10 Essential UV Tips and Tricks | Blender Tutorial

[@blengine]

Since we did this video there has been another awesome UV addon addition that I just have to mention here! So i'm going to pin it to the top so less people are likely to miss it! Textools! Many thanks to renderhjs for this awesome set of tools! bitbucket.org/renderhjs/textools-blender/ Also many thanks to Rombout Versluijs who adds... "For those which use or like to Headus UVlayout. I made a bridge tool which sends / receives from Headus UVlayout. All is automated with sending the files to Headus, you can use there crazy good UV unwrapping. github.com/schroef/uvlayout_bridge Any further updates i'll post here. :) Aidy.

[@lahcenechel1855]

thanks maybe a quick tuto about it will help cause i didnt understand anything on it .

[@ABentPaperclip]

maybe you could do an update where you show how to get triplanar box mapping working with normal maps, because your last tip doesn't work at all for normal maps.

[@blengine]

we should probably do an update soon once 2.8 is out, and maybe get a poll going for what we could include. :) Aidy.

[@3dmodelingtools187]

Thanks for the tips !

[@juliandarley]

​@@blengine i should have put my question here: do you know yet when/whether you will be doing this? presumably, the content will be partly influenced by which addons have been ported to 2.8. one of things i would like to see is something on how you repair or improve lousy UV maps from a model that has been bought? that would ideally also include something on texturing too, but i realise this is focused on UV maps.

[@MrBalinSuperTV]

Hiding everything but the currently selected face to adjust only the UVs desired is a BRILLIANT! you are a LIVESAVER!

[@xewi60]

you just saved me years of my life

[@blengine]

YES! That's what it's all about! :D Aidy.

[@anartismal]

I can not embellish how grateful I am right now. If there is a master of this universe, YOU deserve it's blessings

[@TheSlimGenre]

i'm like, "how the heck does this only have like 2000 views it's amazing!!" and then I realize it just came out a few hours ago. This is fantastic info for us noobs just learning our way through Blender. Thank you

[@blengine]

you're very welcome! You'll be a noob no more in no time! Especially with uv's! :D Aidy.

[@Rin8Kin]

This is the best tutorials on this topic I have ever seen.

[@JoshuaMerrill042]

This tutorial was extremely helpful. I have been struggling with getting good UV unwrapping for quite some time now. I think you covered all of the difficulties and how to work with them. Thank you!

[@blengine]

So glad it has helped! There are many more UV tips and considerations though I hope this should serve as a pretty decent base for most. :) Aidy.

[@nekrosmantis1031]

LOD (level of detail) UV transfer: 22:10 Thank you so much; I was searching for a feature like this for hours!

[@aux_anges]

This is full of revelations. Can't praise enough. You people are amazing. Thank you, as always, and please keep this up.

[@fattmeows8868]

Thank you thank you thank you! There are so many ways to do this and its so confusing for someone with zero experience in blender. This demonstration has helped me to understand what I'm doing and under what circumstances I should using a different technique.

[@JackrowValkov]

Snapping loops to 0 by U or V axis helped me a lot as i tried it out! Thank you so much for this tip, you saved me a lot of frustration!

[@DavidPatMathis81]

That Auto align feature just blew my mind. Im doing retro models and I can absolutely use that to hide seams. Thank you!

[@unfa00]

Whoa! The UV Live unwrap and stitching is awesome! I didn't know I could work this way!

[@blengine]

Woo! Yeah it's pretty surprising all the stuff that is in Blender even without considering all that cool addon stuff! :D Aidy.

[@Olstman]

Probably best Blender UV tutorial that i ever seen!!! Thank you for such helpful tutorial!!!

[@blengine]

Woo! Really glad it is helping! :) Aidy.

[@marioCazares]

Uv pinning literally saved my life on live action projection painting where I needed to add geo. Dude thank you so much!

