How to texture map a cone shape

ggunners · 13th October 2007, 10:45 PM

lisa, thanks for the reply.

The UV mapping projection sounds more difficult than just applying the stripes and rotating the disks. Surface counts were 48 for a conical shape without a spiral stripe and 288 surfaces for the more complex but more accurate version. Here's some pictures showing the image map problem and what I'm using now.

I thought I might take the object I created and flatten it out to see if there might be an easier way to map it. Meanwhile, the straight lines and rotating disks using points works OK.

Thanks again.

-- ggunners

lisa · 14th October 2007, 04:35 PM

It is a little tricky to setup, although thankfully you only need to do it once--you can reuse the same projection file over and over to project as many textures as you need.

Hmmm. I think you can get away with less surfaces if you try UV mapping to a disk *before* making it into a cone. Add concentric rings to the disk using divide loop, then move and rotate by fixed increments.

Also, make sure the stripes on your texture line up with the vertices on the map, if possible. That should also make it smoother.

Here's my test at 180 and 48 surfaces respectively, and my map. The 180 surface cone is a subdivision of the 48 surface cone. I haven't tried it, but looking at how the test came out I think you can take down to less than that. I'd bet a 100-120 surface cone would still hold detail pretty well.

ggunners · 15th October 2007, 11:49 AM

Thanks! I'll give the disk method with divide loop a try.

....later the same day.... I tried the method you describe with mixed results. The [surface] [divide] function does not produce concentric circles and I did not find a [divide loop] menu item in AC3D. I can create a sphere and then flatten it, then apply the UV map texture and proceed with extending and rotating each subsequent circle.

With this method, I have good results with about 60 surfaces.

-- ggunners

lisa · 16th October 2007, 04:28 PM

Ooops. Shoulda mentioned, divide loop is one that needs downloaded from supercoldmilk.com.

Looks pretty good to me! Depending on how far you are from the plane, I think it's plenty smooth enough to get away with.

ggunners · 16th October 2007, 06:41 PM

Yeah, it'll work, this is about the closest it will be in the ClearView RC flight sim.

I'll grab the plug-in and see if it makes it any easier.

-- ggunners

lisa · 16th October 2007, 06:57 PM

Nice looking plane, ggunners!

13th October 2007, 10:45 PM	#1
ggunners Junior Member Junior member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chantilly, VA Posts: 7	Re: How to texture map a cone shape lisa, thanks for the reply. The UV mapping projection sounds more difficult than just applying the stripes and rotating the disks. Surface counts were 48 for a conical shape without a spiral stripe and 288 surfaces for the more complex but more accurate version. Here's some pictures showing the image map problem and what I'm using now. I thought I might take the object I created and flatten it out to see if there might be an easier way to map it. Meanwhile, the straight lines and rotating disks using points works OK. Thanks again. -- ggunners Attached Thumbnails

14th October 2007, 04:35 PM	#2
lisa Senior Member Professional user Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 917	Re: How to texture map a cone shape It is a little tricky to setup, although thankfully you only need to do it once--you can reuse the same projection file over and over to project as many textures as you need. Hmmm. I think you can get away with less surfaces if you try UV mapping to a disk before making it into a cone. Add concentric rings to the disk using divide loop, then move and rotate by fixed increments. Also, make sure the stripes on your texture line up with the vertices on the map, if possible. That should also make it smoother. Here's my test at 180 and 48 surfaces respectively, and my map. The 180 surface cone is a subdivision of the 48 surface cone. I haven't tried it, but looking at how the test came out I think you can take down to less than that. I'd bet a 100-120 surface cone would still hold detail pretty well. Attached Images

15th October 2007, 11:49 AM	#3
ggunners Junior Member Junior member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chantilly, VA Posts: 7	Re: How to texture map a cone shape Thanks! I'll give the disk method with divide loop a try. ....later the same day.... I tried the method you describe with mixed results. The [surface] [divide] function does not produce concentric circles and I did not find a [divide loop] menu item in AC3D. I can create a sphere and then flatten it, then apply the UV map texture and proceed with extending and rotating each subsequent circle. With this method, I have good results with about 60 surfaces. -- ggunners Attached Images Last edited by ggunners; 15th October 2007 at 12:40 PM.

16th October 2007, 04:28 PM	#4
lisa Senior Member Professional user Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 917	Re: How to texture map a cone shape Ooops. Shoulda mentioned, divide loop is one that needs downloaded from supercoldmilk.com. Looks pretty good to me! Depending on how far you are from the plane, I think it's plenty smooth enough to get away with.

16th October 2007, 06:41 PM	#5
ggunners Junior Member Junior member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chantilly, VA Posts: 7	Re: How to texture map a cone shape Yeah, it'll work, this is about the closest it will be in the ClearView RC flight sim. I'll grab the plug-in and see if it makes it any easier. -- ggunners Attached Thumbnails

16th October 2007, 06:57 PM	#6
lisa Senior Member Professional user Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 917	Re: How to texture map a cone shape Nice looking plane, ggunners!