Help with material "map"

[Klorec]

Hi, I need help with creating a material map (well thats how I call it, I have no idea what is the "official" name :) ).
The problem is, that I need to find a tutorial or at least some know-how about how to creating a specific material for a specific mesh. I can create a mesh, assign a material in 3ds max, and then import the material to the UDK (in .ASE), but without material. Now imagine I have some more complex mesh, lets say a shop sign, like in Epic Citadel.
As an example look at this, in this picture, here we have the "map"

http://www.samuelthomson.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/title_UDK_material1.jpg

Now my final question is - How do I possibly create map like this? Or how do I export the material from 3ds max to UDK? I have been searching for ages, but i cant manage to find anything. :(

[mktwo]

I think you mean unwrapping? If so, in 3DS Max you add an 'Unwrap UWV'-modifier to your mesh.
As for exporting/importing materials, I believe you can use the .fbx-filetype, but that's all I know about that.

[Klorec]

Please can you explain further? What exactly I do with the material? I need some dummy guide :D I am sorry for asking questions that are probably asked frequently, but i really need help. Just give me some know-how on this please, I am a quick learner.

[Hitpawz]

You set up the nodes on your material and after that's done you double-click the mesh and assign the material to the mesh in the material slot. Do this by highlighting the material in the content browser and hitting the little green arrow in the material field on the static or skeletal mesh editor.

Materials themselves are an endless learning experience. The single most basic thing you can do is import your texture and connect it to the diffuse node. That will show the texture. If you have the texture highlighted in the content browser, you can hold "T" and left click in the grey area of the material editor to add it. You can also right click the texture in the content browser and choose "Create New Material" and it will automatically be in there, but needs to be connected. You can move nodes by highlighting them and holding "CTRL".

You can then connect the normal node to a normal map image, which should be imported with normal map compression.

Usually I connect the specular node to the same RGB channel, the top black one, of the texture sample node. Or you can connect it to a simple value. Just hold the appropriate number and left click. "1" will give you a single value node. This will actually act as R,G,B = #. "3" will give you a 3 value node, which acts as separate R,G,B inputs. "4" will inluded a 4th value which will serve as the Alpha channel, completing the RGBA set of inputs.

You can multiply, add, subtract, divide...etc these values together and in essence this will give you the basic layer blend modes you see in photoshop.

Again, set these materials up and then assing them to the model by double-clicking the mesh in the content browser to bring up the mesh editor.

That's all you need to know about BASIC materials. Next you can learn complex materials and how to assign mutiple materials to one object. This is covered over and over again in the forums if you search for "multiple materials" or "multi sub object".

[Nawrot]

I think you are asking about how to create skin for mesh.

Simple answer:
- uv unwarp mesh, this one tool is quite good: http://www.uvlayout.com/
and there are tutorials how to do it, also will probably help you undestand what unwarping means

- when you have uv map ready, you render it to texture, so you get set of lines or ambient occlusion map, this you use for painting texture over it. This is great tutorial example about how to do it for hard surfaces: http://forums.cgsociety.org//showthread.php?t=373024

- last thing is making normal map, you can paint bump map in photoshop then use some tool like crazy bump to create normal out of it, or you can add details in max, zbrush mudbox, then render differences as normal map, many ways here

Now you have all keywords and steps that are required, so google for tutorials.