UV Mapping Controls in 2022

[rjtiedeman]

I have so many questions about UV mapping in VW 2022. I have created a test page for my self to start the process.

1. the white flask has an overall texture of yellow but it is showing as it's fill color. Why

2. #4 decal on the large bottle shape has white around it not the overall color of yellow. Why?

3. Adjustment of map positions????     This a cool tool but I will need to spend time to understand the controls. If you grab any of the decals with the attribute mapping tool to adjust its position it all goes wacky. I have included the VW file for review. The only way I have found is to use the info pallet numeric controls for face overrides.

Any direction would be helpful.

1. Don't forget to include the secret key strokes.

2. I use Fundamentals so tools the require high end versions of Vectorworks are not helpful.

UV Mapping Test page.vwx

[Claes Lundstrom]

We will probably not see prefect mapping control until we get access to a proper UV-mapping grid. As it is now, it's ok for more simple shapes, but it quickly becomes unmanageable for more complex shapes. The picture shows a mapping I did yesterday in a geodesy dome, not in VW though, and then imported the result. I suspect it would be a nightmare to map in VW. 

 

 

[rjtiedeman]

I am trying to understand why the Overall texture doesn’t always show up. The 2-3 open box has a green overall texture with 2 face over rides. The flask and ball have 1 and 1 but the overall does not show. This tool could be useful if I can control the mapping. What or where is the magic button.

Edited October 31, 2021 by rjtiedeman

[mattao]

First of all thanks a lot RJ for your post

 

Is there any improvement in the mapping tools?

 

Do you see a way to properly map an object in a most UV efficient soft ( like blender) and the bake it to get something useful in VW?

 

[BartH]

The short answer is no. 

 

If you need efficient UV mapping, export to Blender and UV map there. then bring it back to VW as an OBJ or USD file.

 

Texture mapping in VW requires a lot of patience but you can get good results - depending on your specific use case.

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

Although I use C4D, I have used the extract functions extensively in my career to produce some complex results very quickly.  This is done in VW.

 

 

 

[BartH]

If I understand the OP, the question is can VW create efficient UV Maps like below:

Yes, you can Map textures to objects in several different ways. However, the tools have not advanced since this topic was created. There has been some indication that perimeter mapping is coming back in VW 2026, but the tools for precise texture mapping in VW are lacking.
 

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

There are many things you can do in Vectorworks that can compensate for its subset of texturing tools.  You can create textures in Vectorworks, export them, then import them back in as a texture map.  Even make a bump map to go with it.

 

But, what exactly do you need to do.  It may be very doable in Vectorworks through another process.

[Claes Lundstrom]

14 hours ago, BartH said:

If I understand the OP, the question is can VW create efficient UV Maps like below:

Yes, you can Map textures to objects in several different ways. However, the tools have not advanced since this topic was created. There has been some indication that perimeter mapping is coming back in VW 2026, but the tools for precise texture mapping in VW are lacking.
 

What a mess. Probably better than what we have now though. 😉