Need tips for UV mapping :\

Enix

Yea...I just need some tips on how to layout a UV map. This is
the model and map i just modeled and maped .



And here are the maps:





I need some tips mainly on how to map the shoes. I still dont love this model..I think I could do better if I just wasn't so impatient. Anyway, I just wanna get this model out of my hair so please help .

dynamic

try keeping the size of the peices proportional so the same amount of deatil is spread over each part of the skin
hmmmm i dont think the head map needs to be a 512 and can be a 256

Ruz

looks fine to me

Wrath

Here are some general tips I try to follow when UV mapping something:

1) Try to split UVs along natural seams. This would be areas that you'd normally have seams in the clothing. If possible, put your seams in areas that aren't normally as visable, such as the inside of the arms or legs.

2) Try to minimize warping by keeping your UV triangles proportional to your geometry. It's not possible to do prevent this 100% other than splitting your UVs into thousands of individual clusters. Using a placeholder texture with a checkerboard pattern is really good for this, you can see where the UVs are skewing or non-uniform much easier.

3) I generally try to keep the pixel density pretty even across the whole model but it's often a good idea to make some areas (such as faces)larger and other areas (such as the soles of the feet) smaller.

4) Share texture space if you can, but be careful about mirroring the body, especially with clothing. You may not notices that the hands and arms are mirrored, but you will notice when the shirt and pants are. Also, faces look more natural when they're slightly asymetrical...so if you can afford to not mirror faces, they'll generally look better.

5) Use fewer large textures over many smaller textures. For characters, I'd reccomend mapping any flesh (arms, heads, etc) to a seperate texture purely for the flexibility it gives you in generating variations very easily and economically.

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of anything else off the top of my head.

SouL

The mapping seems fine. Feet are difficult. Usual course of action for me would be to map them from the sides (and just let the texture mirror over).

Enix

Mkay, thanks guys. I think I got it. Im doing another anime
model next...so I will post that here whenever I start.

dejawolf

also, try to minimize the distance between the parts of the model. try spacing as much as possible 2 pixels apart,
and 1 pixel along the edges.

rooster

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5) Use fewer large textures over many smaller textures.

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this is something i've been unsure about. would 3 256 maps not be better than 1 512? or does the amount of maps affect performance more than their total kb?

edit; ah I think you were referring to within the map splitting up the uv pieces. Still I'd be interested to know the answer if anyone has it?

KDR_11k

Yep, texture switching takes time. Not sure how much but you'll want to avoid it where possible.

Renardin

I have an important question, I am a texturer but I have basic skills @ gmax. How can I make UVmap/unwrap of the models of my team ? any tutorials ?

dynamic

does gmax even have uv tools in it?
if not youll need to use max

notman

Yeah, gmax shares many of the UV tools that max has.

UVW Map
Unwrap UVW
UVW XForm

They aren't as feature rich, but the basics are there. Most Max tutorials can be applied to Gmax.