing Aircraft Sheet Metal (in PS and 3ds max) ***

Sheet metal is used in constructing aircraft, boats, ships submarines, automobiles and many other products in aerospace, marine and other industries. The sheet metal is generally there to provide a skin and is fastened to an underlying framework. We cannot give a tutorial in the space allowed here to cover all the applications of sheet metal in all industries but we will give you a lesson in aerospace sheet metal texturing.

Sheet metal used in spacecraft, aircraft, missiles and other systems are built using sheet metal attached to a framework. The bulkheads provide the major framework and shape of the object, stringers and longerons provide the longitudinal alignment and some strength and the sheet metal skin provides the smooth shape and the majority of the strength in the structure. For wings the structural design is similar but the bulkheads are replaced by ribs. The sheet metal is attached by rivets to the underlying structural components.

To give you a better understanding of this here is a diagram of the wing panels of an aircraft showing where these structural members are located.

www.The3dStudio.com

This tutorial will give you brief instruction on how to create a sheet metal texture that looks fairly realistic and detailed. The process for creating these textures is a four step process. This tutorial will document all for steps and instruct you on the techniques of creation of the textures. The process is as follows:

Rendering the objects to be textured
Creating a bump map from the renderings
Creating a detailed bump map
Creating a detailed diffuse map from the bump map
Applying the texture to the object

This tutorial is designed to teach you how to create textures and materials for sheet metal in aircraft applications. It is assumed by the author of this tutorial that the user has a basic understanding of Photoshop.

Fig 1-0 sample of rendered object to be textured.
www.The3dStudio.com

Fig 1-0b

Rendering used for base image to develop bump maps using Photoshop. Note that it has been cropped in Photoshop.

Rendering the objects to be textured

When rendering an object in 3dsMax, creating an image to be used in development of textures and materials, I use the maximum settings 3dSMax will allow. Rendering with a black or white background is fine. Save the image as a jpg and use the 100% quality rendering.

Save the image in the folder where you intend to make the materials.

Creating a bump map from the renderings

Creating a bump map from the rendered image is the first step in texturing the sheet metal to be accomplished in Photoshop.

Start up Photoshop and open the image you wish to use in creating texture. These renderings must include the entire object to be textured.

After opening this image in Photoshop, change the image size to a resolution of 300 pixels per inch. The size of the image is limited due to the large data sizes for graphic images and the maximum sizes usable in 3dsMax for materials. For a general rule, 24 to 28 inches by 6 inches is about as large as you can get for a material map at this resolution. To insure I get the object as large as possible I follow this process.

Open the file; change the resolution to 300 pixels per inch.

Move guides into place to define the absolute boundaries of the object within the rendering.
Use the rectangle tool to define the rectangular area needed by the object within the image.
Crop the image to the rectangle previously defined by the rectangle tool. Increase the image size to the maximum I can to allow for the most definition and detail possible. For this tutorial it would be about 10 inches wide.

Now create a duplicate layer of the background and set the opacity of the new layer at 20%.

Fig 1-1a
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Original rendering opened in Photoshop with additional duplicate background layer at 20% opacity.

Fig 1-1b
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Color selection box is opened and the medium gray color is selected.

Create a new layer between the original background and the background copy layers. Make that middle layer active.

Using a medium gray color and the paint bucket tool, fill the entire image with medium gray.

Set your secondary color to a darker gray, about half way from medium gray to black. Make this color active and select the line tool.

Fig 1-1c
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Image has medium gray color applied. Note that the duplicate background image shows through the gray paint giving you an outline to help guide you in placement of your sheet metal borders.

Set the line tool to draw lines that are 1 to 2 pixels in width. I used 2 pixels for large metal separations between control surfaces and 1 pixel for most cracks between metal plates.

Draw lines that represent the borders of sections of sheet metal.

Fig 1-2
www.The3dStudio.com

Borders between the sheet metal have been created using the line tool.

