stuck in "newbie" uv map hell

[bealobo]

hi!
making Uv´s is very tough to learn and to teach.
For complex objects such as your dinosaur I think is a good idea to make a discontinuos map for using only uv planar projection. check this (http://www.newtek.com/products/lightwave/tutorials/uvmapping/uv_mapping/clean_uv/index.html) out if you haven´t done it yet. This tutorial, although a bit complicated with that box script and so can be much more easy to do by creating a simple box with ctrl. (perfect cube).

Anyway, you can also make different planar uv maps for the most important areas (eyes...) and texturing the rest in rough.
Or to make several uvs for the different parts, like without selecting legs or arms, making a planar uv map from the side, and then making different uvs for the rest.

I hope being of help.
Cheers

[Steve Warner]

Let's start with the basics:

Image maps are flat, 2D pictures, having width and height, but no depth. Models, on the other hand, are 3D objects, having width, height, and depth. The purpose of a UV Map is to bridge the gap between your 2D texture and your 3D object. This is done by pinning specific portions of your texture to specific points on your object. When you create a UV map for your selected polys, their points become available for editing in the UV Map Viewport. It is to your advantage to move these points around in such a way that they are unobstructed by all other polygons. You can unweld points on your object and move entire sections around if necessary. (LW8.2 allows you to do this without unwelding.) Moving sections in the UV Viewport will not affect the polygons on your object. This is similar to the way that Endomorphs can be altered but not affect the base object. Once your UV Map is created and edited, you can capture the UV Map Viewport (or export it as an EPS). (Be sure to turn on the grid so that you can see the boundaries of the UV Map square.) Bring this into a program like Photoshop and crop to the boundaries of the UV Map square. Then begin painting. When you're finished, save out the image. In the Surface Editor, add an Texture Map. Change the type to UV and then select the UV Map you edited earlier. Then load in your texture. From here, you'll likely need to go back to Modeler and do some more fine-tuning of your UV points in the UV Viewport.

That's the basics. If you're familiar with other types of VMaps (Endomorphs, Weights, etc.), it will help if you keep in mind that UVs are just another type of VMap. Points can be added or removed from the VMap at any time. The way that works out for you is that you can, for example, create a UV Map for the body of your dinosaur (projected along the X-axis if your object is symmetrical). Then you can add the head, the arms, the legs, and the tail separately. Doing this will allow you to build a custom UV Map that's similar in function to the Atlas UV, but much more managable. You'll have to size the polys in the UV Viewport each time you add a new part. But in the end, you should have one map with all of your dino's parts on it. By painting a base color for one single UV map, you can help hide the seams in the UVs. Then just be conscious of where you paint so that you don't paint across seams in highly noticable areas.

If all of that seems too daunting, then I'd highly recommend picking up a 3D paint program. ZBrush would be my recommendation.

Hope that helps,

Steve

[leigh]

hi!
making Uv´s is very tough to learn and to teach.


Actually, that is a very common misconception. UV mapping is a very simple, very straightforward process that is simply time-consuming and tedious. It is not difficult. A UV map is simply a sample of your model in UV space. Sometimes you have to make adjustments to correct squashing or stretching. That's all there is to it.

[nikfaulkner]

wow, thanks for the helpful replies all.

i'll have another go at this today with a new perspective.

i'll let you know how i get on

thanks again

n

[paragonent]

Hi guys!

steve: nice piece of advice....but i'm starting to think that nik is not really stupid....I AM ^_^

man!....how can i have a UVmap in the UV Viewport and add another UVmap.....i just can't figure it out.

thanks in advance(for assuring me that i'm really stupid) hihihi

good luck guys

[erikals]

Hi, note that Lightwave's UV tools in version 8.2 helps alot.
Check out NewTek's LW8.2 videoes --->

ftp://ftp.newtek.com/pub/LightWave/Tutorials/Vidz/discuv01.mov
ftp://ftp.newtek.com/pub/LightWave/Tutorials/Vidz/freemove_UV.mov
ftp://ftp.newtek.com/pub/LightWave/Tutorials/Vidz/UV001.mov
ftp://ftp.newtek.com/pub/LightWave/Tutorials/Vidz/UV002.mov

www.simplylightwave.com also has a free UV editing head tutorial which is helpful.

You'll get it :)

[RPG2006]

Nik,

Have just completed the UV's on a dino I'm working on. Pretty detailed aswell.

Interesting that you mention menithing's approach, because I still utilise a bit of that in my UVing.

Take the inside of the mouth for instance. What I do is select it then cut and paste it. I then hide everything else.

