In order to ensure designs look realistic on a Texture Mapping scene, it is important to set the correct scale for each design to be transferred. There is no point in having perfect grids and selections when the design is twice as big as it should be when positioned on an object; or even worse, if the design is too big in one area of the scene and too small in another!
Setting the scale of a grid
It is important to set the correct scale for each individual grid because they may not all have the same number of cells or be the same size as each other in width and height. Therefore, the scale will alter depending on the characteristics of the grid.
- Activate the first grid layer and make sure the grid is highlighted.
- Find out the size of the real object. For example, a real pillow would be approximately 60cm across and 40cm down.
- Go to Grid Menu > Scale and enter the figures for the real object in the Total Width and Total Height fields.
Tip: Make sure the correct units are displayed in the window before entering any numbers. The width and height figures will be calculated automatically, based on the number of cells in the grid.
- Repeat Steps 1 to 3 for each grid to ensure accurate scaling throughout the scene. Once the file has been saved, the grid scales will be remembered so that each time a new design is transferred into a selected grid, it will be the correct scale and will display the correct number of repeats, regardless of the repeat size of the design.
Setting the scale of single cell grids
In a previous section we learned how to create a border grid on a wall. Setting the scale for such a grid is done in the same way as any other grid, although it is important to remember that the grid is only one cell in height. A wallpaper border may measure approximately 15cm in height. If you are using a specific border design, you must set the height of the grid to the height of the actual design you are using and not just estimate the height of the border. The total width figure will be dependent on the number and size of walls covered by the grid. For example, the real walls in a room scene may total several meters in width, so do your best to calculate the real width using other objects in the scene as a guide.
The sofa in this picture is approximately 2 metres wide so we can estimate that the total width of the grid is 2 metres across the straight section at the back and about another meter across the doorway, giving a total width of 3 metres. The total height should be set to the actual height of the border design being mapped on to the scene.
Setting the scale to a designs repeat size
You can set the scale of your grids so that one repeat of your design is transferred into one cell on the grid. This will give you a 1 to 1 ratio of scale from the design to the grid. Simply enter the width and height of the repeat into the Width and Height fields in the Scale window (rather than the Total Width and Total Height fields). Alternatively, it is possible to set the scale of your grids to the full design repeat size. This example would be useful for themed bed linen; such as cartoon characters, sports celebrities or pop stars; where the whole design fills the object. In this situation, you simply enter the width and height of the repeat into the Total Width and Total Height boxes in the Scale window. If you are unsure of what numbers to enter for a particular design and scene combination, why not call Technical Support for assistance.
DeleteSetting the scale of smoothed grids
When setting the scale of a grid that has been smoothed, it will have a different scale to the one originally set. If you draw a grid and set its scale, but then decide it would be better if the grid was smoothed, the scale that you previously set will have changed. Therefore, the scale will not be correct for the new number of cells in the grid and you will need to change the scale to reflect the change in the grid.
For example, if the scale of a grid was originally 30mm x 30mm, and the grid has been smoothed by a factor of 3, the grid scale will have changed to 10mm x 10mm to account for the change in the number of cells in the grid. The total width and height will need to be changed back to 30 x 30. If you had not set the scale of the grid before it was smoothed, you will not have to alter any scale settings. The grid scale will be set as usual in this case.
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