hi all,
ive been trying to join 2 or more objects and keep the UVs separately,but i just cant do it ,coz as soon as i join them the object becomes obviously 1 and the UV the same,can i maintain both uvs separately and join the objects?
thx in advance,
Romy
Yeah - messy huh?
The first thing you need to do is make sure on both UV maps there aren’t overlapping areas from each model. Using texture paint, it is possible to repaint (clone) old maps onto a new layout, though for your purposes I think using a 2D paint program might be the thing. This could take time so if you’re looking at production deadlines or similar, you might want to double the size of your UV map so as to have the originals as they are, but side by side. The thing with UV maps is they are more efficient when working as squares, and in powers of two numbers (e.g. 256x256, 1024x1024, 2048x2048 etc).
Alternatively, you can also use texture layering and/or vertex grouping to separate which parts of your model apply which of two separate UV maps / textures.
Hey Lance,yep wutta mess tho i can tell ya hehe 
but the thing is i used projection painting only for the head and trousers and the rest of it like shoes ,shirts and arms i used the old school method lol…i usually find the 2048 res value reasonable for games,i mean just a personal tot ^^
but i appreciate every lil input here brotha 
but i really need to join meshes in order to animate them and that is the problem =/
can u gimme sum extra light so i can think of anything diferent?
thanx again !
urs,
Romy
I’m not going to be very specific, as I think you are using the current Blender 2.49b while I’m using 2.5 and all the panels and buttons aren’t necesarily int he same place.
That said, I’m going from the situations I’ve had when I’ve sometimes had to reorganise a UV map completely (e.g. rearrange the UV islands) but preserve the paint from the original UV based projection painting. The basic process is to start off with the old UV layout and texture. This is the “source” layout. I then make a brand new UV layout and texture, which become the “target” layout. Then, using texture tools, I clone brush with the source images based on the source layout as UV projection, onto the target layout.
In your situation, I think you can make a brand new master layout (the target) by having two sources layouts / textures (the ones you have for each model), and using them to clone paint to the new master UV layout. The theory is to…
- Have current model one as UV layout “source01” (and texture)
- Have current two as UV layout “source02” (and texture)
- Joint them together (or better yet, duplicate them, then join the duplicates).
- Make a completely new UV layout and texture for the new combined model.
- Using texture paint mode and clone brush, paint from each of the old layouts to the new one (UV space projection).
Hopefully, the joining should keep the original UV layouts intact, enabling you to make the final master.
Hey Lancer,
first of all happy new year for ya :d and yeah im thinking about keep the old UVs and join all the meshes after itsall done ^^ how bout that?
then make it roll baby hahaha
thx dude for all urefforts and i wish i knew how to use the 2.5.5 but it still looks a bit weird for me,just cant see the uv render tab and the enabled one…
anyways im really willing to use the 2.5.5 version however i need some feedback at he beggining and i know sometimes for the lackof time ppl dun like to hook noobs up in order to get theyr stuff organized lol!
all the best,
Romy
hey dude,
so can i just join the meshes and forget about the UVs?plz i need a quick answer coz im off to finish the animation so i can start studying logic bricks…
thanx in advance,
Romy
Short answer to your quick question: yes.
You can just CTRL+J the objects into one and Blender will preserve the UVs with each face linking to the correct imagemap. The problem with this method, is that it involved juggling vertex maps around (groups of faces being mapped to separate images) and it causes overlapping faces on the overall layout, which can be messy to adjust later, so if you can remap things as a fresh, single map, it’s all the better.
:):yes::):yes:
I have made you a file so you can see how things are done.
Given that Blender Artists won’t let me upload zip files (grrrr), you can download them from here: http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=other&file=joinUV.zip
Make sure you keep the image files in the same directory as the blends for linking to the UV images.
:yes::):yes:
Start by looking at separate_objects.blend. This has two objects with two different UV maps (layout and images). Simply [CTRL+J] to combine them in object mode and you will see that the UV textures are indeed preserved.
