Blender Tutorials

How to render colourful templates
Importing Missing Textures into Blender
UV Mapping in Blender
How to install plugins
Diffuse and Normal Map Baking
Using Sollumz Blender Plugin
How to create wires in Blender

WildFyr Documentation > Blender Tutorials > UV Mapping in Blender

UV Mapping in Blender

UV mapping in Blender, so far superior to ZMod 3.

I want to save you time and from heartache, so I will show you today how to use the Blender UV mapper!

Ditch ZMod, it sucks

So first off, let's get this out of the way. If you have only used ZMod's UV Mapper, you have basically shot yourself in the foot every time you have UV mapped anything. ZMod's clunky controls are awful in the 3D view ports, and are even worse when working in 2D UV Maps. ZMod also has this strange grid snapping "feature" (if you can even call it that) making it impossible to line up UV maps on their typology lines if the mapping is not exactly the same size as the other.

Blender on the other hand is a lot more fluid, the controls made more sense, and it gives you more control over your map. Scaling is done from the centre of the UV map, not the centre of the world. No more guessing how big something needs to be from the centre, then dragging it where it needs to go. Plus, Blender offers a wide assortment of UV unwrapping tools, making setting up your models super easy. From Smart UV Project to Projecting from view (One you ZMod users will be familiar with) and even more with high-powered plugins to help with your UV mapping endeavours.

Simple UV Mapping

If you are UV mapping a mesh, and it is something you just need to have a texture on, and no one will need to change. Smart UV Project will be your best friend. Head over to the UV Editing tab and select all the polygons you want to UV map on your mesh. Press U and select "Smart UV Project". You might need to do some slight UV clean-up, but for the most part a simple UV map with all polygons facing their best angle is all set up for you!

UV Mapping for Templates, Texture Changes

If your UV map is for a car's paint texture, or an EUP item where a patch or logo will be applied, you want your UV map to be set up in such a way to complement the texture artist who will at some point make a design for it.

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