[@goku21youtub]

projection mapping always updates automatically , dont bake the projection unless you know the scene is final

[@Kavukamari]

that data transfer trick is really cool, I never imagined what I could do with that modifier until now

[@justusnwaefido8934]

uv unwrapping is so expensive I can't wait to try out your tips....and so far you touched a lot real quick...alotta advanced stuff for a more confident workflow for beginners like me... thanks...can't believe I wasn't subscribed b4

[@blengine]

Awesome! Glad it helped! We'll try to do more that hits the spot! :) Aidy.

[@ciaranpmryan]

Seriously priceless info! UV unwrapping has scared me for about 10 years since I first started learning Maya. That's why I switched to learn compositing instead of the 3D side of things. Getting back into 3D after all these years through Blender has been a joy thanks to such users as yourself. You have my deepest respect. (Deeper than any wormhole you've created ;) )

[@blengine]

That's great to hear we've been able to help! (and that you've explored the furthest reaches of space via the wormhole tut ;) ) Everyone should get into Blender in my view! :D Aidy.

[@ciaranpmryan]

As a freelancer, Blender is a no-brainer, especially with so many brilliant resources out there. This will seriously level up my production worth ;)

[@davidsandberg5217]

And just when I thought I had a pretty good handle on UVs in Blender, you came along with all of this great new (new to me) info! Thanks!

[@blengine]

woo! Glad to have offered something new to it. :) Aidy.

[@RomboutVersluijs]

Couple of MUST HAVE addons are; UV_tools, Magic UV and UV distribution & align. There make working with UV's much more fun and productive. Another quick UV unwrapper is UVW 0.5.1 for quick UV unwrapping base shapes. This unwrappes everything so fast and perfect by sort of UV projecting a mesh.

[@blengine]

Thanks for the extra add-on suggestions! For any large UV jobs it's definitely worth checking out as many cool tools like that as possible! :) Aidy.

[@sciencethygod]

Thanks, this video is great, I finally understand UVs after all these years!

[@Uradamus]

This is great, especially the info on the upcoming changes on the way with 2.79. You've managed to get me even more excited than I already was for its impending release.

[@blengine]

woo! Yeah so much has been crammed into that release it's crazy! :D Aidy.

[@petelozzi7298]

Killer video. It's stuff like this that is changing the world. Many thanks for the time and energy!

[@melissa3920]

The last part about texturing without UVs, Amazing! Here is why. I created an icosphere without UVs. Then assigned various materials using the object (although I used the sphere option instead of the box). Then I used the worst UV unwrapping method for texturing, lightmap pack. Using those UVs, I baked out the diffuse and created a new material. That material fit perfectly using the image from the bake with the funky UVs. :)

[@jmzhh9483]

Been looking for days for this video thanks should do an up dated version

[@VicVegaTW]

This is so much information on UV's, cleared up a lot. Thanks.

[@blengine]

Thanks! Really glad it was helpful! :) Aidy.

[@yohansstudio4270]

Thank you. I was looking for Crtl+L all along!!!. Found at 7:54-7:55

[@goku21youtub]

31:10 really helped me .. nice boxmapping was the one thing i missed from 3ds max in blender .. thanx alot

[@inventsable]

Just recently discovered your channel, you are great at tutorials--really appreciate all the technical knowledge you're laying out because it'll make my creative life *way* easier. Easy to follow and understand, dispels a lot of frustration and murkiness of UV territory for me. Thank you!

[@blengine]

That is very kind of you to take the time to write, it is much appreciated! Thanks so much, very glad to hear it's been useful! :) Aidy.

[@superstringcheese]

Really informative and concise, far more than most tutorials. Thanks for this.

[@blengine]

Glad it was helpful and to the point! Tried to help the most in the least possible time! Still much that could be followed up after this i think, but as a uv bedrock hopefully this serves for now! :D Aidy.

[@warrenography]

wow, that was great. refreshing some knowledge, expanding on it, and adding new techniques. thanks Aidy!

[@blengine]

Woo! That's what it's all about! Very happy to have helped! :D Aidy.

