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Old 3rd June 2009, 04:32 AM   #1
GuntiNDDS
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Default Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

probably not so much ac3d specific, but i am looking for a general tutorial on working with textures and creating uv-maps.

i understood the general idea and workflow of creating an uv map, but i still got some problems like the scaling issue below:



would this be something to be corrected on the uv-bitmap itself, thus scaling the texture in that part of the bitmap down ? if so, how do you keep the "borders" between the scaled down and not scaled down part of the bitmap clean and keep the texture repeat nicely ?

Are there any tutorials that go in depth about problems like this ?

thanks.
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Old 3rd June 2009, 03:46 PM   #2
lisa
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

This tutorial is for 3D Studio, but the same basic techniques apply:
http://www.rensheeren.com/mirrors/senor/tutorial1.htm

Ideally, you would fix the stretching you see inside the TCE versus editing the texture bitmap. (although obviously you could do either) If you select the surfaces that are warping, then scale them in the TCE you can adjust them so they no longer warp.

One trick a lot of people use is to apply a checkerboard texture while you are building your UV map. A checkerboard can help you visualize how much texture space a surface is consuming--the smaller the checkers, the more texture space on the bitmap. In addition, a checkerboard can help you see if your map is distorted. You want each checker to appear as a perfect square. If they are non-square, you'll want to select the surfaces and scale them in the TCE until they are, or choose a different projection.

As far as borders and seams, it's mostly a matter of lining it up very carefully. If you snap two parts of the map together in the TCE it will prevent a seam along that edge, so the more you can stitch together (within reason) the easier it is.

The most difficult projects are ones like the corners you show on your image. Again, often you can just stretch them in the TCE to fix the problem, but occassionally you will need to re-map just those surfaces. Sometimes an non-planar projection, such as a cylindrical projection, will work. Otherwise, another trick is to temporarily rotate the model so that you can get a clear planar projecton on those faces. i.e. Rotate the model 45 degrees so the surfaces in question face the camera directly; planar map the surfaces from the camera direction (top/bottom/left/right/etc.); then rotate the model -45 degrees back to its original position. Once you have the faces mapped, inside the TCE move the surfaces into position and snap them together with their neighbors.
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Old 3rd June 2009, 03:47 PM   #3
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

Here are a couple of different checkerboards.
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Old 3rd June 2009, 05:24 PM   #4
GuntiNDDS
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

Thanks for your indepth reply. Very usefull information there for me.
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Old 4th June 2009, 04:29 PM   #5
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

Hi all,

i've a simple question, where i am in the TCE, is there a way to select a face in the TCE windows and see the face selected in the AC3D windows?


for example, if in the AC3D windows i select all face then go to the TCE windows and I select a face in the TCE windows, all the faces in the AC3D windows stay selected.

attached a screenshoot.


I've an other important question, i'm searching the equivalent function of 3DS MAX:

in 3DSmax you have in the Unvrap UVW modifier the function "flatten mapping"
this do a unfold flat of the face.
how can I find the same function.

thanks in advance.
David
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Old 9th June 2009, 07:38 AM   #6
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

there is someone who could help me about my questions before?

thanks a lot in advance
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Old 9th June 2009, 08:31 AM   #7
donamy
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

select only the face you want in the AC3D window also.
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Old 9th June 2009, 08:45 AM   #8
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

yes but i would like to do the inverse. I select the face in the TCE windows and show where is the surface in the AC3D windows,
and does someone know how to do the same function as 3DSMAX: "flatten mapping" because this is the only function i need to completly repplace 3DSMax for my work
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Old 15th June 2009, 03:28 PM   #9
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

I'm not sure of a way to select the face in the main window after choosing it in the TCE. I agree, it would be nice. Sometimes I work around it by using material colors to set up selection groups... it's not quite the same, but by keeping small amounts of polygons it makes the model a little easier to work with. I've also got a "UV ruler" texture I use to see which polygon maps to what UV space. I've attached it to this post.

"Flatten map"--- I can't remember, is that least conforming squares, or does it break the map by groups?
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Old 15th June 2009, 09:18 PM   #10
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Default Re: Looking for Tutorial on texturing/preparing UV maps

I just posted up a couple of plugins I use to do this:
http://www.independentdeveloper.com/...ap-by-material

The first one applies materials to a model by crease angle, effectively breaking it into contiguous sections.

The second one automatically applies planar mapping to a model by material, where each section of the model that has the same material color forms a contiguous area of map space.

The second one requires a little manually adjustment to the map which is why I haven't posted it up earlier--you'll need to repack the map after you use it, unless you don't mind wasted texture space. (Probably doesn't matter for still images, but matters a lot for games.)
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