DrTAD Blender Basics. Example 12. UNWRAP - Tutorial

BLENDER BASICS – UNWRAP - TUTORIAL
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Tihomir Dovramadjiev
Technical University of Varna
MTF, Department Industrial Design
tihomir.dovramadjiev@tu-varna.bg
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.12126.69441
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327288200_BLENDER_BASICS_-
_UNWRAP_-_TUTORIAL

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About Blender software
Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the
entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation,
rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and
game creation.
●https://www.blender.org/
●Modern accessible application of the system Blender in 3D design
practice.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312033613_Modern_accessibl
e_application_of_the_system_Blender_in_3D_design_practice

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PIXABAY
Using Images and Videos
●Images and Videos on Pixabay are released under Creative Commons CC0. To the
extent possible under law, uploaders of Pixabay have waived their copyright and related
or neighboring rights to these Images and Videos. You are free to adapt and use them for
commercial purposes without attributing the original author or source. Although not
required, a link back to Pixabay is appreciated.
●Please be aware:
a) Imagery depicting identifiable persons, logos, brands, etc. may be subject to additional
copyrights, property rights, privacy rights, trademarks etc. and may require the consent of
a third party or the license of these rights - particularly for commercial applications.
b) Images and Videos may not be used in a way that shows identifiable persons in a
disgraceful light, or to imply endorsement of products and services by depicted persons,
brands, and organisations - unless permission was granted.
●https://pixabay.com/bg/service/terms/#usage
●

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PIXABAY – Dice & cracked texture
https://pixabay.com/bg/%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5-%D1%83%D0%BC%D1%80%D0%B5-%D0%BA
%D1%83%D0%B1-%D0%B8%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0-%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%82-153283/
https://pixabay.com/bg/%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BD-
%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B0-%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%BD
%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0-3177833/

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PIXABAY – Triangles & ornaments
https://pixabay.com/bg/%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8A%D0%B3%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA-
%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%BE-
%D1%86%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%82-2724449/
●https://pixabay.com/bg/%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B1%D0%BB
%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BC
%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8-3535822/

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BLENDER UNWRAP
Flattens the mesh surface by cutting along seams. Useful for organic shapes. Begin by selecting all
faces to be unwrapped in the 3D View. With our faces selected, it is now time to unwrap them. In the
3D View, select Mesh UV Unwrap Unwrap or U and select Unwrap. You can also do this from the‣ ‣
UV/Image Editor with UVs Unwrap or E. This method will unwrap all of the faces and reset previous‣
work. The UVs menu will appear in the UV/Image Editor after unwrapping has been performed once.
●This tool unwraps the faces of the object to provide the “best fit” scenario based on how the faces
are connected and will fit within the image, and takes into account any seams within the selected
faces. If possible, each selected face gets its own different area of the image and is not overlapping
any other faces UV’s. If all faces of an object are selected, then each face is mapped to some portion
of the image.
●https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv/editing/unwrapping/mapping_types.html

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BLENDER Smart UV Project
●Smart UV Project, (previously called the Archimapper) cuts the mesh based on an angle threshold
(angular changes in your mesh). This gives you fine control over how automatic seams are be
created. It is good method for simple and complex geometric forms, such as mechanical objects or
architecture.
●This algorithm examines the shape of your object, the faces selected and their relation to one
another, and creates a UV map based on this information and settings that you supply.In the
example to the right, the Smart Mapper mapped all of the faces of a cube to a neat arrangement of
three sides on top, three sides on the bottom, for all six sides of the cube to fit squarely, just like the
faces of the cube. For more complex mechanical objects, this tool can very quickly and easily create
a very logical and straightforward UV layout for you.

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BLENDER Cylinder and Sphere Projection
●Cylindrical and Spherical mappings have the same options. The difference is that a cylindrical
mapping projects the UVs on a plan toward the cylinder shape, while a spherical map takes into
account the sphere’s curvature, and each latitude line becomes evenly spaced. Useful for spherical
shapes, like eyes, planets, etc..
●Normally, to unwrap a cylinder (tube) as if you slit it lengthwise and folded it flat, Blender wants the
view to be vertical, with the tube standing “up”. Different views will project the tube onto the UV map
differently, skewing the image if used. However, you can set the axis on which the calculation is done
manually.

