Rendering the UVW Template

With the head model now mapped, Photoshop is used to create the texture that will wrap around the model. Firstly, in 3DS Max, the UV template must be generated (in the UV Map Edit window click Tools > Render UVW Template...). Due to the nature of the shape, a 2:1 ratio is used to make the rendered image wide. I have used 2048 x 1024 pixels to keep it high res.

This is the template below and will be placed into Photoshop. The texture will then be painted on top of it using the lines as a guide as to where to position features.

The template is opened in Photoshop, then using quickmasking, another layer is created that goes on top of the UV. This allows more accurate painting as there is a solid guide behind the texture layer, and a mesh one above.

With the layers set up, the texture can be painted. Using the lasso tool (greatly aided again by the use of a graphic tablet) sections of my original photo are cut out and copied to the texture document.

For instance, using the left photo I can select the lip area and copy this across to my texture. The images below show my progress moving areas onto the texture map.

If I apply the texture map to my model as it is, it's clear that it is working, but with lots of tidying up to do.