Next, look at paint_ready.blend. This file is ready-to-go for retexturing in that you are already in paint mode, and about to recreate a brand new UV map (I have already made the map layout, you are about to paint the colours) from the previous original layouts. In the main 3D view, simply Left-Mouse-Drag over the face (of the simple character I made for you) and you will see that it magically paints the new UV texture with the face from the old one. When you’ve done painting the face, you will want to paint the body parts, but how to you tell blender to paint from the other UV layout? In the bottom panels under the Mesh area, you will see a UV Texture with 3 slots; face_orig, body_orig and base (this mesh). Simply click the 3rd icon (the leopard skin) nect to “body_orig” and your paint brush will be painting from that texture onto the new base UV layout.
It’s fairly long winded how I set this up, but I hope the example gives you an idea. Shameless plug here, :o though if you really want to get started in Blender 2.5 (although I made this example for you in Blender 2.49 because it’s what you’re using), might I suggest you look at my book “Beginning Blender” from Apress publishers? link: http://apress.com/book/view/9781430231264 It covers this sort of texture painting in the chapter on UV mapping, plus a whole lot of just about everything else (including Logic Blocks).
P.S. I would have been able to answer your question more specifically / faster if you had posted up your model and I didn’t have to make my own example from scratch. But hey, hope these example files help.
wow…hey Lancer hows u man?
sorry for taking long to answer my own thread,thats bcoz for lots of reasons i didnt use internet thus i didnt get the chance to reply u :
the link for the files unfortunately is not available anymore but if u can repost it again i really appreciate that
the explanations above look really helpful and makes it even clearer for me…i already joinned the meshes but i obviously separated it with different materials so when i want to go back to it i just use the material s name and thats it but ur stuff look much more helpful for me. tomorow ill get back here and read it better in order to apply the tecnique more precisely!
thank u so much bro ,its really nice of u in dedicating to answer my thread!
All the best,
romy
Hm - I just checked and the file seems to be there still.
You have to enter a 4-digit code on the download page (to prevent spambots wasting the bandwidth) before hitting the button “proceed to download”. It then gives a final link to save the file (right click on the link they show and choose “save target as”)
Here’s another link to the same: http://tinyurl.com/joinuv
Look for the part where it says “Enter image verification to download” and input the four digit code they give you, then you should be able to access the file.
Be good to know how you go.
hi Lancer,
i was aware of the verification code,however when i try to save target as ,it simply pop up an error saying that the path was nogt found,something like that…=/
fileshare is a great spot to place files,would it be asking too much for u to post the file there?
thanks in advance,
Romy
…if I’m not mistaken a “path not found” error is because you’re trying to save as into a folder / directory which no longer exists on your hard drive… not the source file your trying to download. Simply choose where you want to save the file (in your own computer) and it should work (note: don’t save things to Desktop in Windows computers; Blender files sometimes get broke there). This is a pretty easy procedure, so get someone to help you “save as” if you’re having issues. I’ve downloaded the file myself and I can verify: it’s there. Am using Linux w/ Firefox browser.
Never heard of that one specifically. An URL would have been nice. Google comes up with randoms (including the one I’m already using), and http://www.fileshare.com does not appear to be an uploading service. Hope the one you mean isn’t a membership based host server. Please be more specific about where it is.
Hi Lancer,
its actually file not found,something like that and im sure its not a problem with the folder path since i only save my downloaded files in the same folder always…but anyways u can try upload files here : http://www.rapidshare.com/
it is a well known file sharing web site and a lotta ppl upload files there…
Kind regards,
Romy
Didn’t see that you’d replied until now (B.A. has had issues of late). I’ve uploaded to RapidShare for you: http://rapidshare.com/files/444420455/joinUV.zip
Probably it’s limited to 10 downloads or something, so please get in quick and let me know you got it. I hate RapidShare, the so-called “Anti-waiting company” which is actually the opposite; they fake waiting unless you pay them to stop it, so I have no intention of signing up a “real” account with them.
If you miss out, please let me know of a better (actually free) host, ftp details or whatever.