Wings 3D Primer Page 4

Character Creation in Wings 3D (Aug 2004)

Step 6: Auto UV
Wings 3D's UV functionality is pretty nifty, though it's not completed yet. So there are a few quirks you will come across. One thing to consider is you can't move the single UVs around yet. This may lead to some inefficiencies in your UV Map. If you don't have a problem with that, read on. If you do, you may export your model and layout the map with something else.
Switch to Body mode and do a Right-click > UV Mapping and what will look like another perspective viewport will pop up. Remember the X, Y, Z view commands work here as well. Press O to switch from Perspective to Orthographic. If you have applied shaders to your model, be careful, as Auto UV breaks out UV shells based on shaders. The theory to consider is to break your complex shapes into primitive shells. For example, the leg can be mapped like a cylinder. Deja vu? Once you can mentally picture this, apply Auvchart colors to the faces in AutoUV viewpart by Selecting the faces and Right-clicking and selecting an Auvchart color. A tip for selecting Faces is to press F to select adjacent faces.

Once you're done with that, it would be a good idea to set where you want your seams to be at. I usually put it where the audience won't see it most. For example, the legs will have it on the side towards the midline. Select the needed edges and Right-click > Mark Edges for Cut. This will create a green line.

Are you ready? Remember there's no turning back. No amount of saving will save you! Right-Click > Continue > Folding to break the shells out!

Goodness gracious, Aunt Sabelle exclaimed! Not to worry, there were some errors. But they can be fixed with a pseudo-planar mapping trick. But first go ahead and try and make it look as pretty as you can. Scale, rotate, move, arrange the UV shells. A suggestion for your digestion is to move the error shells out of the map so you don't get confused. Anyway, let's consider the error with the glove in the follow pic.

Rasp! Looks like it was unfolded without a marked cut. No worries, though. Someone wrote a sweet "Snap Image" tool which may just save our behinds. Execute Snap mode via the Tools > Snap Image; this functions like a camera planar map. So you can select the top part of the glove, adjust the camera angle and Right-click > Snap Image. You can break your shells up this way.

Texture Time! Onwards!