UV Mapping Characters in Maya 2020

This tutorial will take you through the entire process of unwrapping a character in Maya. Once you get through this tutorial, you will be able to unwrap any type of model or character going forward. Check out the time stamps below to to jump to any part in the tutorial where you may want to focus on a specific part of a character.
Model available for download on the Artstation Store here: www.artstation.com/a/1615638
Professional Website: onmars3d.com/
Gumroad: gumroad.com/onmars3d
Artstation: www.artstation.com/onmars3d
Instagram: / onmars3d
Software used in Tutorial: Autodesk Maya 2020
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Table of Contents
0:00 Introduction
0:53 5 Key steps to unwrapping characters
1:46 Delete UVs
2:35 UV Mapping the Character Body
11:30 UV Mapping the Characters Head
15:45 UV Mapping the Gloves/Hands
21:10 Understanding UV Distortion
23:25 UV Layout Settings
24:55 UV Mapping the Boots
28:00 Using Your Own UV Checker Board
30:00 Mirror UVs to Save Time
31:24 UV Mapping the Clothing
35:25 UV Mapping the Hair
38:30 UV Mapping the Eyeballs and Eye Brows
40:40 Packing and Laying out the UVs
41:30 Fixing UV Scaling Issues
43:25 Conclusion
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[@yojire]

i was having trouble with other UV mapping tutorials, but i was able to make excellent UVs with the help of this video. thank you!

[@OnMars3D]

Great to hear!

[@hemalbhana5513]

Thanks for this! Ive been following another course and struggling with UVs for organic shapes, but your video has really cleared things up!

[@OnMars3D]

No problem, glad it was helpful!

[@joshandersen8332]

I am glad I found your videos. These have been quite helpful. Thank you-

[@OnMars3D]

Glad you like them!

[@kathleenz2412]

ahhhhh so helpful! Thank you so much for posting this!

[@OnMars3D]

Glad it was helpful!

[@BrandonNyman]

Thank you this was incredibly useful! Also this whole time I've been going to the modify tab to centre pivot, freeze transforms delete history. I have totally glossed over the 3 blue icons on the poly modelling toolbar

[@OnMars3D]

Glad it helped! The Maya shelves are definitely a time saver for tools I use less often and don't hotkey or use the marking menu for.

[@issam7886]

solved all my uv problems in one video:) thank you!

[@OnMars3D]

Great to hear, glad it helped!

[@amitsahare4378]

GOOD JOB BRO VERY EASILY EXPLAINED

[@gabrielaangel3625]

I followed ur tutorial from start to end without any problem. Thank u soo soo much

[@OnMars3D]

Glad it helped!

[@thomasbernos9563]

Thanks! coming from max to maya, it helped a lot!

[@OnMars3D]

Awesome, glad it helped!!

[@iCamSkiEz]

Amazing teaching thank you so much!

[@OnMars3D]

No problem, glad it helped!

[@ryancondinato1585]

thanks a lot for this tutorial

[@OnMars3D]

No problem, happy to help!

[@aranzan3975]

Thank You again, Sir,. It is really helpful. waiting for your texturing tutorial and rendering tutorial with Vray as well as.

[@OnMars3D]

Coming soon! Glad you found this helpful!

[@AshroYT]

Can we all select the character at last and layout the uv? Does it mess up the uv size and affect it or not?

[@littleladygamez5590]

Thankiess

[@kristijanm2815]

Thank you

[@OnMars3D]

No problem, glad it helped!

[@gazzolapw]

Hi. Great tutorial, full of new information for 3D beginners. But I have a question that I can never solve because no one ever talks about it in UV Map tutorials. Let's say I have a UV Shell of the character's skull/head... Is it okay for me to put this shell on the map upside down (Like 'chin top' and 'forehead down')? Or do I necessarily need to put it in the right orientation? Im asking it because I once made a UV map with an upside down shell, and when I imported it into Substance Painter I remember that I had some problem with the texture, but I don't remember now what the problem was. Thanks.

[@OnMars3D]

It shouldn't matter but I'd recommend to keep it right side up. In some instances, you may want to paint directly on the UVs. Other than keep UVs either horizontal or vertical (to minimize aliasing), otherwise, doesn't really matter.

[@roey218]

Hi thanks for the tutorial (: Is there difference between unfolding uv mesh and uv's?

[@OnMars3D]

Hi there, I'm not sure I understand your question. Unfolding UVs is the process of flattening out 3D surfaces in the 2D coordinate system, so going from XYZ > UVs. Hope that helps.

[@roey218]

@@OnMars3D I mean when you unfold uv’s you can do it by choosing the mesh and then performing unfold, And you can do the same by choosing the uv’s by double clicking on the mesh while you are on uv selection and then perform unfold, So what I’m trying to figure out if is there any difference between the two methods, I hope you can understand me, Thanks (:

[@OnMars3D]

Yeah, I see. You first need to select the mesh and create it as a UV shell (select faces and convert to UV Shell), then add seams so it unfolds properly. At that point, you can unfold the separate parts of the Mesh as separate UV shells.

[@luisalbertomartellvargas2706]

Hello, I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I hope I can find my answer I’m relatively new to this whole 3D ordeal, my college granted us with a maya license, so I certainly want to take advantage of it to the fullest. I’ve modeled some petite stuff to get myself used to this, and whilst it’s been calm so far, I’ve encountered with examples of professional 3D artist whose UV map work has me greatly confused. So my question was, do game characters share the same UV map with…their apparel (so to speak); meaning, Do characters models share the same UV grid (1:1) with their respective accessories? Clothes? Guns? Etc…? Or does each element have it’s own map? As far as I know, UDIMs don’t apply to a game workflow. Right? The reason this confuses me it’s because I’ve seen maps with pretty small (I even dare say barely visible) uv shells, and I’ve seen videos claiming that’s not good most of the time because it affects resolution of texture. My questions, also jumps to complex models, let’s say, a tank, like the ones showing in battlefield games. Do such assets, with so many details also share the same UV map, does all of that really have to fit in such 1:1 space? Thank you , good day!

[@OnMars3D]

The short answer is that it depends the the requirements of the workflow and pipeline. The more optimized the models need to be, the less amount of textures you have available. UDIMs are available in engines like Unreal Engine, but again, it just depends on the context of the asset pipeline.

[@phriso]

great tutorial, can you share the model?

[@OnMars3D]

Yeah, the full character us available to download on my Artstation, only $5 :) www.artstation.com/a/1615638

[@truthbringer8574]

He clicks and cuts and doesn’t explain what he’s doing or what hat he’s clicking as he’s talking, making it NOT A TUTORIAL…. Art schools don’t even make this mistake…. “Cut here” what!? Explain yourself and stop assuming people know what you’re doing, that’s not how you teach