Unwrapping Types
Overview
The UnwrellaConnect “Unwrap” Tab contain the most important options for UV unwrapping process, focusing on ease of use with its main header containing key settings and lower part containing extra options.
For a detailed explanation of UV packing Tab options, please refer to the “Pack Settings” section of this manual.
The workflow is a simple, four-step process, making UV unwrapping and packing intuitive and efficient. This approach allows for a smooth experience, enabling you to focus on creativity while achieving optimal results with minimal effort.
Simple & Fast UV Unwrapping
Selecting the “Unwrella” Tab
To access the unwrapping and packing features, navigate to the Unwrella tab located on the right-hand side of the UV Editor in Blender.
This panel provides all the essential tools and settings for controlling the automatic UV unwrapping and packing process through UnwrellaConnect.
Choose the Unwrap Method
Select the unwrap method that best suits your 3D object or scene topology. For structured and angular models, such as architectural buildings, the “Hard Surface” method is the most effective. In contrast, for organic models like handcrafted creatures or rounded assets with clean topology, the “Organic” method provides better results.
For more details on each method’s functionality, refer to the descriptions below.
Unwrap the Object(s)
In most cases, simply pressing the “Unwrap” button will automatically generate and pack the UVs.
Using UV Channels for Organization
To organize UV packing results across different UV Channels (UV Maps), select the destination UV channel, where the unwrapped and packed UVs will be placed.
In most basic scenarios, both the source and destination UV Map channels are set to default UV Map Channel by default. However, using a new UV Map Channel slot allows you to preserve the original UV layout while storing the packed version in a separate, available channel. This approach helps maintain flexibility and prevents unwanted modifications to the original UVs.
Preview the Result
After starting the calculation, wait for the process to complete. Once finished, the main viewport will display the updated UV layout. Review the results carefully and, if necessary, adjust the settings to achieve a more optimal outcome.
Unwraping Types
Unwrella offers three types of UV unwrapping and two UV packing methods.
Hard Surface Unwrapping Mode
This mode is ideal for geometry that is predominantly sharp, well-defined, and angular. Often referred to as mechanical forms, geometric hard-surface, low-curvature geometry, or technical modeling, it is commonly used in architecture, technology, and industrial design. Typical examples include buildings, office desks, bookshelves, and sci-fi panelized designs. The Hard Surface unwrapping method, based on angle detection, is highly efficient, offering extremely fast calculations while minimizing UV stretching, making it an optimal choice for structured, rigid objects.
Organic Unwrapping Mode
The Organic mode is best suited for geometry that features smooth, flowing shapes with a clean quad-based topology and logical edge flow. This method is ideal for characters, creatures, and natural objects, where seamless UV mapping is essential. UnwrellaConnect applies an intelligent approach by analyzing curvature, automatically placing UV seams along natural transitions. It then unfolds and relaxes the UVs to generate optimal pelted UV charts, ensuring minimal distortion and efficient texture space usage.
Mosaic Unwrapping Mode
The Mosaic mode is designed for irregular and complex surfaces that do not fit well into either the Hard or Organic unwrapping methods. Using Hard Surface mode on such surfaces would result in overly fragmented UV maps, while Organic mode could lead to long calculation times and excessive UV stretching. This mode is particularly useful for highly triangulated, bent, or faceted topologies, such as photogrammetry scans or rough, uneven 3D models. Mosaic aims to minimize UV stretching while keeping the number of UV charts as low as possible, ensuring an efficient and well-balanced UV layout.
Pack
When you choose the “Pack” option in UnwrellaConnect, it automatically organizes all the UV data in your project. This includes all objects or any selected sub-objects. This default setting is designed to ensure a comprehensive and orderly arrangement of all your UV elements, leaving none unattended. Keep in mind that the “Pack” option is configured to manage all active UV data as a standard.
Keep
“Keep” (Keep Existing") - All existing UV data remains unchanged. Charts are just merged together but no changes to the UV layout are made. UV charts are simply merged without any alteration to their layout. This mode is ideal when UV isles are already finalized. It’s important for users to ensure there are no overlaps in the UV charts, as UnwrellaConnect will not adjust or move them.