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Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 6th Sep 2012 at 6:39 PM
Default UV Mapping Help Required Before I Explode!
Please let me know if this is not the correct place to post this.

I have finally got to grips (kind of) with Wings 3D, but for the life of me I cannot get the hang of mapping with uvmapper (I now have the pro version). I've been trying for days to map a simple coffee table but the textures always look stretched, no matter what I do or what textures I use.

I've scoured the internet and this site for all the tutorials I can find, but they all seem years out of date or too complicated. A pure fluke meant I managed to map a dining table correctly, but despite doing the exact same things since, it all goes horribly wrong!

If anyone can give me a simple, step-by-step idiots guide that will work every time I'll be eternally grateful. I feel my head is about to explode with frustration...this is the only thing I need to get right before I can finish the meshes I've already created.

All the tutorials I've found tell me to re-size each part as it's mapped, which I do, but then the textures look hideous. Then I tried mapping without re-sizing and it still looks hideous!

Please help before I spontaneously combust and take half my street with me!

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Test Subject
#2 Old 6th Sep 2012 at 7:09 PM Last edited by xiaoyun : 6th Sep 2012 at 7:28 PM.
Try searching youtube for 'blender uv mapping tutorial'

Blender is yet another tool for 3D modeling, (and its free)
Why not try it ? Especially while its known for his excellent and easy uv mapping abilities.

In blender, you may see in realtime how your textures are mapped while you edit it.


Although im not english native, it does not exempt me from caring about my grammar, which is usually main reason for editing my posts after submitting.
Field Researcher
#3 Old 6th Sep 2012 at 7:29 PM
So basically, be very careful about resizing. I haven't worked in Wings, instead I use Milkshape, Blender and Maya, so I can't really help with that. And I don't use UV Mapper pro or free, I use Roadkill 1.1, another free program.

Having said all that, I found a basic principle of UV mapping to be thus: If you enlarge/reduce one piece, you most often need to enlarge all pieces, unless they are pieces that won't show, like the underside of a table. Also, proportion matters when it comes to stretching textures, so keep the piece's proportions constrained. In other words, if you make that table leg fatter but not taller, it's going to look funny.

Does Wings give you the ability to put a texture on a mesh to check for stretching? That's another technique I use. I either put the final texture on the object right there in Milkshape, or I use a test texture like polka dots or checks. If the object is UV mapped correctly, the test texture will appear uniform. If not, it looks weird. The text texture can then be discarded. Make sure you use a text texture of the same proportion as your final texture, eg, 128 x 256, 512 x 512, etc. (I can also do that in Maya or Blender, but I find Milkshape the easiest program to use. I tend to do most of my work in Milkshape, and build the meshes initially in Maya, and bake my multiplier, specular, and mask in Blender--those are for Sims 3 meshes.)

I wish I knew of a recent Sims 2 specific tutorial that walks you by the hand through the process, but I don't. I at least hope that this post helps some. Hang in there, LadyAngel!
Field Researcher
#4 Old 6th Sep 2012 at 7:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by xiaoyun
Try searching youtube for 'blender uv mapping tutorial'

Blender is yet another tool for 3D modeling, (and its free)
Why not try it ? Especially while its known for his excellent and easy uv mapping abilities.

In blender, you may see in realtime how your textures are mapped while you edit it.



I believe UV mapper pro also has this ability.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#5 Old 6th Sep 2012 at 10:14 PM
Thank you so much for your replies. Yes, uvmapper pro has the ability to show the texture on the maps. So it would help if I resized each map proportionately to each other, and made sure I keep each one constrained correctly? That sounds logical.

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Field Researcher
#6 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 2:26 AM
I think it will help. And preview a texture in UV mapper pro to see if it looks ok. Any texture will work. Here's an example from within milkshape (happens to be a negligee I'm working on, not exactly a table, lol, but it does have legs ):

Screenshots
Field Researcher
#7 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 2:40 AM
Here's an example of an improperly scaled, out of proportion UV map:



Some of the dots are too big and others are squishy. That negligee is gonna look baaad with an ingame texture on it. The patterns will look out of proportion in the center and squished below that. Mind you, this is TS3, but the principles are the same.

So hope this was some help.
Screenshots
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#8 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 10:42 AM
Thank you so much for that, it helps a lot. I've just realised that in uvmapper pro, I can select all and just map the whole thing, then it creates an automatic map for me. I'm going to give that a try, then I'll post here and let you know how it went.

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Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#9 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 12:15 PM
Okay, that still looks bad. I wish I knew how to use Milkshape properly, but it looks far too complicated. I've followed a few Milkshape tutorials but couldn't get to grips with even the basics.

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Field Researcher
#10 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 6:28 PM
Post a picture? Might be helpful.
Me? Sarcastic? Never.
staff: administrator
#11 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 7:41 PM
When meshing I always do it in groups, and map each group separately. I create a table top, map it. Then I create one leg, map it, then duplicate it for each other leg. This means each one is mapped identical to the uvmap, and since each group (top/legs) are mapped separately you can remap just part of it. Mapping for TS2 is a bit different, you can have them sized differently on the uvmap and then make the textures differ in size for each respective area.
Field Researcher
#12 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 7:54 PM
Yes, since in TS2 you control the textures, you're not as much at the mercy of proportionate mapping as in TS3. (This is making me want to go back to TS2 creating...)
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#13 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 8:46 PM
Quote: Originally posted by HugeLunatic
Mapping for TS2 is a bit different, you can have them sized differently on the uvmap and then make the textures differ in size for each respective area.

How would I do this exactly? I've tried resizing them all differently but when I apply the texture it looks okay in some parts and very stretched in others. Is this something I could do in uvmapper pro?

