Newbie problems with Unwrap UVW

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have som newbie problems with Unwrap UVW i 3ds Max 2018.4:
When I add the "Unwrap UVW" modifier and open the "UV Editor" without having selected anything there are polygons displayed.

If I then use "Reset UVWs" and open "UV Editor" it's the same as before..
I've tried "UVW Remove" and "UVW Mapping Clear" before adding the "Unwrap UVW" modifier but that doesn't help.
I've also tried Main Menu > Tools > Channel Info and cleared the UV channels that show up as 1:map 2:map ect.

What am I doing wrong?
How can I remove the unwanted polygons from the "UV Editor"?
I only want the selected polygons to show up, nothing else.

Thanks for any help!

Best regards

Per

[Anonymous]

A screenshot showing the "UV Editor" with the annoying polygons displayed.

[hagen.deloss · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

Thanks for bringing your question to the forums! I would love to help figure out the issue with the Unwrap UVW tool. When I apply that modifier onto an object, it will be locally applied to that object, so no other object has that UVW layout, and it won't change unless you edit it manually. 

If you want to delete the UVW, follow these steps.

1. Select the object
2. Right click the Unwrap UVW modifier
3. Select delete
4. Re-apply the Unwrap UVW modifier

Here is a Gif walking through that process.

I hope this helps, and feel free to clarify the desired end result of your UVW Modifier so we can get you the best UV layout possible 😄

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi Hagen

Thanks , but my problem was most likely a missunderstanding of how the "Unwrap UVW" modifier and the "UV Editor" works.

I also found out that if I add the "UVW Mapping Clear" modifier before the "Unwrap UVW" I can't select any polygons!
But if I use the "UVW Remove" instead the selection of polygons in the "Unwrap UVW" works as anticipated.

The functionality of the "Unwrap UVW" modifier and the "UV Editor" as I've understood it after many hours of trial and error:

When I open the "UV Editor" the first time without having amde any selections in the "Unwrap UVW" I see all polygons for the mesh.
And if I keep the "UV Editor" open and go back to the main window and orient the view to a suitable 2D view and then select a previously saved "Selection set" and click on Projection "Plannar map" and "View align", "Fit" and "Center" and go back to the "UV Editor" I can move and scale the selected polygons.
After correct scaling and placement I go back to the main window and repeat for the next "Selection set" and so on.   

[hagen.deloss]

@Anonymous

That makes sense, once you get the hang of the UV editing tools, it's actually kinda fun huh?

I would also encourage you to look into the "peel" tool in the UV editor, it really saves some time. Here is a video of someone using it for hard surface modeling.

[video]

Another tool I find somewhat useful is the Pack UV's tool, which can be found under the Mapping drop down in the UV editor. It re-arranges your UV map to best fit into the texture space! Its a good starting point, and makes sure all elements are the same scale, which is rather handy. 

Anyway, feel free to come to the forums if you have any more questions 😄

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips Hagen, much appreciated!