Hey everyone, I am making a chain as part of a larger model, and I am not sure what the optimal way of unwrapping it is. Here is a screenshot of what I have so far:
You can unwrap a single element and copy/paste identical topology elements with the edit uvws dialogue This will stack the uvs all on top of one another in uv space,so you can select all islands and pack them. Or select elements in the viewport and use 'pack together'.
Or when you know a mesh will be made of multiple identical elements you can create one, unwrap it, create the rest. Or make use of instancing.
As for unwrapping those shapes: you can select the inner edgeloop as the seam,(better hidden than where you currently have it) cut a seam around the diameter, and use the 'unfold from strip' tool.
Hey thanks for the tip! By the way, can the uvw stacking work with mirrored elements as well?
By the way, the texture gets stretched badly when it is straightened out like this, and relaxing the uvw makes the center tangle up. Should I add more vertical cuts before I use the relax tool?
You don't even need to cut a seam for the unfold strip UV tool to work. It'll work from a single edge selection!
I'd square off your topmost UVs so they're horizontally aligned to one another - you'll get a little bit of distortion as the texture moves away from an edge, but it'll pack better and look fine from almost any distance.
Replies
Or when you know a mesh will be made of multiple identical elements you can create one, unwrap it, create the rest. Or make use of instancing.
As for unwrapping those shapes: you can select the inner edgeloop as the seam,(better hidden than where you currently have it) cut a seam around the diameter, and use the 'unfold from strip' tool.
By the way, the texture gets stretched badly when it is straightened out like this, and relaxing the uvw makes the center tangle up. Should I add more vertical cuts before I use the relax tool?
Pic:
I'd square off your topmost UVs so they're horizontally aligned to one another - you'll get a little bit of distortion as the texture moves away from an edge, but it'll pack better and look fine from almost any distance.