animatorZoo

Mapping in 3D... what can I say? It's somehow the most boring part in 3D, but at the same time, it's pretty fun. When you done with it, your 3D model will look 100 times better before you map it.
I have a little trick on how to do modeling and mapping at the same time on our 3D model in 3D Studio Max. This trick work best for 3D computer parts models, such as Motherboard, VGA Card, Sound Card, Memory, etc. Enough for the chit chat, let us begin now

Getting ready for the Reference Plane

First, we create a plane on the Front viewport, it is Command Panel > Create > Geometry > plane
Press button M to activate Material Editor
In Maps tab, click None button on diffuse Color and choose Bitmap in Material/Map Browser
Choose your picture. For example, I use an old Sound Card picture which I had modify with Photoshop. You may download this for a practice
Give the plane a texture by selecting the plane and click Assign Material to Selection in Material Editor.
(Remember always to make the plane have the same size with the picture's size, so the picture on the plane won't stretch. For example, my old Sound Card picture have 1000 × 734 pixel, then you have to make the plane's length 734 and width 1000)
If the real size make the plane too big or small, you can resize it using Scale transform tool
Convert the plane to Editable Poly by right click the plane and choose Convert to > Convert to Editable Poly
Give the plane a Map by Modifiers > UV Coordinates > UVW Map and name the plane Reference
Now you have an active reference for your model... active reference? what the hang is that? It's my language for the reference (the plane) that will map our model while we're modeling it.

Start your CB model

Every electronic thing should have a Circuit Board (CB) to place all that chips and transistors and other little guys to make all the magic happen. So let's make it
Create a plane on the Front viewport
move it to the front of the reference using Move transform tool
Fill the new plane segments by Command Panel > Modify > Parameters and fill the Length Segs 2 and Width Segs 5
Select Reference plane and at Command Panel, click Editable Poly in Modifier Stack
Click Attach in Edit Geometry and click on the plane you just made... the new plane now is part of Reference Plane... but something is wrong here
Still on the Reference plane selected, click Show end result on/off toggle under Modifier Stack in Command panel... now there you go (you can see the result by clicking the picture above)
Press button 1 on keyboard to go to Vertex Mode
Move the vertex by selecting and move them using Move transform tool until you got this result
Press button 2 to go to Edge Mode
Choose Edge 11 and 17 (do you know where they are? Click the picture above) and press Delete
Now press button 4 to go to Polygon Mode... but the model's texture is getting wrong again? Well don't you worry 'bout a thing, it seems Show end result on/off toggle doesn't work in Polygon Mode
choose all the Polygons of the board, and click a little box on the right side of Extrude in Edit Polygons Parameter
A little Extrude Polygon Dialog Box appear, fill Extrusion height 1 and click OK
Well it seems perfect... but the back of CB is blank. let's fix it
Press button 3 to go to Border Mode
Click the back edge of CB
Click Cap in Edit Borders parameter
Press button 6 to get out from sub-object Mode
Taadaaa... you got your own CB

Well, next we're going to learn how to make the chips and transistors and other little guys stand on our board. See this in my next tutorial, it's Do Modeling and Mapping at the same time on 3D Studio Max PART 2

Thanks folks