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3 Dimensional Chat / Can I export the textures I assign in Blender instead of having to uv map

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Troutflies
13
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Joined: 24th Feb 2011
Location: Stuck outside my map.
Posted: 20th Aug 2012 21:26
I have been using blender for about a year and a half. Even got the book Blender essentials. I have searched around before posing the question and can't seem to come up with a yes or no answer. The truth is like a lot of users out there I despise UV mapping. On basic models it's easy enough. But the more complex it gets the more aggrivating, to me anyway, the uv mapping gets.

It seems to me that it would be a lot less of a headache to be able export the materials you assign to a specific model as well as the model to whatever program your using (in my case FPSC)

I mean you can see how the model will look in real time as opposed to laying a texture down on the UV map then going back to make sure it looks right in Blender.

Is there a plug in or add on that will accomplish this?

Thanks in advance.
Travis Gatlin
14
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Joined: 14th May 2009
Location: Oxford, Alabama
Posted: 22nd Aug 2012 04:56
You could simply bake on the assigned texture(s) into a UV map, then export it from there. You can look up a tutorial on how to do it, it's a long topic to cover.

http://www.3dartistonline.com/user/Travis%20Gatlin
You can find my latest work here. Please comment on my work and tell me what you think!
New World Order
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Posted: 22nd Aug 2012 11:25 Edited at: 22nd Aug 2012 11:29
you can indeed. Like travis gatlin said, you "bake" the material onto the object/uv texture.
A simple walkthrough would be:
Create a cube.
Apply a material.
Apply a texture, using "Generated Coordinates, Flat Projection" in the Mapping Section of the Texture Panel.
Go into edit mode.
With all faces selected, hit U for unwrap. choose "Smart UV Project"
Go into UV edit mode.
Create a new image of your desired size. (Its black by default).
Go to the Render tab.
Go to the "Bake" Section.
Select Bake Mode: Textures
Hit the "Bake" Button.
DONE!

Might be a bit more complicated for more complicated objects since you will have to figure out a good generated mapping projection in the textures/mapping panel... Hope this helps.

[edit: ah, forgot: You might want to SAVE the generated image in the UV editor ]
[edit 2: also, depending on the complexity of the object, the automatic unwrapping might be a little more difficult... Worst case (I haven't tried this, but I imagine this should work..) you cut cut the model apart by selecting everything in edit mode and hitting ctrl+e and "marking edges" everywhere prior to unwrapping... The UV map will look completely illegible, but I suppose the baking should work.. Also remember that you can "pin" UV points in the UV edit mode to prevent them from being changed by a future unwrap. that way you can unwrap the model section by section.]
seth zer0
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Joined: 22nd Apr 2006
Location: Fort Walton Beach, FL
Posted: 24th Aug 2012 01:29 Edited at: 25th Aug 2012 08:22
UV unwrapping is not that hard (as long as you know the basics.) Back When I first started modeling especially in blender I could not for the life of me do UV unwrapping. I spent about 100 dollars on two different software packages(UV unwrap and something else don't remember the name didn't like it that much.) to try and get it done for me.
Say you had a human head. There are 3 line you will have to pick for the UV one along the back middle of the head that goes from the back of the neck to the forehead. then one that starts at the end part of where you left the forehead one that goes out(left and right) for about the end of where your eyes are(not moving to them but general area. And the last one goes around the neck a complete circle. Then after that hit mark seam, then unwrap it.

example.(the ring around the full face was for this model so just ignore it just do the top part of it. But the red line are seams.)


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Latch
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Joined: 23rd Jul 2006
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Posted: 4th Sep 2012 14:41
Quote: "...it would be a lot less of a headache to be able export the materials you assign to a specific model..."

Internally in Blender, you set up your materials, apply them to your object and you can be good to go. That's because everything is working in harmony inside Blender - it understands it's own settings, the positions of the lights, the textures, etc. and can create the visual you desire.

Now when you export that information to the outside world, there has to be some kind of translation, some kind of information so that a non-Blender program, like FPSC for instance, can try and recreate the same look. Not every program is going to have the same material settings, or the same shaders, or the same procedural textures let alone the ability to understand those custom settings from another program like Blender, but there are some basics that most 3D engines and programs can deal with:

material light settings such as
DIFFUSE
EMISSIVE
SPECULAR
AMBIENT

and texture settings also known as UV coordinates.

You really can't get around using UV mapping in order to have a model look as close to the same as possible between applications. As was mentioned previously, you can "bake" your materials onto your own image and use that as a texture for your exported model, but the model is going to have to be UV mapped to have the texture wrap onto it properly.

Get used to setting your seams. The more you do it, the easier it will get as you start to develop an understanding of the unwrapping process. You can use shortcuts like Smart Projections or even try Project From View when you are using the Unwrap controls in Blender.

Enjoy your day.

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