Coke can

A key to realistic 3D animation is in the texture maps. While pristine textures often look nice, aging materials effectively can sometimes be out of reach to many animators. In this entry level tutorial Dave Wilson demonstrates one way to make a can look like it has been kicked around and left for dead by the side of the road.

I get quite a few questions on texturing, so I’ve just take a simple Coke can and decided to show you how I textured it since most of my texturing follows these principles.

1. First I get my hands on some Coca-Cola label graphics.

2. Then I go into Adobe Photoshop and stick this in one of my layers.

3. I then duplicate this layer, and keep the original untouched if I need it for some reason.

4. I then make my Base Metal texture; the texture that will be underneath the label/printing if it’s worn away.

To create this sub-base texture you can use a photograph or textures from your texture library if you have one.

5. Place this Base Metal texture underneath (i.e. on the layer below the Coke Label layer in Photoshop).

6. I then use the Erase Tool set at 100% and begin to erase the Coke Label layer, revealing the Base Metal below. The result would be just like what would happen if you scratched away at the actual can.

So now we have something that looks like the Map “A”.

7. Add a slight drop shadow to the Coke Label to slightly separate the two layers. We’ll create a bump map that will add to this effect later.

8. Add dirt and sunspots using simple airbrushing in Photoshop. This is to make the can look nice and worn and weathered. These need to be added to the texture because a perfect label with heavy scratches top and bottom will look weird.

9. After creating the Color Texture Map, duplicate, desaturate and tweak for bump and specular maps. Be sure to click on the image to view a larger chart where I explain the bump and specular maps in more detail.

Click image for larger view

When I have all of my textures complete, I apply them to my surfaces in 3D Studio MAX. I won’t go into specifics here, as this tutorial would become more 3D Studio MAX specific.

Here’s a look at our worn and weathered Coke can.