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A few noob questions
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A few noob questions // New Users
Post by CyborgPrime // Jun 20, 2008, 8:47am
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CyborgPrime
Total Posts: 7
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Hello-
I'm new to the forums, but I have been using TS for a long time. I still have a noobish question though, and searching for UV on the forum is useless (I guess too many results?)
Anyhow, I have a few questions about UV mapping:
1) I have seen a method (in the tutorials) where you paint your object different colors and a UV map is automatically created. In the tutorials, you are encouraged to export the resulting UV map- which is distorted (stretched into a square I guess). If ppl are using this method how do they compensate for the distorted mesh? Do they stretch it to approximately the right shape then color it? Also, often the UV maps are mangled, twisted on themselves, etc.
2) The method I have been using has been to select a face on the object, uv map it then stretch it to the proper size in the UV editor. The texture map is a render of the object from side and front views that has been overpainted in Photoshop. I place the UV projection mesh where it belongs on the texture map. As long as I continue to select faces and place the UV on the texture map this works well- just have to remember to close the UV map editor before choosing the object selector or your object goes back to the default uv and you have to start all over again.
So which is the preferred method? Both? neither? Any tips on happy UV'ing? |
Post by Breech Block // Jun 20, 2008, 12:33pm
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Breech Block
Total Posts: 844
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Hi CyborgPrime and welcome to the Forums. With regards to noobish questions, in reality there is no such thing. Everyone here is well aware of the distinctly upward learning curve when it comes to 3D and no matter how long you have been using truespace your always learning something new.
As for UV mapping, I myself have been only using the forums for a few months and it is surprising just how often that question arises. One of the best tutorials I have seen on the subject is a video by Greysho ( http://www.spacerat.at/tutorials/ts_uvmapping/ts_uvmapping.avi ) I think this will answer most of your questions. In case it doesn't, I can offer a couple of pointers on some of the comments you raised.
You say you have seen tutorials where you paint the object different colours and a UV map is automatically created. I would have to say that that is not quite correct. To be more specific, once you have made an object you need to assign a UV map to it. You can choose from either a plane, cube, sphere or cylinder shaped map. Once the map is assigned you then have the further option to adjust its orientation by rotating it. If one of the standard UV map types does not suit your needs, i.e. because the shape is too complicated, then you can assign a different UV map type to each face on the model's surface. The above mentioned video shows how this is achieved in great detail. This is also where the painting of the surface in different colours comes in to play. Even if your model is of a simple shape, say a chest of drawers and a standard cubical UV map would suffice, you could still choose to paint the six sides of the model with different colours as this would aide you to separate the different faces in the UV editor. When you initially launch the UV editor, the UV map is presented on the 1 screen and on complicated models can look a complete jumble. By clicking on the right arrow in the bottom-right corner, the UV editor then rotates through the map by colours thus separating the map, in the case of the drawer model, into its six component parts.
With regards to your point of “stretching” the UV map, I not entirely sure what you mean. The faces of the UV map should only be scaled and moved to a more logical layout to enable you to make a texture map more easily. You then export that map to a texture editor which in effect gives you an exact template of your 3D models surface on a 2D plain thus enabling you to create a completely accurate texture.
Watch the video. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words as they say. Then, if you still have a question, by all means update this thread. |
Post by CyborgPrime // Jun 20, 2008, 10:50pm
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CyborgPrime
Total Posts: 7
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Hmmm.. That doesn't work for me.
I have a cube shaped object.
I painted each side a different color.
I choose 'select using freehand' and ctrl-click on one of the colors.
All the faces of that color are now selected
I choose the uv planar map and leave the alignment alone
i choose the uv editor and I soo a bunch of lines- none selected, but the video shows that the selected geometry should be on it's own already selected in the uv editor
if I scroll down the hierarchy, I don't know which subset I have selected.
any ideas? |
Post by CyborgPrime // Jun 21, 2008, 12:54am
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CyborgPrime
Total Posts: 7
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OK I made a mushroom and duplicated the tutorial. Now I can clarify my question.
Ok back to my house example. My house is shaped like a rectangle- 2x longer than it is wide. Now when I uv map the long sides of the building they are the same aspect as the short sides (both fit in a square bounding box). So if I export that for texturing, the texture is going to be distorted because the shape of the uv mesh is square but the shape of the geometry is rectangular.
See what I mean? |
Post by W!ZARD // Jun 21, 2008, 12:54am
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W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
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Greetings Cyborg Prime - (I feel like I should be typing like Arnold Schwarzenegger talks!). UV can be a little confusing - which version of tS are you using?
In tS 7.5 I like to have the UV editor open in one window and the 3d view open in another right next to it (I have a dual screen arrangement that gives me lots of screen space but this works on a single screen too).
Select Point Edit mode by right clicking in thbe 3d window with your chosen object selected - choose an element selection mode - say face selection - and select a face. Now look at the UV editor - you should see the same face is also selected there although it may well have a very odd or unexpected shape. This will help you to get a sense of where the various polygons are located in the UV space. By selecting edges or vertices in either Point Edit mode in 3d or in the UV editor (these selections are updated in the other window as they are made) and moving the selected elements around in the UV Editor you should see the UV mapping update in the 3d window.
Complex shapes can be hard work (not to mention hard on the eyes) so start with something simple until you feel like you haver an understanding of how the various tools operate.
HTH |
Post by Tiles // Jun 21, 2008, 1:15am
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Tiles
Total Posts: 1037
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OK I made a mushroom and duplicated the tutorial. Now I can clarify my question.
Ok back to my house example. My house is shaped like a rectangle- 2x longer than it is wide. Now when I uv map the long sides of the building they are the same aspect as the short sides (both fit in a square bounding box). So if I export that for texturing, the texture is going to be distorted because the shape of the uv mesh is square but the shape of the geometry is rectangular.
See what I mean?
You have to scale the UV space, and map every part of the house with that size. Then, or better said even when you drop one piece by one, clean up the stuff in the UVEditor, and finally scale it into the UV area so that it fits.
Which leads to the question if you work in Modeler or in Workspace. In Modeler you can adjust the UV space numerically. In Workspace not.
I would even suggest to use the UV Editor just for cleanup work. And unwrap your mesh in Roadkill (http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page8.htm) for example :) |
Post by CyborgPrime // Jun 21, 2008, 10:49am
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CyborgPrime
Total Posts: 7
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.. thanks for the responses, folks.
What I normally do for my houses is render a front and side view that are properly scaled with respect to each other. Then I open PS and paste them on a 1024x1024 image. Then I bring this into the UV editor and use it to align my UV meshes. Once they are aligned, I reopen the texture in ps and paint it.
So then I was looking for a faster / different way to do this and viewed a few tutorials, all of which tell you to create the layout template from the UV, which distorts the shape of the UV map (from rectangular to square for instance).
I have figured out what was doing wrong with assigning uv maps to faces (must select the next face with the uv editor open- do not select the 'select' or 'face select' tools). |
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