3. We are now going to create a morph map so we can use "EndoMorph's" to morph between the current version and the flat version of the object we are about to make. Once we have a flat version of the object, we will UV map, then morph the object back to its original 3 dimensional form. Create a new "Morph Map" and name it "Flat". Aristo Menis' tutorial first introduced me to the idea of using morph maps to do this and he deserves the credit for it. If it weren't for Menis, I'd still be doing this the old "Saturn's Ring Morph" way, a more time consuming process of morphing separate objects in layout.
How To:
At the bottom right of the screen you will see the map controls: W T M (none). Press the "M" button and from the pop-up menu select "new". In the "EndoMorph" dialog box name the new map "Flat" and set the type as "Relative". This tutorial will not work unless the type is "Relative".
4. We are now going to position the points for this morph. Since all the points are unwelded we will select polygon groups by surface and position them on the Z-axis so we can create a planar UV map on the Z-axis. To select surfaces by name, use the statistics panel. Do not directly select individual points or polygons. Since the object is unwelded, it is very easy to mess up the object and have to revert back to the saved version. Select the front surface for the leg and move it to the right of the model.
How To:
Press "w" or select statistics from the left main menu: Modeler>Windows>Statistics. Switch to Polygon mode by clicking "polygon" in the bottom left or pressing "space" until it is highlighted. In the "surf" line, press the down arrow and choose the surface you wish to select. Now press the "+" button to the left of the "surf" line. The "-" button will deselect all polygons that have the selected surface.
To move the object, press "t" or in the top menu select "Modify" then "Move" in the left menu. Now drag the polygons to the side in the front view. Holding the CTRL key will restrict movement to one access.
5. Repeat step 4 for the torso front surface and any other front facing surfaces.
6. For the side and back facing surfaces, we will rotate then so they face forward, then move them into position alongside the front surfaces.
How To:
Deselect any currently selected surface by clicking in a blank area in the left menu or pressing the "-" button in the statistics panel. Choose the side or back surface you want to work on next and select it in the statistics panel as you did before. Now position the mouse in the top view and press "r" to rotate the surfaces polygons 45 degrees on the Y axis. Depending on your center of rotation, the polygons might move out of your view. If this happens, just zoom out using the "magnify" tool located at the top right of your view window. Depending on which surface you chose, you might need to press the "r" button 2 or 3 times to get the polygons facing the desired direction. If you go too far, just keep pressing "r" and you'll get back to where you started. Once orientated correctly, use the move tool as before to position the surface's polygons with the other surfaces you've organized.
7. Repeat step 6 for the remaining surfaces.
8. Now load your image into the background of the bottom right view, or your preferred quadrant. Set the image resolution to 1024 so you can see the details more clearly. I sized mine up to 2 feet so it was little closer in scale with my current layout of pieces.
How To:
Press "d" to open the "Display Options" panel. Select "BackDrop" and press the "BR" button.
9. You should now have your surfaces flattened out in the front view. Now switch back to the base Morph map.
Here is your object whole. If you switch back to the "flat" morph map, you will see that Modeler has retained all the changes we have made.
How To:
At the bottom right of the screen, you will see the map controls: W T M (none). Press the "M" button and from the pop-up menu select "Base". To change back to the flattened version, go back to the same pop-up menu and choose "Flat".
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4. We are now going to position the points for this morph. Since all the points are unwelded we will select polygon groups by surface and position them on the Z-axis so we can create a planar UV map on the Z-axis. To select surfaces by name, use the statistics panel. Do not directly select individual points or polygons. Since the object is unwelded, it is very easy to mess up the object and have to revert back to the saved version. Select the front surface for the leg and move it to the right of the model.
6. For the side and back facing surfaces, we will rotate then so they face forward, then move them into position alongside the front surfaces.
8. Now load your image into the background of the bottom right view, or your preferred quadrant. Set the image resolution to 1024 so you can see the details more clearly. I sized mine up to 2 feet so it was little closer in scale with my current layout of pieces.
Here is your object whole. If you switch back to the "flat" morph map, you will see that Modeler has retained all the changes we have made.