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BLENDER Layout Workflow
●Optimizing the UV Layout. When you have unwrapped, possibly using seams, your UV layout may
be quite disorganized and chaotic. You may need to proceed with the following tasks: Orientation of
the UV mapping, arranging the UV maps, stitching several maps together.
Combining UV Maps
●https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv/editing/layout_workflow.html

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Blender UVs Explained
The best analogy to understanding UV mapping is cutting up a cardboard box. The box is
a three-dimensional (3D) object, just like the mesh cube you add to your scene.
●If you were to take a pair of scissors and cut a seam or fold of the box, you would be able
to lay it flat on a tabletop. As you are looking down at the box on the table, we could say
that U is the left-right direction, is V is the up-down direction. This image is thus in two
dimensions (2D). We use U and V to refer to these “texture-space coordinates” instead of
the normal X and Y, which are always used (along with Z) to refer to the three-
dimensional space (3D).
●When the box is reassembled, a certain UV location on the paper is transferred to an (X,
Y, Z) location on the box. This is what the computer does with a 2D image in wrapping it
around a 3D object.
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv/overview.html

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Blender Cartography Example
●Cartographers (map makers) have been dealing with this problem for millennia. A cartography (map-
making) example is creating a projection map of the whole world. In cartography, we take the surface
of the earth (a sphere) and make a flat map that can be folded up into the glove compartment aboard
the space shuttle. We “fill in” spaces toward the poles, or change the outline of the map in any of
several ways
Each of these is an example of a way to UV map a sphere. Each of the hundred or so commonly
accepted projections has its advantages and disadvantages. Blender allows the same thing anyway
we want to, on the computer.

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Blender Half-Sphere Example
In this image you can easily see that the shape and size of the marked face in 3D space is different
in UV space. This difference is caused by the “stretching” (technically called mapping) of the 3D part
(XYZ) onto a 2D plane (i.e. the UV map).
●If a 3D object has a UV map, then, in addition to the 3D coordinates X, Y, and Z, each point on the
object will have corresponding U and V coordinates.

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Blender Seams
Introduction. For many cases, using the Unwrap calculations of Cube, Cylinder, Sphere, or best fit
will produce a good UV layout.
●The workflow is the following:
1. Create seams.
2. Unwrap.
3. Adjust seams and repeat.
4. Manually adjust UVs.
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv/editing/unwrapping/seams.html

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The Tutorial
/Blender 2.79/

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UV Editing Screen Layout
● Fig. 1. Activating UV Editing Screen Layout

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Edit Mode
● Fig. 2. Switch to Edit Mode

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Mesh Edges
● Fig. 3. Selecting Edges

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Mesh Edges
● Fig. 4. Rotating cube & selecting edges

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Mark Seam
● Fig. 5. Mesh > Edges (Ctrl E) > Mark Seam

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Mark Seam
● Fig. 6. Select all (A)

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Unwrap
● Fig. 7. Mesh > UV Unwrap (U) > Unwrap

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Unwrap
● Fig. 8. The Result + Opening file „dice-153283.png“

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Unwrap
● Fig. 9. dice-153283.png

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Unwap – Position & Proportions
● Fig. 10. Select All (A) – Orange color

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● Fig. 11. Handy work with edges (orange color). UV Vertex X & Y.

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● Fig. 12. Handy work with edges (orange color). UV Vertex X & Y.

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● Fig. 13. Handy work with edges. UV Vertex X & Y.

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Object Mode
● Fig. 14. Switch to Obejct Mode (Texture)

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Object Mode
● Fig. 15. The Result

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Render Preview
● Fig. 16. The Result

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Default Screen Layout & Texture
● Fig. 17. Activating Default Screen Layout and Texture - „x“ Unlink data block „Tex“

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● Fig. 18. Activating Default Screen Layout and Cube Texture - „x“ Unlink data block „Tex“

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● Fig. 19. Cube Texture – New > Type Image or Movie > Image > Open > file dice-153283.png

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● Fig. 20. Cube Texture > Texture (Both) and Render

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UV & Default Screen Layouts
● Fig. 21. Cube Texture – New > Type Image or Movie > Image > Open > file background-
3177833_1920.jpg

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● Fig. 23. Cube Texture – New > Type Image or Movie > Image > Open > file triangle-
2724449_1280.png

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● Fig. 25. Cube Texture – New > Type Image or Movie > Image > Open > file decorated-
3535822_1920.jpg

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References
Blender Software
https://www.blender.org/
Modern accessible application of the system Blender in 3D design practice.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312033613_Modern_accessible_application_of_the_syste
m_Blender_in_3D_design_practice
Creative Commons license
●https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_license
●PIXABAY. Free - CC0 Creative Commons.
https://pixabay.com/bg/service/terms/#usage
Blender Unwrap
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv/editing/unwrapping/mapping_types.html
Blender Seams
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv/editing/unwrapping/seams.html
Blender Layout Workflow
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv/editing/layout_workflow.html
Blender UVs Explained

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DrTAD Blender Basics. Example 12. UNWRAP - Tutorial