3ds max: Basic Unwrap of a a bell-like form

Klaus Hustle

I just started with learning UV's and at least i'm getting used to the editor in max. 

My problem is that i don't know what's the best method is for certain forms, where stretching is ok, where you should straighten your UV's (i'm seeing people straighten their shells most of the time).

This object is part of my gaslamp i'm trying to unwrap. The "unfold strip from loop" method seems to be the best option, but i still get some weirdness in terms of distortion.

Any suggestion what would be the best method here and what function could help to improve?

CrackRockSteady

ultimately the decision of whether to straighten the UV shell or to let it relax naturally comes down to your use of the model and whether some distortion is acceptable.  

If conserving UV space is a priority and you won't be examining the object that closely you're probably fine straightening the shell and having some minor distortion.

If UV space isn't much of a concern but you'll be potentially looking at the asset very closely then minimizing distortion is probably more important.

Klaus Hustle

I see, thank you! So the quickpeel version would only be usable if i were to handpaint it in substance painter for instance.

Do you think i've covered the possible/most suitable options of unwrapping in this case?

poopipe

If you're baking or painting in a 3d paint app then the straight version is probably your best option - it means you don't have to deal with wanky angled seams and makes packing a lot easier. 

Often ill look for natural seams in the texture and split the object into smaller strips to minimise large discrepancies in texel density but that's pretty dependent on what you're making. 

The downside to unwrapping it straight is that if you wanted to paint some text over it in photoshop you'd be shafted. 

Mink

1st screenshot is the best, but try to scale ot to the size of the UV area.

musashidan

A good hybrid for a shell like that, between distortion vs straightened, is Max's powerful peel mode.

Set Peel mode to Auto-pin moved verts. Then you can use it to massage the shell using an automatic soft selection effect. Then you can use the align horizontal/vertical(set these to hotkeys to massively speed things up) to straighten border edgeloops. remember the reason to straighten border loops is to get a cleaner bake. The aliasing that is visible in the UV editor can transfer to the bake.

Another thing you can do is use the straighten shell tool in combination with relax while preserving border edges.

Klaus Hustle

Thanks alot for the hints and tips!

At last, do you know a good ressource of professionell 3d models/kits with UV's to have a look at to learn one thing or the other? It doesn't necessarily have to be free.

Alex_J

Unreal Engine just released a ton of content for free from their game Paragon I think it's called. That's huge because that's a really nice, modern, AAA title -- so you expect these models are built to not just look good but also perform well.
And there is several games you can get the modkit to for free as well. Like Squad is great for looking at weapons and vehicles and characters as well. All of these are right there in the Unreal desktop app -- free.

Aside from that, you can pick up so many freebies from the big 3d sites like turbosquid, etc. Another option -- most of your 3d programs like Zbrush, Marvelous Designer, etc., come with some freebies you can review, and also check out Allegorithmics Substance Share section where you can get some freebies (in addition to materials and textures).

Klaus Hustle

That's a pretty good idea, totally forgot about that. 

As far as i know the paragon stuff can only be viewed in Unreal Engine, i don't even know how to navigate the program, maybe some day, but definitely neat!

musashidan

Here's an example of a shell I actually just unwrapped tonight. I used the Peel Mode tool and the align tools(set to hotkeys for massive time gains) This is a good example of distortion Vs straight shell borders. As you can see there is very little distortion and a completely straightened and rectangular shell. The benefits of this is that it will make for much better baking results(way less aliasing) and more efficient packing. Also, bear in mind that the geo has an undulating surface as it is ribbed so straightening also helps to alleviate the distortion that would otherwise occur.

Also, the 'straighten shell' tool doesn't always do the best job. For a piece like I've shown here, peel mode and manual loop straightening is the key. The 'straighten shell' tool also only functions properly with grid surfaces. It is great for simple shells and tube caps/cylinders/etc

And the straightened shell

Klaus Hustle

so you basically are selecting every loop and manually align to X or Y? I'm biting my teeth right now with some of my forms, but i'm getting there, gladly i've some more free-time today to just figure it out til i have to make progress.

Yeah the straighten-tool is pretty annoying most of the time, but i didn't know what else to do after pelting, but going to try it your way!

I also just saw that i can pin down certain vertices, that could be useful too.

thanks for your insight!

Klaus Hustle

Ok, i know now how peel-mode works.

You mentioned it before and i didn't get it at first. It's great! I'm having a hard time getting rid of the distortion cause by the mesh getting narrower to the top, the checkers are pretty crooked, but i think i can straighten it out manually with the pins to a degree

musashidan

Yes, Peel Mode is quite powerful. The straighter the loops, obviously the less distortion. For the tube cap above you can also use the 'Unfold strip from loop' tool for a perfect rectangular unwrap.

Klaus Hustle

my edges are skewed in a circular manner to the center in this case, so if i'm leaving it perfectly straight i'm getting slight distortion alone from that, but it's not that bad i guess.

Unfold strip from loop saves some time! 

Alex_J

Klaus Hustle said:

As far as i know the paragon stuff can only be viewed in Unreal Engine, i don't even know how to navigate the program, maybe some day, but definitely neat!

  No, you can export from Unreal. Just google how, it's easy. Worth the effort, I think. It's really reassuring when you look at some professional work, and you see some of the things that, if it were your own work, you might feel insecure about. So professional level work becomes less daunting, and seems more like something you can attain. And, of course, you might realize a way of doing something you hadn't considered as well.

Klaus Hustle

Good point, i'm definitely going to check it out. Never played paragon, but the models/texturing are really looking great

Klaus Hustle

look at this badboy:



I'm just in awe of how well made this is, big thanks again @BIGTIMEMASTER for encouraging me to give it a shot. 

Alex_J

Never played the game. I'm guessing the weakness is the head though.