Character Seams - How to Optimise UVs for Good Seams

ChristheLancer97 · Apr 2021

*EDIT* Looks like I put it in the wrong thread, was supposed to go into Technical Talk. Any admins know how to move these posts? Thanks!!

Hello,
I have a question about optimizing your UVs for better Seams, as I'm having issues unwrapping the faces which would eliminate the harsh seam altogether. I'm basically creating this Monster character and I've finished UV and Baking it. But I have noticed the seams are really noticeable at some segments.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/xy/twfdo66ojsx7.png

These are the UVs for the character, with the highlighted faces showing the normal seams from the above screenshot. Tried to remove Seams and Unwrap it but it completely messes up. I'd ideally like good UVs that join both of these islands together basically.

I have amended these particular faces to straight UVs, but I really have no idea if that is even the right way to go about it, especially for organic creatures.

Basically, what I'm asking is what to use/go about getting better UVs so I can avoid harsh visible seams after normal baking. Whenever I try to join both islands up and Unwrap it, it just looks like a complete mess. Any help would be appreciated.

HakanKamar_ · May 2021

harden edges at all UV island seams, check for seams with lighting, not directly on the normal map of the character. Goodluck!

ChristheLancer97 · May 2021

@HakanKamar_
thanks for the response, I think you misunderstood my question though. I have no issues seeing the seams at all, just needed to know how I can properly UV this type of organic character to avoid seams like the one shown in the screenshot!

Crazy_pixel · May 2021

I would seperate this piece too and make an own uv shell of it because the lower part is also make re like a tube and so I wiuld get less stretched uvs.

Can you post a screenshot with your baked textures applied?

ChristheLancer97 · May 2021

Yes sure, you can hardly notice the seams, to be fair, but I was just wondering if I was doing something wrong in terms of making the UVs. Cause I wanted there to be no hard visible seams like that and texture patterns that use UV Projection in SP tend to break up where the UV Shell ends so I have to manually paint them over and erase the obvious parts. I hope these screenshots are clear enough!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/wc/lo6uuo9jwykn.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/h3/cgxy6e8ldn1a.png

jacopoS · May 2021

Hey there,
The first thing that comes into my mind is that you might be worrying too much about how the normal map looks around those seams. However, the thing about "tangent space normal maps" is that they depend on the tangents, which may vary drastically depending on how the UV islands are rotated relative to each other. So it is to be expected that those seams are going to look "wrong" if you only look at the normal map rather than the final result. That in itself is not really something to worry about too much. You only really have a problem if you can see the seams in the final result.

ChristheLancer97 · May 2021

Thanks for the response, yeah I may be worrying too much about it, the seams are still somewhat visible when really cranking up the lighting but my main concern was whether I was approaching making the UVs right in the first place. I was thinking to combine the spikes on the head with the rest of the body (UV Shell-wise), to get more of a seamless UVs and completely avoid these seams but it doesn't translate well at all when I try to Unwrap it in that manner. But honestly, I don't know. Maybe separating the piece from the mesh to UV, like Crazypixel said, may work. I'll have to try that next time.

Character Seams - How to Optimise UVs for Good Seams

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