[@jasonlor9735]

12:42 blew my mind. I can't believe that's there! Made my life easier to breathe.

[@blengine]

woo! Glad to have helped! :) Aidy.

[@imagist.]

Awesome wave of information you've shared brother. Thanks a a lot for taking the time to teach others, it's really appreciated!!!

[@blengine]

Thanks a lot of taking the time to let me know it's a good wave! It all helps us surf towards the right shoreline for the most people! :D Aidy.

[@dcwicqjf]

Thank you for UV Wrap !!! It help me a lot.

[@tomaszurbanski3057]

Thanks man! I didn't even know the tricks from the first "easy part" of the video!

[@blengine]

haha! No worries! It seems like a video on UV's was due for us all! :D Aidy.

[@DarianBax]

That last one is beautiful!

[@blengine]

Aaaaah, yes the twist ending!!! I especially like that one too. :D Aidy.

[@gnightrow4020]

This is By Far The Best UV Tutorial So Far, Thank You !!

[@ginojoseph7755]

Great job!!!! i am happy to see this tutorial. Keep doing ....You are really awesome...

[@blengine]

many thanks! Appreciate the encouragement. :) Aidy.

[@AnatomyLab]

Nice! Thanks for the Uv awesomeness, i wish i ccould give it multiple thumbs up👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@bardez32]

Great man!! the last tip was the best. thanks!

[@blengine]

haha! Glad you liked it! Yeah definitely a timesaver that one. :D Aidy.

[@Moynzy]

Great video! lovely explanation! Thank you very much

[@alvaroluque6747]

Great video! Thankfully you mentioned Multi object UV editing, is one of the best plugin in Blender, awesome for a complex model that need to be exported to a game engine or similar

[@blengine]

Thanks! Yeah Andreas has been doing some awesome things with his addons. Totally agree with your assessment! :) Aidy.

[@josephbrandenburg4373]

Multi-object editting, including UVs and edit mode, will be supported in Blender 2.8

[@MrBogfrog]

Whenever you make an "X NUMBER" of anything, please include the list with timestamps in the description or comments.

[@musaabalazawi5380]

this is like 6 hours of tutorial but in 30 mins ... you are really pro guys

[@blengine]

That has been the hope! So it makes me very proud to read this! :D Aidy.

[@thebiblewithaiandme]

Great tutorial! Thank you!

[@blengine]

Really glad a uv tutorial generates some good vibes! :) Aidy.

[@GameDev1]

Great tutorial, thank you! One thing I miss when I combine the "follow active quads" and "magic-uv" parts: UV Squares. I do hope that it finds its way into Blender, it's very helpful.

[@blengine]

Thanks! Ah, yes there are so many cool extra things out there, i see no reason why not! I'll get that on the list. :) Aidy

[@harveylawrence9601]

Omg I'm new to blender but I'm coming from Maya and uv in blender was killing me. This video makes my life so much easier

[@BIPfilmes]

Really really good tutorial. *.*

[@ChroNomadics]

Been looking around for some UV workflow aid. Thanks for this,

[@blengine]

Glad to have helped! :) Aidy.

[@pauljs75]

Nice, a few things I didn't know before. By the way, one of the snapping options in the UV editor is "snap to pixels" - faster than rounding out the numbers manually and using the N-panel. (Does the same thing, but faster.)

[@blengine]

Thanks! Yeah that's a great one! There is definitely room for a UV follow-up! :D I did try using snap to pixels occasionally as a kind of custom grid size substitute, particularly useful for creating lightmap uv layouts. Aidy. :)

[@KarribuCG]

I've been hoping for UDIM for years now....one day it will happen and I will shed tears of joy

[@blengine]

As with the development for Eevee now they're supporting this!!! These guys are amazing!!! twitter.com/tonroosendaal/status/893633742870241280 :D Aidy

[@KarribuCG]

Getting ready to cry....

[@lilglilg2011]

this is amazing i love aidy thank u

[@blengine]

woo! Thanks so much! :) Aidy.

