Painting Animated Objects

As well as static model files, Mari can import models that include animation data. This allows you to create a project based on an animated object, so you can check how your textures work as the model moves.

This support for animation lets you:

• Paint models in context - you can check how the textures look through the full range of motion.

• Paint specific textures tied into frame ranges. Imagine that in frame 37 of a sequence, a bullet ricochets off your giant robot. Mari lets you open the model, move to frame 37, and edit the relevant texture layers to show the chipped paint and the displacement from the impact. You can adjust and export texture layers frame by frame.

Keyframes

Keyframes define when the texture changes within a sequence. When you create a keyframe, Mari remembers what textures you've got on your model. Then:

• Any textures you add earlier in the sequence disappear when Mari reaches the keyframe.

• Any textures you add after the keyframe appear once Mari reaches the keyframe.

• When you export your textures, you can export a separate version of each patch for each keyframe.

Keyframes divide the sequence into parts. You can paint in any frame within a part, and that paint appears from the previous keyframe until the next keyframe.

The first frame of animation is always treated as a keyframe.

Example

For example, we're painting an object with a 12-frame animation. We have some existing paint. Here, the existing paint shows throughout the entire animation sequence:

1 - KEYFRAME