Texturing Seems Help

Showster

Hi guys, I'm attempting to uvwmap my models a little differently and its presenting some troubles.

Just wandering how you guys would tackle a uvwmap like this.




I'm struggling quite alot due to a few things like wrong anatomy (probably lol) and bad light sourcing. ( I didn't vertex bake prolly one of the many poor things hehe)

current texture :-



What I'd like to know is how you'd plan out a skin for the model I've got (check the links at the bottom its a max7 files I can upload 3ds if you like).
Oh and also what I can do to unfuck the mess its become!

Thanks



ohh heres the head skin map just out of interest



model render



please ignore the uvwmapping on the trousers and also the texture hehe



phewww that was a long rant

mr.toast

your unwrapping looks fine enough, but you can manage to fit it all on just one uv map, just mirror the torso, hands, back of the head, and i guess those leg things, for seams, a good trick to use to cover seams up is to use a base color that blends in the surrounding area (like a skin color, if your covering up skin seams), and paint across the edges of the unwrapped areas with that color at full opacity, this will make sure the seam edges are the same color value thus blending them when looking at your model

Eric Chadwick

IMHO, solid color on seams is OK only if I'm working on a cartoony type of skin, where solid areas of color are the norm.

I would suggest using a 3D paint program to fix seams, that way you can keep details that go across your wrists, belly, neck, etc.

Tattoo is a shareware option, if you don't have access to Deep Paint 3D or Body Paint 3D...
http://www.terabit.nildram.co.uk/tattoo/

Mojo2k

or old school way, laso a selection of the texture on one side of the seam, copy and paste it mirrored over to the other side then tweak a bit

Showster

thanks for the tip guys, I think I have a wierd work flow atm I always end up painting the back last and it doesn't fit the original colours, I should really fill texture all at the same time hehe, Mojo here ya about the old school, hehe shud definately try that.

recon I'll grasp it soon I hopes

Frankie V

Some observation from my school of hard knocks.

The overall UV mapping is good however based on the model the mapping of the torso is not symmetrical. The left side is not the same as the right. Although it is not always required to have apposing sides to be identical, if the model does not call for it, in this case you will probably want both the left and right to be identical to avoid problems when texturing.

By having both sides identical you can then texture one side, mirror it and use the copy as the base for the apposing side. The two areas that stand out the most are the elbows and the seams of the arms. The elbows are not all that critical but it is important that any face that makes up part of the seam have the same area as represented on the model and that the apposing face has the same scale . By maintaining that area you will have less problems making the seam match up and prevent stretching that would other wise make it noticeable.

As to my process.

I usually split the model in half, if it is symmetrical, in the T-stance position, detach the head, feet and hands and split it in half once again creating a back and front. I’ll then place a UVmap modifier on the stack and planer map each of the parts. Then I’ll unwrap each of the parts in turn and using the sub-object face mode of the unwrap modifier planner map the faces that make up the seam and scale them into position. If I can get the apposing faces to line up on the vertical or horizontal all the better.

Using the seam as a point of reference I’ll place a checker board texture on the model and start positioning the verts using what ever tool will work the best in that situation. Most times using a soft selection. The goal is to make the checkerboard pattern look as square as possible

Once I’m happy with the mapping I’ll then copy/mirror the mesh and in the unwrap modifier use the flip tool to mirror the mapping and then reattach all the parts. Once again dive into the unwrap modifier and position all the parts, using select by element, and position them inside the target area. Any of the parts that do not required to be symmetrical will be positioned to share the same mapping area but in the case of your torso the left side will be matched up along the edge to the right side making both sides mapping identical.