Quick Question

[Deleted1848331User]

How would I go about UV Mapping an object? I can't find it in the Blender: From Noob to Pro tutorial.

[ub3rman123]

UV mapping basics. It's not much in-depth, but it should get you started.

[boozhah]

im not entirely cleared on uvmapping but it just seam, unwrap and go strait for the texture pain option and paint it on myself, so far ive been thinking about using it just for guide lines and the saving the painted map for touch-ups, im not sure if any of this is making sense but i hope it somehow does help

[LHammonds]

If I had more time, I'd create a UV Mapping tutorial...right after a bow creation tutorial. I've taught it to a few people already...just never formalized any of it.

[alonsomartinez]

Bow Morphs :D ( Thanks LHammonds for showing me before )

 

Uv Mapping is an odd thing and if you dont do it correctly , your texture can be stretchy and oddly placed ( Trust me , my models have been coming out stretched on the sides )

 

I would say to just try all the UV techniques available when you hit U in edit mode. I generally use project from view to select all my faces that are facing me then rotate around and select other faces that are not in view.

[ub3rman123]

I've found it's also easiest to work with the model UVing in segments. If you select the entire thing and tell it to UV it, you'll usually end up with a tattered mess. Instead you can select individual parts of it and run the UV maker on it.

[dazzerfong]

To be honest, I kinda of use the so-called 'hard way' for objects such as weapons. You see (I'll use the famous AR family of rifles as an example) most guns are blocky, so that if you look from the side of the gun, you can press 'U' and unwrap from projected view. This allows you to fully project a side onto the gun, then the rest is history.The 'smart' UV algorithm in Blender's tricky to use, and in my opinion, Projecting from view is much better.

[LHammonds]

A gun is more than one object and if you build an entire gun as a solid object, you are not modeling it correctly. If you build it as small parts, you have a lot easier time unwrapping. There are many techniques and methods to use and it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

 

But one thing that ALWAYS should be done is to 1st create place-holder image which is a test grid. This blocky image will help you out tremendously when doing your UVs because it can let you know what parts are getting stretched or simply proportional to other parts.

 

Project from View can be handy a lot of times but you always have to worry about the edges. A lot of people simply move on and do not correct them...and you get that tell tale look of a smear on the edges.

 

If you have a barrel, you could use the "Cylinder from View" and then scale it on the X or Y axis until you get the proper size. If the basics do not work, you will need to use seams...which is almost an art form in itself.

 

The Smart Projects is really just for those that are painting in 3D and just need a proportional UV map. But that pretty-much makes it where ONLY 3D painting tools can be used to make textures because it would be too difficult to paint in 2D. One exception to this that I have done is the Stick Figure Swords mod which only uses a 1x1 pixel texture so the UV does not really matter...smart projects was a perfect choice in this regard.

 

LHammonds

[ub3rman123]

To avoid the smear you get if you use Project from View on a semi-flat object, you can project it, then select the edges that get smeared and redo them with a different UV mapping algorithm.

[dazzerfong]

No, no, I only do it for the flat sides (ie. the receiver and the Picatinny rails). If it's circular, I use another method instead (Cylinder thingy!).