Rivets are used to attach sheet metal skin to underlying framework. In some cases by single rows on either side of the break and in other cases single rows inclusive within the sheet metal plates. There are two major types, cap rivets that have rounded heads and flush rivets which have caps counter-sunk into the sheet metal. Most often World War II and previous aircraft used capped rivets. Later World War II aircraft like the Mustang, and after the war, most often use flush rivets.

Turn the background copy layer off and merge the visible layers

Capped rivets will use a light gray circular gradient within a circle of dark gray and flush rivets just use a dark gray circle with medium gray center. Size of the circles is very important. The rivets in most cases are between ¼” and 3/8” in diameter at the cap and therefore must be very small in the maps. I like no more than 6-8 pixels in diameter. For larger maps like you would use for the wing or fuselage, the rivet size should be no more than 4 pixels.

In this tutorial we are going to place both types of rivets so that you will see how to do them.
First we will do the capped rivets. They will be located on the left side of the bump map. See fig 1-2a.

Fig 1-2a
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Image of capped rivet shown a short distance from a sheet metal break in a close up. A gradient is used inside of a dark gray outline. Note this image is a very close view.

Now you will need to copy the original rivet to the opposite side of the sheet metal break. Copy the capped rivets you have created by selection of them together and then deselect the dark gray line in between them. Deselect a bit of medium gray on either side of the line to give you some error room.

Copy the selected rivets around equidistantly along the lines representing the breaks in the sheet metal.
This will appear to be rivets holding the skin on to the framework below.

To make a flush rivet, simply make a circle about the same size of the capped rivet. Then make a slightly smaller medium gray circle on top and centered of the dark gray circle. This will leave a dark gray circle. You can also use the shape tool in Photoshop with the fill selection off. Place this the same way you did the capped rivets. See fig 1-2b

Fig 1-2c
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Fig 1-2b

The above image is the finished bump or texture map. Notice that capped rivets are placed on the left and flush rivets are placed on the right.

The file should be saved as ____bmp.jpg. In this tutorial the files saved as MtlBmp.jpg

Creating a Diffuse Map from the Bump map

Now you need a diffuse material to match the bump map. The natural thing to do is save the bump map as a new file called ___dif.jpg In this tutorial the files was as MtlDif.jpg.

Now select a couple of new colors to represent the sheet metal color. I am using a couple of light grays.

Using the paint bucket tool with a tolerance of 5 or 6, fill the various sections with slightly different colors of gray. The rivets will not be painted if you are using the correct tolerance. The result should look like the image below.

Fig 1-5
www.The3dStudio.com

Diffuse material after adding a color to it similar to a bare metal. Note there are 3 different shades of light gray used because every sheet of bare aluminum on aircraft has a slightly different tone.

Now select another light gray color to paint the rivets. Go around to all the rivets and paint them with the same color using the pain bucket tool. Reset the tolerance at 25 for this operation and you should get good results. See the image below.

Fig 1-6
www.The3dStudio.com

This image shows the progressive painting of the rivets using the paint bucket tool. The tolerance should be at 5 or 6.

MtlDif.jpg
www.The3dStudio.com

Notice the capped rivets are more visible than the flush rivets. The flush rivets are barely noticeable.

Now apply the texture and diffuse materials to the model and adjust the reflectivity, shininess and glossiness. See the image below for a final rendering of the materials applied to the object in 3DSMax.

www.The3dStudio.com

Round head rivets on the left of the material show up really well and are well defined. The flush rivets on the right of the material barely show up. When used on an entire aircraft, this technique really works well.

Quarter turn Zeus fasteners, screws can be done with this same technique. Quarter turns are used to secure removable inspection panels from the skin of the airplane for maintenance and inspections of controls and engine components. They would be slightly larger than the capped rivet and have a small black rectangle or cross in the center of the gradient light gray to med gray. The screws would be about the same size as rivets but would include the black cross or rectangle. These differences would be required on the bump and diffuse textures.

Applying the texture to the object

In 3ds max, open the file provided in this tutorial and apply the materials provided. The diffuse map is called MtlDif.jpg and the textures are called MtlBmp.jpg. Use your material manager to apply these materials and then apply a UVW to the object and adjust it as needed to get the above result.

Good modeling