Anim8or Community
General Category => General Anim8or Forum => Topic started by: BladeMan.EXE on May 14, 2015, 01:32:11 pm
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Y'know how when game makers are using 3d models, they have these sheets of textures that fit perfectly on the model?
How do I convert the surface of a 3d model into a pattern that I can use when drawing the textures, so I know where to put everything?
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The area of interest you have highlighted is called uv mapping.
there are many programs that do this.
a free one that many use is called uv mapper[classic].
http://www.uvmapper.com/downloads.html
a tutorial for this.
http://www.uvmapper.com/tutorials/tutorial_classic_win.html
Its not the easiest thing to undertake,so i would attempt something not too complicated initially.
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I downloaded it, but I can't get it to work with .an8 or .3ds files.
And what's that Poser 3 thing mentioned in the tutorial?
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It has to be an .obj file.
Sorry i didn't check the tutorial,poser is another 3d prog. Ignore it, it's way too complicated as a first attempt to master uv mapping.
Once you have loaded an .obj file ,Select "Edit->New UV Map->Planar or box etc.
when your happy with your map,save the map as a .bmp. you also have to save the model again from within uv mapper.
Then work on the uv map in your favourite art package.
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How do I save a 3d model as a .obj file? Anim8or will only save it in .3ds
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Blademan.Exe: UVmapping basically its a flattened jpg or png template of your model so I would recommend Roadkill if you want to do any texturing, though Anim8or`s built in Basic UV editor can be used Here is a tutorial I wrote some time ago now on the now defunct Anim8orworld.com
ROADKILL - Part 1
UV Flattened models
So lets start to uvmap and unfold a character. For the purposes of this tutorial we will use a low poly character from BOB-I_Ts F8ce script. We have adjusted the model to suit the unwrapping process. Important: Roadkill uses .obj format models .an8 files will not work with this
You will a need a copy of Roadkill and Uvmapper , which you can get here....
Roadkill:
http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page8.htm
UVMapper:
http://www.uvmapper.com/downloads.html
So Lets fire up Roadkill and load in the Model , use the Alt Key in conjunction with Left, Right and Middle mouse to move your model about in its window. Also in the switches menu check "Don`t Select Back Faces" and "Single Select".
This program will work fine for quad meshes, so we will start with the neck, move into the region, click on a horizontal edge then hold down the T key. The previously selected edge will turn yellow just keep your finger on the T Key and move around the neck selecting all the horizontal edges, Some ambidextrous use of your fingers will be necessary when moving around using the alt key and sometimes the Z key(Undo!!)
The complete set of edges should be selected.
Now hit the C key and that selection will be cut, so effectively you have cut its head off!
Let`s now unwrap the head, start at the back of the head then select in the same way the edges shown in the next Two screenshots
Then again use the C Key to cut the selection
Your UVmap should now look like this..
Now we are going to cut up the Arms, Hands, Legs and Feet in exactly the same way. Here is the result after the cuts.
We will cut the Torso down the middle.In the screenshot we have cut down the middle of the torso groin area and rump leaving the back intact.
We now go to the hands and feet which are a little more time consuming as we will need to go round selecting edges around each finger and toe.
See the images attached
and
Finally cut these using C and the cuts and unwraps are complete.
Lets turn our attention to the actual UVmap generated. Click in the UV window then zoom into the Face UV map. Now we go to UV mode Press U then double click on an edge on the outline Make sure that you click on an intersection otherwise it will not work see the screenshot below.
The yellow dot indicates an intersection, If you double click the intersection here the cut lines will be highlighted see below
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Roadkill Pt 2
Lets pin these points down just press P and the UV will be pinned. The selected points will turn blue.
We can now scale the facial features up to make them easier to texture later in the process. Press the U key, select all the edges in the facial features (if you hold down the shift key you are able to multiselect points, but bear in mind that multiselecting points already hightlighted will switch off!)
Now Press the R key and use the right mouse button to scale up the faces.
Once you are happy with your unwrapped template export the model using "Save As..."
He is now ready to be loaded into Uvmapper, so that we can extract the template. With the new obj loaded into UVmapper it is just a simple case of resaving the template and model. Again whilst in UVmapper, If you wish to resize or move the template parts then it is just a case of highlighting and moving scaling etc.
DO NOT FORGET to resave the Map AND MODEL if you do these operations, as the UV co-ordinates will have changed.
