uv unwrapping help needed..

Yonderboy

Hi - I'm having a nightmare unwrapping my UVs as usual.

Ive got a hi poly tyre that I want to paint some dirt onto. Ive done a simple planar map on the sides, but the band that goes around it proving a nightmare. Im planar mapping it in 2 halves but cant for the life of me get it to unfold into a nice rectangular shape like id expect it to be

Would anybody have any suggestions?

many thanks
N

a3D

Most 3D application offer a cylindrical mapping option, that would be ideal.

If you can-t unwrap it straight, you can do some manual tweaking. Here is what I'd do in Maya:
-select the UV verts of the line you want to straighten
-straighten manually
-repeat for all lines that need to be straight
-unfold the manually straightened lines on their axis, so that distance between points is respected, but the line doesn't break (IE: unfold -> vertical or horizontal, depending on the orientation)
Now we have nice, straight lines.
-select every point that you don't need to be straight
-unfold
-optimize

This of course causes some distortion, but makes the shell easier to pack and allows you to draw straight lines on the model.
A decision must be taken for when it's acceptable or not

Yonderboy

I'll give it another go. I'm not quite sure I'm using the cylindrical mapping correctly.

One side question.. I was wondering if I need to unwrap the uvs at all if I'm simply going to do all my painting in mudbox and then bake to a lowpoly? I thought perhaps I could just to an auto unwrap? I know this is lazy, but I was wondering if it would have any negative effects on the texture?

Thanks for your help
Nick

Yonderboy

i was using the cylindrical mapping tool all wrong . Was forgetting to rotate my object. Works perfect now. My question regarding the auto unwrap still holds though? Would that be an option if I'm just going to bake to low poly?

thanks again

MELKIY

Yonderboy wrote: »

Was forgetting to rotate my object.

Instead of rotating object you could rotate gizmo.
For example in 3ds max when cylindrical projection selected you manipulate gizmo like a usual object:

kurt_hectic

select an edge in editable poly> export as spline
add uvw unwrap mod. > select faces
select spline mapping and pick your spline
chose planar inside

Sometimes it's screwed up but in 90% you will just have to rescale the uvs and they will be perfectly unwrapped.

https://www.google.cz/search?q=3ds+mas+spline+mapping&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=e2_cVbDkC6y17gannIywBg