VertexPaint Modifier

Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > VertexPaint

Select an object. > Modifiers menu > Mesh Editing > VertexPaint

Tab panels > Modifiers tab > Vertex Paint Modifier

The VertexPaint modifier lets you paint vertex colors on an object. You're not restricted to only vertex-level painting. Using sub-object selection, you can also control which vertices get painted face-by-face. All faces sharing a vertex have the adjacent corner shaded as well. The resulting painted object receives a coarse gradient across each face.

Note: To render vertex colors, you must assign a Vertex Color map, as described in the procedures section.

The amount of color that the software applies to a vertex depends on the distance of the vertex from the position of the paint cursor on the face. The more you select a face, the more it changes to the new color. The Opacity button also controls the strength of the color. The software shades the color, so if you have one green vertex and two white vertices for one face, for example, you'll see a gradient on that face.

In 3ds max, the VertexPaint modifier also lets you paint values for the vertex alpha and illumination channels. These channels affect the transparency and shading of vertex colors, respectively.

Tip: If you select faces in Edit Mesh, Mesh Select, or Editable Mesh and then apply a VertexPaint modifier, you restrict your painting to only the selected faces, as opposed to all faces. This allows you to sharply define the edges of your painted selection.

Procedures

To paint vertex colors on an object:

Select an object to paint.
On the Modify panel, choose VertexPaint from the Modifier List.
In the Parameters rollout, under the Vertex Color Paint group, click the color swatch next to the Paint button to display the Color Selector dialog.
Change the color using controls on the Color Selector dialog.
Adjust the strength of the color by entering a percentage value in the Opacity control.
Toggle on VertCol to see vertex colors and to turn off shading.
Click the Paint button and move the cursor over the selected object in the viewport.
When the cursor displays as a pen over the object, press and hold down the left button on the mouse and drag to paint the object.

To see vertex colors in a viewport:

Right-click the object with painted vertices, and choose Properties from the quad menu.
In the Display Properties group, turn on the toggle for Vertex Color.
Vertex Color is one item on a drop-down list. The other items are Vertex Illumination and Vertex Alpha. Viewports can display only one of these vertex channels at a time.
Click OK.

To render vertex colors:

Open the Material Editor, and apply a Standard material to the object.
Click the map button for the Diffuse component.
In the Material/Map Browser, choose Vertex Color as the map, and then click OK.
Now when you render the scene, the rendering shows the painted vertices.

Interface

Note: To see what you're painting, turn on Vertex Colors under Display Properties in the General tab of the Object Properties dialog. You can also use the Toggle controls in the Vertex Color Paint group.

Tip: Right-click the selected object to paint and choose Properties to display the Object Properties dialog.

Vertex Color Paint group

Paint Vertex Colors—The color swatch next to the Pick Vertex Color button displays the current color (by default, it's white). Unless you change it, the color remains the same throughout a 3ds max session. To choose another color, choose from the Color Palette, or click in the swatch and use a color from the Color Selector.

To drag and drop the color in the Paint swatch into a Color Palette swatch click the left mouse button over the swatch and drag it over the swatch of your choice, then release the mouse button.

When you click Paint, and move the cursor over the selected object, the cursor changes to a pen shape. When you press the left mouse button, you begin to paint the object, and nearby vertices are set to the current color of the swatch.

Pick Vertex Color—Lets you select a color from any vertex in the scene. Click the button, and move the eyedropper cursor over the objects in the scene. When you click an object, the color in the color swatch is replaced with the color of the point that you picked on the object.

Opacity %—Specifies the transparency of the color.

Toggle—The controls for Vertex Colors and Shaded are toggles; when you turn one on, the other turns off. This is the same as the controls for Vertex Colors and Shaded under Display Properties in the General tab of the Object Properties dialog.

VertCol—Turns on vertex colors and turns off shading.
Shaded—Turns on shading and turns off vertex colors. Determines whether the object with the assigned vertex colors appears shaded in the viewport. When off, colors are unshaded. When on, colors appear like any other assigned color in the viewport.

Affect Channels group

Colors—Lets you change the vertex color values.

Illumination—Lets you change the illumination of a vertex without changing that vertex's color.

Alpha—Lets you change the transparency of the vertex color.

The spinner to the right of the checkbox lets you specify the transparency of the vertex colors. The spinner value is a percentage; zero is completely transparent and 100 is completely opaque.

Color Palette group

The palette has 16 colors that you can choose and adjust. When you left-click a color swatch on the palette, it becomes the current color and displays in the swatch next to the Paint button in the Vertex Color Paint group. When you right-click a color swatch on the palette, the Color Selector dialog is displayed, and you can adjust the color there.

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