UV the same exact objects once?
polycounter lvl 2
Hey guys, so I'm making a little stylized cart and found myself kind of jumping forward to the moment when I will be unwrapping it and have a question.
Here's the model:
Now, the wheels, wooden bars sticking out, ropes, the little metal things above wheels etc etc are all basically either a copy or a mirror copy of each other, just sometimes resized and/or rotated.
How can I make it so that I only UV 1 wheel for example and copy over the UV maps to the rest of them to:
a) Save time
b) Save some space in final texture map to have higher resolution
What is the proper, industry level, method of achieving that step-by-step?
Here's the model:
Now, the wheels, wooden bars sticking out, ropes, the little metal things above wheels etc etc are all basically either a copy or a mirror copy of each other, just sometimes resized and/or rotated.
How can I make it so that I only UV 1 wheel for example and copy over the UV maps to the rest of them to:
a) Save time
b) Save some space in final texture map to have higher resolution
What is the proper, industry level, method of achieving that step-by-step?
Replies
So then after duplicating I'll have to manually position everything back into place or is there any faster and more automated way of doing that?
Then I won't even know how the final object will look like.
It would be kind of annoying if I would have to unwrap every object that I want to duplicate and reuse.
In this case yeah, "it's a hollow cylinder", but if It was a piece that took 5-10-15 minutes unwrapping then it becomes a pain in the ass.
I'm looking for a way to make a final low poly object and then unwrap it but also save time by not unwrapping the same element X times.
Anyone with actual proper knowledge could help me unsolve this one?
1. Know what the hell you are building from the beginning so you can plan to save work where ever possible. This is why production of 3d assets its split into phases. First you make a concept, then you execute it. Just like if you go for a cross-country hike. You get a map, figure out what the fuck you are going to do, and then you do it. If you don't do step 1, you end up lost and you die.
2. Do a quick concept to figure out what the hell you are building so that you can revert to #1. So if you want to have a little fun and try out some ideas, sure go for it. But understand this is not the production model. This is your concept. The purpose of this is to help you make your plan of attack.
The less-smart option, which I'm sure we all do when we are new to modeling, is make things up as you go along then feel stressed when you find yourself painted into a corner. Also, as mentioned, there are tools to help you when you do paint yourself in a corner. You can copy/paste UV's, but the topology has to the same. So after you duplicated an object, you cannot then perform any functions that change the vertex order and still be able to copy/paste UV's.
The tools in the 3d artist toolbelt are extremely flexible, but you still have to make a plan and exercise good judgement. Problem with a beginner is you don't know what all the tools are and what they can do -- but luckily there is great people here and elsewhere who will tell you for free. So don't be pissy when they tell you something you don't want to hear.
Let me get it clear because I, honestly, just don't understand you. I'm not being rude, just simply am not quite 100% sure if that's what you mean.
I know what I'm building from the beggining. I have a concept image, I'm following it. But if I have an object that has 4 wheels you're suggesting I model 1 wheel, unwrap it and then duplicate the already unwrapped wheels?
That, to me, seems counterintuitive, annoying and just straight up dumb.
Every time I want to reuse the already existing shape you're suggesting that I unwrap it before?
I'm asking about a situation where I have a clear plan and outcome in mind, I model everything, low poly, high poly and THEN after I finish my low poly model, delete all the unncessary faces, lines, vertices, make it as optimal as possible, and only THEN I want to start unwrapping.
That's what I've been doing, that's what everyone else is telling me is the current workflow and that's what everyone else seems to be doing.
Low poly>high poly>unwrap>bake>texture
High poly>low poly>unwrap>bake>texture
2 schools, none of them consists of "unwrap things as you go". Noone ever told me that I have to unwrap stuff DURING the actual process of modeling. Hence my extreme confusion.
To be honest I'd much rather just unwrap the same thing 4 times than bother unwrapping it during my modeling process and I refuse to believe that this is what people are doing.
I'm 100% sure there's a more optimal and better way of sharing textures across the same elements that don't include all that fuss that I wrote above. That's why I might seem "unhappy with the answers".
1. Yes, that is exactly what we are suggesting because that is the best way we know how to do it. Can you think of a better way? If so, try it out and let us know how it went.
2. Why is this counterintuitive and dumb? Because nobody showed you step by step in a tutorial? That's because tutorials intentionally keep things very simple so you can grasp the basic concepts first. Tutorials go 1,2,3, but after you get a bit more experience and challenge yourself with some more projects, you will start realizing that sometimes mixing and matching the steps can save you a lot of time and headache. So learning 3d isn't about following a dogma, it's about becoming familiar with your tools, and then you are totally free to decide the best way to use them given any unique circumstance.
3. You can refuse to believe the sky is blue, but it's blue.
4. If you don't like the answers, develop your own! And please share.
I just never saw anyone do it that way so I was a bit confused but if that's how it should be done then I will keep that in mind on my next project.
Regarding the thing I already made. What would be my best course of action right now?
Should I just finish the low poly model, delete any duplicates I have, unwrap it and then put it all back together and proceed on making high poly out of it?
Personally, I'd probably take things like the wheels, unwrap one, duplicate it four times, and then move the duplicates into place. You can leave teh old ones there to snap to so it's fast and easy. Don't let UV's intimidate you. IMO, it's the easiest part of game models. It's really not that much work, once you get familiar with the tools.
I'm just trying to learn the correct habits so that I can try to be as efficient as possible and not inhabit wrong workflow
You can also use instances, but i think that transferring is a bit better.
- Make 3 copies (as you already did). There is no need for these copies to be instances or anything like that. Just duplicate the original. That's 4 wheels, and that marks the end of the lowpoly modeling of the wheels. That's it, a 2 seconds step. You can take screenshots and call the modeling part done.
Let's say next day is UV day.
- Unwrap one wheel. That's 2 minutes.
- Delete the other 3. That's 0.5 seconds.
- Duplicate the one UVed wheel 3 times. 2 seconds.
This whole thread can be summarized as : you are overthinking things by wanting to automate two steps that take a total amount of 4.5 seconds. Any fancy-automagical solution hypothetically letting you unwrap the 4 wheels at the same time would take longer than just duplicating that one original UVed wheel once it's done.
lvl 666
vs.
Obscura
hero character
Fight!
Yeah, that's what I went with and that's what seems to be a much better and logical solution than unwrapping things in the middle of modeling
Thanks!