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Important: Roadkill uses .obj format models .an8 files will not work with this
Umm... Then how can it work with Anim8or?
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BladeMan, i use "Wing 3D" http://www.wings3d.com/
export .obj from anim8or, import in wings, create the image texture, re-import the obj. and the texture on anim8or
(http://www.wings3d.com/wp-content/uploads//SS05.png)
[/youtube]
Wings is Free too. But for modeling..easyly, ANIM8OR IS VERY BEST!!!
:D
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Okay, I just figured out how to make .obj files. I was hitting "Save as..." instead of Import.
Thanks.
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Important: Roadkill uses .obj format models .an8 files will not work with this
Umm... Then how can it work with Anim8or?
Once you have it UV`d as an .obj File with the Template .Just load it into Anim8or via import as .obj ( anim8or can load .obj Files you know!) then if you want you can resave as a .an8
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By the way...ahah...there's my UVTools (http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php/topic,4809.0.html) script...while you can't really do a lot to the UVs except move the points around, you can easily export them to ppm or svg if they're already there. Makes for a nice looking UVMap to texture over at least!
I only mention this because I finally used it for a project just now, having almost totally forgotten about it :P
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Raxx,
i try sometimes, but i could never use the UVtool, is to make a step by step tutorial video?
:(
Thanks :)
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export .obj from anim8or, import in wings, create the image texture, re-import the obj. and the texture on anim8or
If he's using Wings, why involve Anim8or at all?
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Raxx,
i try sometimes, but i could never use the UVtool, is to make a step by step tutorial video?
:(
Thanks :)
There are instructions in the UVTools topic, but I admit the process is a bit convoluted. I wish there were more straightforward methods I could use...unfortunately ASL is still in its infancy. It has powerful potential but is crippled by its lack of critical features and inflexibility.
If all you want to do is export the uvmap to an image, you just select the object(s) you want to export and go to object->export and select either SVG (inkscape, gimp, illustrator) or ppm (photoshop/gimp).
I'll post a usage video in the UVTools topic later for the other features. It's not really useful for unwrapping (yet), but you can do basic editing.
If he's using Wings, why involve Anim8or at all?
We all have preferences for different things. Wings3D is a modeling-only package anyway. As for me...
I love to Model in...
- Softimage (mostly organic)
- Anim8or (mostly hard surfaces)
but sometimes have to convert to other formats using
- Autodesk FBX Converter
- Blender
- MeshLab
Fortunately 3D model formats are easily interchangeable...
I Love to Animate in...
but sometimes I have to animate in...
- Blender
- Anim8or
- Project Messiah
- Maya
- 3Ds Max
for certain jobs.
I love to Unwrap with...
but sometimes I need to use
for certain unwrapping tasks.
I love texturing with
but there are times I unwillingly have to use
for some texturing requirements...
I love sculpting with
but some jobs require
Yes, you could go your entire life relying solely on just a couple of all-in-one programs. But that's sometimes inefficient (and boring besides ;))
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We all have preferences for different things. Wings3D is a modeling-only package anyway.
A modelling and UV mapping package =) All I'm saying is doing both of these things together would be a less disruptive and more efficient workflow.
As for preferences, here are the areas where Anim8or's modeller is better than Wings:
- Faster viewport, because it's all C
- Open surfaces without kludges
- Non-manifold geometry support
- Spline-based operations (extrusion, text, etc.) and lathing
Other than that, it's still lagging behind, even though it's taken some giant strides in the past year.
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A modelling and UV mapping package =) All I'm saying is doing both of these things together would be a less disruptive and more efficient workflow.
As for preferences, here are the areas where Anim8or's modeller is better than Wings:
- Faster viewport, because it's all C
- Open surfaces without kludges
- Non-manifold geometry support
- Spline-based operations (extrusion, text, etc.) and lathing
Other than that, it's still lagging behind, even though it's taken some giant strides in the past year.
I attempted to get into Wings3D multiple times over the years, but it just never resonated with me. Though I did use its UV tools a few times when I had no better solution.
It's true that unless you plan and craft the model with perfect foresight, there are times mid-unwrapping that you have to go back and make changes to the model. I doubt I lost more than 20-30 seconds any time it happened, when switching between programs, but it's definitely preferable to do it all in one program. Especially when it comes time to start animating and you have to edit the mesh (and usually also the uvmap). The further along in a project, the higher the cost of changing things.
Still not gunna touch Wings though ;)