This question may be risible in its simplicity but please bear with me, I only got Blender yesterday.
I want to export shapes as UV layouts for papercraft.
I have tested this process with a square; all good.
If I take a more complex object such as a torus and do a UV layout there are many parts.
By using the decimate modifier, in object mode, I can get the parts count down to a manageable number and it also changes the shape of the torus.
It is this simple modified shape that I wish to print out but in edit mode the shape remains a standard torus; and in the UV image editor the number of parts remain the same.
I have tried
decimate - apply
and decimate- apply as shape ( not sure what the difference is yet )
I have tried
UV unwrap
and UV smart project but no difference.
Could any body give me somme advice or point me to an appropriate tutorial please ?
I have looked at about 8 tutorials but I can’t seem to find the answer.
You need to add seams to your model to get a controlled unwrap. These are where you want the mesh to be cut (select an edge and Ctrl+E / mark seam, you’ll see them as fred lines on your mesh)
Intro to UV unwrapping http://cgcookie.com/blender/2011/01/21/intro_uvmapping/
I may not have explained very well in my original post.
I am just using the torus as vehicle to learn the process and I understand what you are saying about the seams but it is not these that are causing me the confusion.
It is the fact that if I decimate the torus, I get this in object mode.
Which is a simple shape of 22 faces.
I wish to print this simplified form out from the UV layout but in Edit mode and in the UV image window the shape remains complex.
So I am asking how to get this simplified shape of 22 faces into the UV layout window.
Any advice gratefully received.