Character workflow question (number of meshes/UVs)
polycounter lvl 6
Hello!
I'm currently working on female character for use in Unreal Engine 4.
I would like to ask you if I should or shouldn't make a separate set of UV and textures just for hair?
I have 2 UV sets, one for body, and one for head with eyes and free space for future mouth UV's
I'm currently working on female character for use in Unreal Engine 4.
I would like to ask you if I should or shouldn't make a separate set of UV and textures just for hair?
I have 2 UV sets, one for body, and one for head with eyes and free space for future mouth UV's
Replies
By Eric Chadwick
"Hair usually uses a separate bitmap, for two reasons:
1. alpha blend renders more slowly so you limit it to just the parts that need it
2. when you add an alpha channel to a large texture it greatly increases the file size in memory, so it's better to add an alpha channel to a smaller hair-only texture, thereby increasing memory use much less.
Also with polygonal hair it's usually best to reuse UVs. You really only need 3 or 4 hair pieces, duplicated and bent all over the head.
As for the face, it depends on the use of the character. Will the face be seen in closeup? If so the face can use more texture space than the body. Or will the character always be seen full-figure, in the distance? If so then you'll want an even pixel density across the model."