Guide to Making a Beautiful Game: Adding Emissions to Objects

Hello all!

Today, I will be going over how to add Emissions to Objects! I would never guessed how easy this was!

It looks like I added bar lights on the columns, right?

Creating an Emission Map

Like the last article, I will be using the objects texture maps. This time though, we must find certain parts in the map to setup the emissions.

Left: Original Texture Map — Right: Emission Map

Easy way:

1. Find the texture map you want to add an emission map to.
2. Open the image in your image editing software.
3. Drag the image onto a new layer.
4. Now, if you can see where the texture map would be on your object, select that part of the image.
5. Add a new blank layer and bring it to the top.
6. In the new layer, use the paint bucket to fill your selection with white. You can use any color, but it’s easier to use white and change the color in Unity.
7. After that, use the fill option again to fill the empty space with black. You will no longer be able to see the original image and that is normal.
8. Now export that image as a .PNG file back to the original file destination.

Hard way:

If the image is too complex, we will need help from a 3D software. Since I have experience modeling in Blender, we will be using that.
Here, we will be using the UV Map of our object to find parts we need.

• UV Mapping is basically taking a 3D object and flattening it out, separating all the faces, then placing all the faces on the texture map. When the faces are placed on parts of the image, the face will have that part stamped on it!

Left: UV Mapping — Right: 3D Object

1. Find the texture map and 3D object file you want to add an emission map to.
2. Open Blender. A quick tip: at the top of the screen, there are Layout presets. Select the UV Mapping tab. It will make life easier.
3. Import the 3D file and texture map. When you do, it will look like the image above.
4. Press tab to enter Edit Mode.
5. Select the faces you wish to add to the emission map.
6. On the UV Mapping screen, you will see those faces added to the image.
7. At the top, click the UV menu.
8. Go down to the bottom and click “Export UV Layout”
9. Export the .PNG file to the texture map file destination.
10. Now follow the easy way above but now you will have a guide if you add the exported UV layout as a layer above the map. Just fill in the black shapes with white, then black everywhere else.

Add the Emission Map to your Object

Now that we finished that task, your emission maps should be where your texture maps are.

1. Select the object you want to add the map to.
2. In the Inspector tab, scroll down to where it has the “Object’s_Name (Material)” section.
3. Click the arrow at the bottom left.
4. Scroll down a little more to where it says Emission, then check the box.
5. The object should turn white, that is normal.
6. Now find and drag in the Emission Map to the box under Emission.
7. If you made the Map white, you can now use the white box beside Emission Map to change the lights color. If not and you want to change the color, just fill the new color white.

That was how to add Emissions to your objects! I think I am done changing objects for now, but these small changes have already made this look awesome!

Next, I will be getting into Post Processing!

Thank you for your time!