I then make a temporary morph map.

In the side view I select the top half of the mouth, and rotate it up nearly 90 degrees(I hope you can picture this), and repeat this for the lower half of the mouth rotating down 90 degrees. Basically what I'm doing is similar to menithings tutorial in that I'm flattening it out, thought I don't fuss too much, just as long as it looks good from the front. If you look at it in the front view you now have a decent map to texture. I then make a planar UV in the z axis i.e. front on.

The advantage of doing it this way is that you have all modeler's tools at your disposal, and it's a lot quicker than having to pull points about in the UV window.

I repeat this for a lot of the other parts of the map, the claws, teeth, and the tops of the feet and hands maybe.

I tend to just make these in one map using the make uvs tool, and selecting the same map name. If you want a really hi-res or close up, then it is maybe worth considering seperate maps to accommodate.

When I've finished making the UV's I then just delete my temporary morph map. Being careful not to delete my UV map.

This seems to be a really nice way of working.

I do remember being a beginner on UV's, and contacting Rob at Asylum for advice on where the magic button was. He explained to me that there wasn't one:sad:, and that it just takes a lot of patience. Much like Leigh's comments.

With the new tools in 8.2, once you do get to grips with it though, I think you'll find it a breeze.

RPG:)

[RPG2006]

I don't know if this is of any help, but this is how my UV map looks. it will still need tweaking. The hand for instance is way too large considering his/her tiny arms, and no doubt I will have to pull points about on the top of the body later to eliminate streaking along his back. Should give you a rough idea though.

One other point, and just to confuse matters. I cut my model in half, before making the UV's. You can see this in the mouth for instance. I then just mirror the model at the end. It will mean that the texture on the right side of the dino will be an exact mirror of the left. Not necessarily ideal, but it is a lot more efficient that way.

I'll stop waffling now...

http://3dwork.pixel-shack.com/TrexMap01.jpg


RPG

[nikfaulkner]

wow thanks for the info rpg,

looking at what you've done, it becomes apparent that i'm not to far off the mark.

any chance of seeing your wireframe andfinal map as well ;)

sorry, to harass.

many many thanks

n

[Dave Jerrard]

I don't know if this is of any help, but this is how my UV map looks. it will still need tweaking.

As you get comfortable with UV, or just more adventurous, tey this. Don't place everything in the same UV map. Looking at your current map, you have a LOT of wasted space there. Any part of the image that's not actually within the boundaries of polygons is doing nothing but taking up RAM. if you're using a large image to get the level of detail you need, and it's a 24bit image, that can really add up to a lot of memory sitting around holding... empty space. Try breaking up the UVS so you have one for the head, one for the body, one for the claws, teeth, etc... This way, you can use UVs as an even more powerful tool that allows you to focus detail where you need it.

The hand for instance is way too large considering his/her tiny arms, and no doubt I will have to pull points about on the top of the body later to eliminate streaking along his back. Should give you a rough idea though.

Not a problem. You're basically making specialized maps for each section of the model separately, but in the same image file. Scale isn't that important in UVs, since all the measurements in UV space are essentially percentages. You should see some of my UV maps, where I have a face that's the full size of the UV map, but the body is shrunk down into a time section of the corner of the map. Of course, that's to get around the edge that frequently shows up along the edge of a UV map that doesn't use all the polygons of a surface.


One other point, and just to confuse matters. I cut my model in half, before making the UV's. You can see this in the mouth for instance. I then just mirror the model at the end. It will mean that the texture on the right side of the dino will be an exact mirror of the left. Not necessarily ideal, but it is a lot more efficient that way.
That's just smart thinking. Now, if you want to have the other side have some variation so the texture doesn't look like a perfect mirror image, hide half of the model and drag a few points around in the UV map. That will distort the UV slightly (or greatly, depending on how much you moved the points).

He Who Was Also Afraid Of Vertex Maps A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy...

[Netvudu]

...not to mention you can add any other layer above at the texture editor to make both sides different even having the same UV texture....



...ok, I mentioned it. Sue me.

[Dave Jerrard]

It was worth mentioning! Good tip!

He Who Should Have Done Something Else Today.

[RPG2006]

Dave, thanks for the tips m8.

I hadn't really considered the memory issues, and the benefits of separate maps. Haven't run into problems with this issue yet, but I'll know why if I do. Cheers.

Netvudu's tip's also well worth looking into.

Always learning:)

nikfaulkner, wasn't ignoring your request for maps and wires. This is still part of a live job, so have to be a bit cagey at this stage.

RPG

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