#uvunwrapping

Developing 2 (Week 2)

Before unwrapping other models, I decided to see which pieces in an asset itself could be modular. For instance, the door bolts and the arrows are modular of course, but the stone blocks on the door structure is also modular as it is the same pieces duplicated 180. For that, I decided to delete those pieces and only unwrap the original pieces.

This way, when I duplicate it in the end, they share the same UV maps and the same UV space, which helps optimize the scene as well as saves a lot of time when it comes to texturing those said original pieces.

I work on those door pieces in the wireframe mode and delete duplicated faces.

Figure 1 (Wireframe mode)

Figure 2 (Deleting duplicated and/or repetitive faces)

Now, I am left with these door pieces. It saves a lot of time trying to UV unwrap those pieces and cuts the time by half when sculpting the door structure.

Figure 3 (Remaining door structure)

Same as for the pillar, I start cutting seams and unwrapping the UV maps for the door structure. Then, to pack them properly in the UV editor, I use the Layout option.

Figure 4 (UV unwrapping the door #1)

Figure 5 (UV unwrapping the door #2)

Figure 6 (UV unwrapping the door #3)

Figure 7 (UV unwrapping the door #4)

This is the final UV map for the door structure packed properly in the editor. This means that it ready for an export to ZBrush for sculpting.

Figure 8 (Final UV map of the door)

For some of the basic primitives, I only cut little seams and use the automatic wrapping as those elongated beams still retain their cubical properties and don't need much unwrapping.

Figure 9 (Final UV map of the beam)

Figure 10 (Final UV map of the modular small beam)

Figure 11 (UV maps of the assets in the diorama)

Figure 12 (UV maps of the barrel)

All of the assets in the scene have been UV unwrapped properly and are displayed below.

Developing 2 (Week 2)

Before we can start exporting the models, we need to make sure they are properly UV unwrapped. This allows us to properly place the textures and sculpt them while in ZBrush. There are a lot of ways you can UV unwrap models.

The default would be to use the default UV unwrap system Maya has. It is really powerful and precise. You can also use custom addons or dedicated unwrapping software to unwrap them. I will be using a mix of both, a custom plugin called Malcolm341 and the default UV unwrap system.

The Malcom341 plugin simplifies cutting seams and unwrapping the UV shells neatly and it also comes with a custom checker texture that you can use to compare how the UV maps are.

I first work on the pillar. I separate the combined pillar mesh and then start cutting seams individually for all of the models.

Figure 1 (Separating the mesh)

I use the Malcolm plugin to cut the seams of the upper slabs. Normally, you would want to cut seams that are not visible directly to the user, so the ideals edges to cut seams at would be on the sides or the back faces. But since, this is low poly, it doesn't matter much.

Figure 2 (UV unwrapping the pillar #1)

While cutting the seams, I also unwrap those meshes side by side so I can see the progress in the UV editor. I arrange the UV maps and scale it appropriately so as to fit all of the pillar meshes in the same UV space.

Figure 3 (UV unwrapping the pillar #2)

Figure 4 (UV unwrapping the pillar #3)

If you are correctly cutting the seams and unwrapping the UV maps properly, the checker texture should properly show a perfect array of squares and it shouldn't be distorted. If any distortions in the UV maps are seen, then the best bet is to go back and properly cut new seams or modify them properly.

Figure 5 (UV unwrapping the pillar #4)

Figure 6 (UV unwrapping the pillar #5)

Figure 7 (UV unwrapping the pillar #6)

As seen above if the seams are not cut properly, the UV maps look distorted in the editor. I cut new seams and unwrap it and then it projects properly.

Figure 8 (UV unwrapping the pillar #7)

Once I finish cutting seams and packing the maps, we need to lay it out carefully in the UV editor, making sure that it fills the UV space while not being bigger than the UV space itself.

Figure 9 (Layout option)

For this, I use the default layout operation in the UV editor where you choose the amount of pixels you can pack the maps into.

This as by far the easiest part I would say of the entire assignment; UV unwrapping. Not that I love UVs, I think they are weird and when stared at enough, they start eating my braincells but it is one of the core elements of getting a finished 3D artifact and a very vital one at that that cannot be missed or neglected at all.

Since I was using Maya, I was thinking of using the default UV toolset that comes with it. But hold up, I was made aware of this beautiful plugin by a genius guy whose name is Malcolm341 during my time in undergraduate study. He has created a bunch of plugins surrounding the UV toolset that is a bit more convenient than the traditional process. I installed the plugin onto my Maya client and loaded it onto the shelf for quick use and my god is it one of the greatest blessings to have graced us 3D artists. I would highly encourage anyone using Maya as their primary 3D software to install this plugin and try it out for themselves.

Figure 1 (Malcolm341 demonstrating the use of his plugin, 2021)

Using this plugin saved me a ton of time cutting seams and unwrapping the shells and arranging them together in a UV planar.

Figure 2 (Cutting seams and unwrapping the UV shells, 2024)

I did encounter a problem during the unpacking of the entire UV shells. I grouped the airplane, the stand and the coin box as different groups under a singular group. I unwrapped their UV shells as a group so that I would get more real estate to work with when texturing them in Substance Painter. However, because I might have not topologized them properly, the UV maps were overlapping each other in Painter. So unfortunately, due to lack of time, I had to combine all the models together and sacrifice the scales of the three UV shells.

Figure 3 (Exporting the UV maps as OBJ, 2024)

I clicked the entire combined mesh and exported the UV maps of the selection in an OBJ file format. I saved it in an appropriate location and moved on to porting it to Substance Painter so that I could texture those maps.

REFERENCES: