3DS MAX Unwrapping: Flip vs Mirror?

camza

So I just started unwrapping a model I've been working on over the past week when something caught my eye. In the UV editor there is both the option to flip and mirror both horizontally and vertically.

So my question is this: What's the difference? :poly122:

Also my model is mostly symetrical so a lot of the UV's will be overlapping. So should I flip or mirror them?

Thanks in advance.

Mark Dygert

Taken from the 3dsmax help file:

Mirrors selected vertices and flips UVs. Flyout options are Mirror Vertical, Mirror Horizontal, Flip Horizontal, and Flip Vertical.

Flip first detaches the selection along its boundary edges and then applies a Mirror Horizontal or Vertical depending on the mode.

Normally for me its longer to change the icon to flip than it is to just detach and flip.

The UV editor is full of crazy convoluted hidden work flows that make it look clean but take longer to actually do because its all hidden. Like convert selection from vert to edge, or edge to poly. It's like a crazy word puzzle instead of a one button hit like in Edit poly...

camza

Oh yes, now I see. Grabbing just a small section of a UV island and mirroring it will flip the selection but keep it attached to the rest of the island (resulting in a lovely mess) whereas flipping will break that section off then flips it.

That explains why I didn't see a difference. I was flipping/mirroring whole islands. To which I assume has the same effect?


Thanks for the help, Mark.