Thank you for trying to help everyone!

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staff: administrator
#14 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 10:00 PM
When texturing I use photoshop and layers. I'll take one texture, say a woodgrain, and apply to the section covering the table top. Then I would take this same texture, create a new layer, resize, and apply to the section covering the table legs. When mapping, I also use the blue grid's by Tig to make sure things are in proportion. http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=135136 I apply this as the background in UvMapper Pro, and make the squares are square.

An example of mine, http://www.modthesims.info/d/357632, the Madrid Dining Table. Open it up and look at the texture. Most of the main texture is one large woodgrain, but the very bottom has the woodgrain rotated and made smaller.
Field Researcher
#15 Old 7th Sep 2012 at 11:44 PM Last edited by kithri : 8th Sep 2012 at 12:17 AM.
Hey HugeLunatic, those maps by tiggerypum are the bees knees! Thanks!

And I really like the Madrid dining set, too. Snagged it for my S2 pixel peeps.

I took a look at how you mapped the table. (Always trying to learn, that I am. ) The table top takes up slightly less map space than the legs, which are mapped slightly larger in proportion to the table top, but are in proportion to each other, which is the main thing. The sides of the flat table tops are slightly squished, when viewed in my lovely brown polka dot fabric, but it doesn't matter, especially since you made the final woodgrain smaller on that bottom section, and thus it is not squished in the final product.

Looks perfect the way you did it.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#16 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 10:06 AM
Okay, I think I may be getting this. I'd already tried the blue grid thingy which helped a lot (uvmapper pro is brilliant for that), but there was barely enough space on the map to place everything once I'd got them all even. This begs the question: Do the grid squares just have to be square, or also the same size for all map sections? I was making the squares on each part as small as possible.

I don't use layers for the texturing, but I do select different parts and use different images and/or sizes for each part.

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Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#17 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 8:18 PM
Thank you for your help with this, I'm starting to get the hang of it now. One thing...I'm trying to map a round-shaped cushion-type mesh for practice, but can't seem to get it right. Are there different ways to map for different shapes?
Screenshots

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Field Researcher
#18 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 9:13 PM
So now that you have everything looking nice, I'm assuming that the table legs are cluttering up the UV map/texture area. Now you could put legs on top of legs the way HugeLunatic did with the Madrid table. Sims 2 is forgiving that way in that you can have several pieces reference the same area without weird shading effects. Can't overlap UV area in Sims 3 without weirdness occurring. You still have to be careful in Sims 2 because if you want to provide detailing on the texture to a certain area, you don't want it showing up on other areas too.

First couch I mapped for Sims 2 ended up with weird shading because I had mapped front and back to the same piece and I had drawn in extra shading in the couch front cushion seams....

And yes, to answer your question, there are different ways to map for different shapes. Use a cylindrical map for tube-like structures (some vases, barrels, etc), cylinder with cap for, well, cylinders with flat tops and bottoms, box map for boxes, planar for flat surfaces, spherical for globes. Try to match the overall shape of your object or piece to the map type.

I know UV mapper lite used those designations. Other programs for UV mapping don't even go there...Like Roadkill 1.1. Instead it has two modes, one for organic shapes, the other for inorganic, can't remember what they are called at the moment (one is like LCSM or something that doesn't give very much information). So the expanded answer is: It depends on the UV mapping program you are using.

Hope this helped. You've been working very hard, LadyAngel. have a !
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#19 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 9:26 PM
Thanks!

It has been hard, but so worth it! I figured out how to map this shape by trial and error, using different offset combinations, but it worked out very well. All I need to figure out now is how to create a cushion mesh that works on a sofa/chair. But I'll post that in another thread.

Thanks so much for all your help, guys, I'd have given up days ago if it weren't for MTS!

Sim Fans UK - Free downloads, tutorials, game help and chat!

I'm selling my vBulletin 4 suite - please contact me if you are interested in buying it.
Field Researcher
#20 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 9:30 PM
You're welcome!
Sockpuppet
#21 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 9:41 PM
I always map my parts myself in Milkshape, exactly the way i want them.
Once learned from DR Pixels tutorial:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=145153
Field Researcher
#22 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 9:45 PM
Oooh, don't think I've seen that before. Love tutorials!
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#23 Old 8th Sep 2012 at 9:49 PM
Strangely enough I came across that one yesterday, but Milkshape seems far too complicated for me. I do have it installed but have no idea how to use it!

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Instructor
#24 Old 26th Sep 2012 at 10:40 AM
What is exactly the advantage of UV map Pro over its free version? I use Milkshape and UV map free, Photoshop 7 and Windows Paint for meshing. The problem is that we get viced to some programs and it is hard to get used or understand even their own upgrades.
I downloaded several free 3D programs and mean that they are all incredible difficult. After I finally figured out how to work with Milkshape I became even more narrow-minded.
It would be useful to read what other users think about the pros and contras for some popular programs. Many of them are quite expensive and don't justify investments from a non commercial user (more exactly, from a curious amateur)
Sockpuppet
#25 Old 26th Sep 2012 at 11:02 AM
like i said, best is to map them yourself.
Altho uvmappers have tons of map options it never comes out the way you want it.(IMO)
I find Blender freaking hard to understand and by the time i got it all figured it out they come with a new release were they changed interface and settings....
Also plugins are often no longer compatible so you need to update everything(happend to me twice so i gave up on it)
I only use a old version to bake my textures.

Wings 3d is probably the most popular(and free) and like Milkshape user friendly but i have no experience with it.
I can read and write with Milkshape and can create anything with it(but im used to it for 8 years now wich makes a diffrence) so its by far my favorite.
Paid 25 dollars at the time for it and it still works like a charme after all those years
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