[@Lex4art]

Great tutorial, thanks! )

[@nw5992]

So many good new tricks learned, also we can all look forward to that SLIM unwrapping, I believe it is similar to zbrushs algorithm which is really good for organic stuff.

[@blengine]

glad it was helpful! Plus yeah that'll be very cool! Just adding this link here for reference. :) blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?421116-New-UV-unwrapping-SLIM-algorithm Aidy.

[@blengine]

You're very welcome! and thanks for the link, looks very cool! :D Aidy.

[@GearPenguin]

Lol. I was just trying to fight with UVs earlier today. This showed up in my recommended videos and I cant thank you enough!

[@blengine]

Haha, your computer is watching you!!!! But! Good news, it apparently has your best interests at heart, glad you found this video! :) Aidy.

[@MaksLangerd]

For the editing UV models to use one texture i just make them one object , fix UV's and later i just select faces that i want to be seperated object. It is better that way because you keep the overall scale for UV for both of objects.

[@blengine]

Another glamorous topic! *cough* Well who doesn't love UV's??!!! Oh everyone? Well somebody gotta do it though right?! :D Aidy

[@nobocks]

uv mapping is a pure crap because of no seams... 40 minutes to put 6 blender images on a cube > pure shit ! Photoshop > pure shit, ect !

[@barry_crisp]

When you're so good at blender you make render of a flat plane with the UV grid look dope as hell.

[@behanvisuals]

This is the best video youtube could recommend to me, thanks youtube... And you sir :D

[@ПавелЛобко-н7д]

Thank you for the video. Very informative.

[@blengine]

you're very welcome! Glad it was of help! :D Aidy.

[@orbi1488]

You rock CG!

[@ryujytryagain]

Nothing personal. It's just that I love you.

[@blengine]

This is a common feeling after prolonged UV exposure. I feel it too. :) Aidy.

[@woodenfigurines]

Aidy - very good job on this one! I occasionally watched CG Masters tutorials, but this video will change the occasionally part. Your voice is clear and calming (this is a double-sided sword though: I can fall asleep on any tut :D) You are thorough, clear in definitions and - my favourite bit - whenever I had a question in my head while listening - you answer it the next minute! It shows how much planning and logic you've put in it. You dispelled many of my fears of UVing and taught me a lot! Thanks a lot!

[@blengine]

thanks so much! Yeah when passing on technical info i seem to slip into that calm pilot on the intercom style, 'we're cruising at 15,000 verts and the weather is fine', or at least i think subconsciously that's what might be happening! :D I can only hope to continue with that level of logic, it does take extra time to create a shorter video, otherwise this would have been easily 3 times as long. But who want's a 90 minute UV video?!?! :) Aidy.

[@utc-8human197]

I rarely rewatch CG tut video. This one is so content rich, I will watch it again and again. And I don't mind. Because the teacher is top grade!

[@blengine]

That is very encouraging! I'm looking forward to getting some more free content out there soon! :) Aidy.

[@DeadsPT]

Thank you for the video, exactly what i was looking for

[@LAndriAker]

Thank you! Like you don't even understand the levels of thanks I have for ya right now.

[@blengine]

WOO! Much appreciated, it's such a fundamental set of things to know and it seems to be hard info to properly find out there! It may not be a glamorous topic but your reaction makes it worth it! :) Aidy.

[@guy_incognito]

Thankyou! Very useful!

[@blengine]

you're very welcome! :) Aidy.

[@ΚωνσταντιαΗλιαδου-ι8ε]

Dude i peed my self a little bit laughing my ass off when you start working on the monkey :D . Crying out loud ! Good Job ! :D

[@aminuteofhappiness6852]

thanks for this, continue making awsome tutorials.. :)

[@blengine]

thanks for the support! Will certainly give it a good go! :D Aidy.

[@SurajVishwakarmaSKV_Taiwa]

Awesome tips and trick really learn a lot

[@RC-Heli835]

Thanks for sharing! Do you know if draw objects has been taken out of the 3.0 and later versions of Blender? I have not been able to find it in 3.41 which was my starting version.

