Hello
I have a complex model, which consists of a number of smaller models. I have tried to Ctrl+J and merge everything into one, but the automatic UV unwrapping ended up with utter crap, so I decided to do it by hand, edge by edge.
Can you help me with that? Is it an optimal way of doing that? Will it be possible to UV-unwrap every single little bit, and then have a total texture map of the whole thing? There is my model, with a couple of sub-models selected, so you have the idea.
First, make sure each separate object has its own vertex group before you join them, this will save you pain later as it lets you select said mesh by vertex group to remove it later if need be.
But I would play around with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16ol-mp1kUs for a while and keep your eyes open for the island packer addons.
Although this model looks like a candidate for having more then one uv map, Iām not sure what your target use is so I Canāt help you much more.
This is basicly a thruster model for the game Space Engineers (mod). And I want to texture the whole thing in Substance Painter.
Not sure what you mean by vertex group though
If you are working in SP, really doesnāt matter if the map looks rubbish as SP will handle it fine, unless you want to paint in the UV window and not the viewport. Iād just go with smart project with a decent margin and not worry about it.
āVertex groupsā are essentially a way to name a set of vertices so that you can easily identify and recall them, or otherwise refer to them as a particular group.
Why do you feel the need to join this into āa single object?ā
I dont know. I thought everyone does that. Well, anyway I dont know how to open the whole pack of objects in Substance Painter. If you tell me how to manage this, I will not merge anything
The trick is to export all objects either as separate items and work on them individually, or select them all in Blender, export them all using āselected objectsā in the FBX export and make sure eahc item has itās own material name & uvmap, this will translate in SP to texture sets.
If you need help, let me know and Iāll throw toegther a small example you can use as a test.
Can you explain a bit more? What āmaterial nameā?
Basically, each object has a different material, so if your item consists of say, a wall, some beams and a floor, then give each object itās own material with a suitable name. This is the way I prefer to work in SP so the texture set lines up with the object. Using names like āmaterial01, Material02ā etc isnāt very helpful when working in SP.
Thusā¦
Lol, I think im a bid dumb now 
Where exactly should I look?
If you look, the select item is āMainUnitā and I have the material tab open and have given it a material using the same name. The 3 meshes, (parts of the item), are indicated by a triangle in the outliner (top right). Each one has a material assigned to it using the same name.
Blender file, slightly updated, of the above. I export FBX using selected objects only, make sure to turn off āapply modifiersā under teh FBX export āgeometriesā tab, also set smoothing to face.
temp_01.blend (1.2 MB)
Okay, I have the whole thing UVāed. I didnt merge anything. Soā¦ How do I assign material? I think I either forgot that thing, or didnt know how to do it when UV window is openā¦
Also, how did you make such a smooth hard surface edges? That looks cool!
Ahh, I am working in Cycles, the Blender Internal engine is legacy and 2.80 will be Cycles and Eevee.
You need to pull up a properties window and select the āmaterialā tab, click the ānewā button to create the material. I use the āHard Opsā addon, but the easy way is to go into edit mode, make sure nothing is selected. Choose Selecty->Sharp edges. Then choose mesh->edges->mark sharp
Ermā¦ This sounds very unknown and difficult to me, lul. I think I need to watch some tutorials first
If you are very new to Blender, it can seem daunting, but taking your time and looking at a couple of youtube videos, you can get up to speed in no time.
If you can upload the blend file here, I can use to it create a small video to show you how to go about it if you are interested.
Ok. I think I messed up 
The materials are set (I think so), but the Substance Painter does not seem to work with them properlyā¦
Here is the screenshot
I have uploaded the blend file as you asked, dude 
And ye, Im really new to texturing, and substance painter. I also do not know nodes, materials and such. Only modelling is what I can do.
Ok, Iām finishing up a tutorial on HardOps & BoxCutter (paid addons). Iāll take a look at your file and build a guide around it once they finished encoding.
Ok, mate
