Modeler

Chapter 8: Map Tab 265AtlasSphericalThe third, Spherical, behaves as if all the points are fastened tothe inside of a sphere, and then the sphere is laid out flat. Thepoles of the sphere are on the axis you choose. So, if you pick X,the poles will be at the right and left, and the top of the map willbe a few polys on the right side of your object. If you choose Y,the poles will be at the top and bottom, and the top of the map willbe a few polys at the top of your object. If you choose Z, the poleswill be close and far, and the top of the map will be a few polys onthe back of your object.The fourth Mapping method, Atlas, will call a slightly differentdialog, because it has different tools. Atlas spreads the UVs out,so that none of the polygons overlap, and there is a minimum ofdistortion. This is good, if there’s no shading from poly to poly.It’s not so good if you need to shade smoothly over a number ofpolys, because it can be very difficult to paint on. You’ll have todecide according to your needs.Relative Gap SizeBut, because the polys become separated in Atlas mapping,instead of choosing an axis (which would be meaningless), youcan choose how much space should be left between groups ofpolys using Relative Gap Size.Segment by Surface, Segment by PartThis option allows you to choose whether the polys should beseparated by Surface or Part. (Segment by Surface, Segmentby Part.) It’s recommended that you enable these, if you have anumber of polys in a surface or part group that will be getting thesame color, because it can make it easier to paint.