[@TwstedTV]

Please make an updated version of this for Blender v1.92.0 / v1.93.0 , since everything is different in the newer versions of blender including how the GUI of blender looks & placed. Thanks :)

[@Val7454]

Thank you very useful. Unwrapping is always a headache.

[@ErcanDinsel]

And i thought i was good at blender...No more blender. Well done mate! :P

[@blengine]

haha! Thanks, i think! :D Aidy.

[@jenovaizquierdo]

man this is awesome Cgmaster is really helpful the tips and tricks. thanks for sharing this. in any of your future video can you explain how you achieve the sphere from around to flat Tha I hot. thanks so much for everything and reading the comment.

[@blengine]

Thanks again as always! Ah yes the sphere to flat effect! I will see if i can get a quick tip out there! :D Aidy.

[@ryorei3782]

cool tutorial, thanks

[@GaryParkin]

Thank you so much for this. I'm getting back into Blender after 2 years and a lot has changed. I learned at least 8 tips from your video! What theme are you using please? I love the transparent tool panels. OH, subscribed, btw.

[@mickymien]

Ohhh mann....thanks, its beautiful tutorial.Thank You.

[@thehackmaster6773]

Great video

[@Transcriptor]

With v2.93.2 Infind its better to select each face in turn and just move the vertex points (select then type G) to where you wantvthem on your (image) texture. You need to ensure your texture has good enough resolution for your object or the results will be fuzzy. This way the image can stay normal ans all the clever shape mapping is done for you. Adjust the number of faces you need to suit. Sometimes you have to rotate or flip the uv islands to get the image correctly.

[@fangzahn]

I've learned so much from this. Thank you!

[@adarshk3428]

every bit is a life savor

[@juliandarley]

thank you! amazing - but also a little mind-boggling. do you have a Joe 90 add-on, by any chance?

[@naoremedisonsingh6035]

is there any "relax tool" for removing strech in the uv like the one which we have in sculpting?

[@claudiumanea5337]

very helpful. Thank you very much

[@jovlem]

Can you do triplanar texturing? And how to set it up with nodes? It's the same as box project, but you can use a different texture for each axis.

[@blengine]

hi! Do you mean something a little like this old tutorial here? kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGapiWumq6-UlcU Apologies if i've misunderstood. :) Aidy.

[@jovlem]

Search for "Triplanar mapping". This site explains it really nice I think: www.martinpalko.com/triplanar-mapping/ But you can't recreate the shader with nodes because Blenders "Vector Math" node don't has the "power" option. Maybe you now a work around for this. I found this thread on blenderartist but I still can't get it to work: blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?265996-Cycles-Tri-planar-Texturing

[@hanson251985]

Cool Mate love it :) THX

[@blengine]

Begin the UV revolution! :D Aidy.

[@julianwildauer]

THX very good info!

[@zapfsaeule2]

Great! Saves lifetime:)

[@blengine]

Woo! This makes me very happy to hear! :) Aidy.

[@solidvisuals]

great tip...wow...many thanks

[@blengine]

Really glad it is helping! :D Aidy.

[@iiiDartsiii]

you really slam hard on those K's and T's

[@chiboreache]

Extremely useful, thanks! Just have a question, why all bloggers keep checked "Stretch to UV Bounds" in Smart UV Project menu, is it provide distortion or not?

[@blengine]

YES! You are right. For an organic shape it's probably fine, however, for a cube it also works fine at the default stretch, but yes other sorts of shapes can cause some distortion with that set on, there is definitely room for a follow up for more essential tips! I think you're right that this is not widely known. :) Aidy.

[@RadiantCHN]

I liked the blender more. Thanks!!!

[@ac3dnature560]

Best UV video. It is Very Helpful. I have a question . That is how to make the model convert to UV layout shape. Thank you ^_^ .

