Uv mapping

[simhunter1750]

How do i t creat new uv maps for meshes body/hair? (i have milkshape) I followed instructions by tiggerypum but for some reason i can never get the uv map right. its always distorted (lines do match right or lines are not perfectly square. Its very fustrating. So i was just wondering if i create new uv maps if someone tells me how if it would have a better outcome.

[HystericalParoxysm]

Creating new UV maps for meshes that are already formed is very difficult, and generally gets you a much less desirable result than uv mapping each piece as you create it, or modifying the existing UV map on an object to make a preferrable map for whatever changes you've made (like readjusting the proportions of different areas if you lengthen a short hairstyle, for example).

If you can post pics of your object and your UV map (and/or upload the mesh itself as an attachment to this thread) you could probably get some decent specific tips on how to fix what the problem(s) are.

[simhunter1750]

ok i will try and get a pic really quick. im horrible at explaining so let me get that pic.

[simhunter1750]

ok the first pic is how it looks when i move the vertices on the uv map up a little and the second is when i move it down some. If i move them further down or up it looks as if im traveling through the uv map on the mesh (if that made somewhat sence)

[HystericalParoxysm]

Okay. First of all, I'd recommend using a texture that's not got a white background when you're using the texture coordinate editor. I personally use Tiggerypum's blue grid she uses in her info on UV mapping, and then put anything else on top of that. That way, you can see your whole UV map in the coordinate editor - it's really hard to tell where anything is, as everything's white when not selected, and therefore impossible to see on a white background. That white background is making it really hard to see what's going on with your UV map - for me, and I'll bet for you, too. That may be a lot of why you're having trouble with it... I can tell you're trying to move things, but without seeing where the -other- vertices are around the area you're moving, you're not going to be able to adjust it very well in relation to all of those other vertices.

The idea with UV mapping is to get a result on the flat uv map that's in the same -proportion- as the different parts as they display in 3d on your mesh. That will result in minimal stretching, etc. and the best possible UV map.

You may also want to open that window up quite a bit more... Try setting the scale to something like .8, and stretching it wide enough you can see your whole map at once.

Give a try with a texture that's not all white, see if it gets a little easier for ya that way. Play around with it a little like that, and I bet you'll find it a lot easier. If you're still having trouble with it, take some screenshots with the non-white texture and I might be able to see a little more what's going on. ;)

[simhunter1750]

ok thank you. Oh i know how to make the map bigger i just mad it smaller so you could see the mesh lol. But i will definately change the white to make it easier to see.For some reason i find uv mapping the hardest part out of making custom content, ugh lol.

oh and how do you make it blue, by the way?

[HystericalParoxysm]

Well, Tig's grid starts out blue. I just use her texture a lot. I dunno, I just find it useful. Might be better green or something else, since Milkshape's 3d view background is blue, but :shrug: it works.

But if you want to tint that white to blue with what you're using, open the image you're using for the texture in Photoshop or whatever you use to edit textures and, well, in Photoshop, I'd do Hue/Saturation, with Colorize checked, and play with the darkness/saturation till I got a medium, fairly saturated blue (or whatever solid colour you want). I wouldn't recommend red, because selections are red, but whatever you'll find easy on the eyes to work with.

I'm guessing that's the original UV map that you're working with as your texture? I'm wondering if it's not going to be more confusing trying to use that than a simple grid (like Tig's texture from the tutorial), so you can get all the proportions as correct as possible, or if you're just trying to lengthen an existing hairstyle and were planning on using the same or very similar textures, having an actual hair texture in there can be a big help in making your end result UV map look nice and natural. If you are indeed lengthening an existing hairstyle and want to still use the same textures, export its texture from Body Shop or SimPE and apply it to your mesh for viewing while you edit your UV map.

I generally try to plan out exactly how I'm going to do the UV mapping in my head before I begin working, and as I add, change, or adjust things on the mesh, I try to do the uv map along with it, as I make my other changes. It's much easier to change in small, incremental steps as you go along - as it's very possible to "finish" a mesh, having neglected the UV mapping along the way, and then realize that it would actually be easier to rebuild the mesh from scratch so you can map all the component parts, rather than pull apart what you've done already to try and map the pieces properly.

I find if I'm creating something new, before I even start, I create a new texture, similar to the recolouring templates we have available for objects, just bright blocks of colour labeled for each piece. I may have to go back and adjust the proportions of each piece later to make different things display properly, but I find actually having a texture close to what I want done before I add or move the first vertex really saves a lot of headache down the line.

Sorry for writing you a book here... I'm terribly long-winded, but hopefully some of it'll be useful to ya ;)

[Dr Pixel]

I agree, the uv_mapping is definately the hardest part, especially with BodyShop parts - and really should be the first thing you consider, before even starting on the mesh itself.

As for making a whole new uv_map from scratch - with BodyShop parts (clothing, hair) I would consider that a very advanced thing to do.

You might manage to pull it off with a hair mesh if you are careful and experienced at uv_mapping, but with a body mesh you have to be sure that the parts that will be "flesh" colored (arms, legs, neck, etc) must retain the exact uv_mapping as the skintone textures have or the skin colors will look wrong.

[tiggerypum]

Using that texture (looks like a pic of a uvmap?) it's going to be impossible for you to tell when anything is 'even' because the original uvmap texture is not 'even'

I haven't seen that many maxis hair uvmaps, but that one sure looks unusual - mostly because the uvmap map texture you're using doesn't look symmetrical.

The whole purpose behind using the 'boxes' style texture is so that you can view the overall texture and proportion. I'm going to try and make some hands on uvmap mini tutorials just to get people going on how to adjust the uvmaps of things, because I know that I found it a bit counter-intuitive when I was first trying to do it.

[simhunter1750]

ok, thanks everyone. But ok let me tell you what im doing just to see if im doing anything wrong. I export the mesh as an obj file and open it in uvmapper then i save the texture. Then i follow tiggerypum's tut......... So i think im not sure if i did something wrong. I might have...

[tiggerypum]

You have no need for the old uvmap for anything. And if you're modifying a sims hair mesh, you probably should NOT use uvmapper at all, you should have kept with the *original* uvmap from the original mesh.

Note that my tutorial says nothing about uvmapper. It says nothing about exporting to obj. I gave full instructions in it, although I did not give a specific project for the hands on guiding for how to adjust the uvmap. Use milkshape's uvmapping utility (and the texture I provided, or edit it down to 512x512 or whatever size you need for your hair) with the original modified mesh in milkshape.

[simhunter1750]

Ok thanks for telling me that but the only reason i did what i said before was becasue i read somewhere els thats how you get the texture but nevermind that now. But now im confused (im kinda slow) in your tutorial u said to get the bmp file, what bmp file am i suppose to get?

[tiggerypum]

Uhm, there's a download with the tutorial (you know, at the end of the first message there) Actually I offer that blue and black check/grid for download in 2 spots on the site. That reminds me, I meant to replace the rainbow grid with something else... at least in milkshape the rainbow colors do not work, they don't show well with some of the colors.

this tutorial specifically http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=135136

[simhunter1750]

Ooo, i didnt even notice the download. Like i said im kinda slow lol. Thank you, well let me attempt to adjust the uv map.