Model newbie - UV mapping?

[Shadowstar]

I'm somewhat new to modelling, and have been using UV maps for a while but I just can't seem to get very nice ones out of Wings3d. I was wondering how some of you experts do it. Any recommended programs or methods?

[Atrocities]

Many of us haven't figured it out yet either. But rest assured were trying too.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Atrocities is our resident expert so if he is on the case you can bet it will be cracked soon!

[shinigami]

My job in the real world is managing artists and what we stress is find a workflow that works for you. If you are happy with the model itself but don't care for the way your program handles UV mapping export the model and try another program, Blender is another free alternative and you can find all kinds of things at sourceforge.

For me, watching an artist skin a model is like watching magic at work. Being able to match up the faces with the model while you're texturing is key. One of my guys will actually paint numbers onto the faces and then apply the skin so that he can see exactly what goes where while another can unfold a model and just know what's what. You just have to learn what works for you.

[se5a]

half the work in UV mapping is placing the faces on the map in an efficent manner.

[Shadowstar]

Oh its not the texturing that I'm having trouble with, I just use Deep Paint for that. It's getting the UV mapped properly that's the tricky part. Wings3d has alot of options for UV mapping but they are kinda complex and confusing. Maybe it's just a matter of experimenting and trying different things.

I have dabbled with Deep UV but I have more control with Wings3d, which is perhaps ironic because that extra control is exactly what makes it more daunting.

Maybe I'm just moving too fast. I'll spend some time getting more familiar with UV mapping tomorrow.

[Hugh Manatee]

http://www.ibiblio.org/bvidtute/

http://www.spaghettimoon.co.uk/

^watch the movies there, great tutorials on how UV mapping works in blender and some wings info.