[@blengine]

You're welcome! I have found on stackexchange someone demonstrating basically exactly the same thing, check this here... blender.stackexchange.com/questions/24043/how-to-animate-morphing-a-rectangular-plane-into-a-sphere Though maybe i could do a quick video tip about it potentially. :) Aidy.

[@ac3dnature560]

I am looking forward to your videos of tutorial .^_^ This is a gif picture that a Model convert to UV . www.renderhjs.net/textools/img/texTools_ani_swapuvw.gif Is it possible to reach it? Thank you. I learn very much from your answer.

[@blengine]

aaaah, I see, no i don't think that is an easy one button click thing to do at the moment. I should imagine it straightforward to be able to script though or at least to create a mesh out of a uv map would be straightforward anyway. That would require some coding knowledge, if anyone has time and is up for the challenge!! :) Aidy.

[@ac3dnature560]

Thank you for your answer. This effect bothers me for a while now I know it is not easy to reach. I hope someone can finish this challenge, haha^_^.

[@knc9146]

Hello, great video. Could you please tell me how you setup the onscreen key display? Sorry if this has been asked before but I cant find any information on it. (I dont want the old add-on because its buggy)

[@blengine]

ah yes, you are quite right, Gleb and I use a windows thing, a little app called keycastow, though other operating systems have other cool options from what I remember, occasionally we go looking for a more stable thing since it can be a little buggy itself, or in other words it'll sometimes just stop working! So you have to keep an eye on it! If you find anything else let me know :D Aidy.

[@knc9146]

I downloaded it and it worked right away, took like 2mins. Thanks a lot. I hope it wont crash too frequently but it shouldnt be too big of a problem anyways. Thanks again :D

[@blengine]

woo! Very glad to have helped again! :D Aidy.

[@cheban_peter]

how you open hdri in viewport? without anable render! it was on 10:44! and thanx for video, dude!

[@blengine]

ah i think that is just in the properties sidebar 'n' key in the 3d view, there is an option in the display section called 'world background'. That should display it, that was a new thing for 2.78 or 2.79 i think. :D Aidy.

[@Shark1103]

Hello, I love your tutorial, but some of the features are not available in 2.8 Like "view>draw other objects". What is your advice?

[@kubakakauko]

Thanks this was super helpfull

[@godzoookie]

Chicks dig a man who can unwrap some taut UV's, No Seams, No Stretch Baby!! Oh and, First!!!!!

[@blengine]

UV ability is the natural aphrodisiac of all creatures. :D For that glorious 'First!' I have decided it must be pinned. :) Aidy.

[@SwissplWatches]

HAHA nice

[@KUBE.archvis]

You aren't kidding!!

[@temptor7585]

thats how i met my (first) wife! I was UV unwrapping a sick mesh and she walked by and was like "DAAAAMMMNNNNN you got a gf...?"

[@ui0017]

in uv option u selected the seams from islands but i don't have that, is okay to select mark from seams ,is this two same?

[@Alohamora_13]

Hey Aidy thanks for the awesome tips and great explanation! I had a quick UV question. I have a model with UVs laid out on multiple UV tiles (UDIM space). Is there a way in Blender(either cycles or Blender Internal) to bake out texture for all these UV tiles (without manually shifting each tile to 0-1 space and baking each image individually)? Coz, I wanted to bake a simple color id map for one of my assets from Blender for use in Substance Painter but can't seem to find any mention of UDIM baking online. Many thanks! - Vidu

[@blengine]

Hi! Thanks! Personally i haven't done much with UDIM, I think there is something expected in the future for this to work, perhaps within 2.8, there is this from a while back.. blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?374697-Addon-Cycles-Multi-Tile-UDIM-non-destructive-painting though i haven't really been following that so i'm not sure where it's up to. Anyways, baking simple color id maps could be quite straight forward there's a few ways you could go about it i suppose, creating a vertex color set for example and then fill selected faces with a given color, then bake out a shader for all objects that uses the vertex color set to drive an emission shader. Hope that makes sense or is at all applicable for you in your situation! :) Aidy.