UVW Unwrapping and painting (MAX8)

[DonaldKasper]

I had that problem with an Alien model I was doing. I spent a good chunk of time connecting verts until it became something that I could model. My advise. start stitching them verts together.

[zakkain]

What do you mean, stitching the vertices together? If I have a finished model can't I just slice it open and paste it flat with a modifier (Like what happens with the UVWunwrap)? I don't really understand the method behind it.

[gdimmrt]

You can use several methods. You can add a UVWMap modifier to specify how you want to project the map, then you can add a UVWUnwrap and that will give you something better to start with than flatten.

Or...in the UVWunwrap, you can select a bunch of face that's pretty planar and apply a plannar map to it. That'll be give you something better to start with.

Or...flatten with a higher angle.

Or...try unfold, or one of the other methods to see what works best.

[Mindsurfer]

Hi. It's easiest to start by applying an UVW-modifier first. If you have a complex model, like a humanoid character or something else with lots of various bit sticking out, you should select a group of polygons such as an arm or a leg, or the wing of your space-craft, and apply a UVW-modifier to that part of the model. Choose the suitable mapping type, cylindrical for an arm or leg, and maybe a box for a fighter-wing. NOW- very important - make sure you've still got the sub-object polygons selected, and collapse the stack by converting the model to an editable poly. This will 'bake' the UVW-modifier into the part of the model you selected and applied it to. Repeat until you've assigned UVW coordinates like this to the whole model. When you're done, apply the UVW-unwrap modifier, and you should have a much more workable result. No Turbo-smooth or mesh-smooth for now, do that after you're done with the texturing. Hope this helps, best from
Mindsurfer.

[zakkain]

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply, Mindsurfer - that really makes a lot of sense to me.

I'm off to try it now. :buttrock:

[scrimski]

Erm..you do know you have something called 'Pelt Mapping' in release 8? It's one of the, if not THE, new features in this release.
If you prefer unwrapping by hand(don't think so) you might want to check this (http://waylon-art.com/uvw_tutorial/uvwtut_01.html).

[zakkain]

Yes, I have heard of this feature, but I can't for the life of me get it to do what it's supposed to do.

Thanks for the link, in any case.

[gdimmrt]

Pelt mapping is kind of advance if you don't know how to do it the regular way. It's best to learn the basics first before trying more advanced tools. That way you won't be too confused.

[zakkain]

A very very good suggestion.

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