Warp/distortion problems when texturing sculpts

[Tommy Rampal]

Hey guys,

Pretty new to sculpts/3D design and using Blender, and I've come across a problem which I'm sure there's an easy way around, I just haven't found it yet. I am using the 'projection' technique, where you reassign the UV map, make the image, set it as a texture then rebake it using the original sculpt UV map, but I am facing an issue...

My sculpt is quite rectangular on all sides (it's pretty simple). Sides where I believe (not sure what the technical term is) where the two center points lie come out quite distorted (in a spiked formation going round) when viewing the so-called finished product.

What am I doing wrong and how can I get around this?

Thanks again all!

 

[Gaia Clary]

What you call "center points" might be the poles of your sculpty. Have you started with a sphere shape ? Then near the poles your rectangular faces should become "distorted" into triangles. Or at least into very long quads (faces with 4 edges). These parts of a sculpted prim are usualy not so easy regarding texturing.

Maybe you can provide an image and possibly the sculptmap or even the blend file for inspection ?

[Josh Susanto]

I don't use Blender, but the end issues will be essentially the same no matter how we sculpt. The surface will always be a rectangular image wrapped onto something else or into something else.

With objects that have a seam, you can get the edges to come together on one axis, but not also on the other, unless you are willing to accept pleats.

I tend to assume the ends of blocks and cylinders are going to look like crap anyway, so I use tempates for those that are open on both ends and which close up when I use a smooth function. 

For spheroids, I actually use templates in which the whole frame has been pulled to a single point. I still get a pucker, but there's no seam, and I no one has to deliberate about which end of the thing is more important ti hide, because the distortion simply increases toward one point on the object where the edges of the image meet. From many angles, the pucker will not look like a pucker. In fact, I also have a template I never use in which the pucker point is countoured flat and the surface image appears to radiate from it as if from the center of one face of a cube.

[Tommy Rampal]

I was working from a block, and made the main face (which I want everyone to see) the one with seam/pole. It was a simple sculpt, so I can rebuild again putting the seam somewhere else/insignificant. It's a shame there's not a workaround (assuming there isn't), more of a reason to look forward to mesh I suppose.

[Josh Susanto]

The block template I usually use has the seam running down one edge, rather than through a face.

My reasoning is that if the seam is at a corner, you'll have to see both faces to really see it, so you can probably push it left or right just enough to get it onto either face to hide it if you feel you need to without screwing up the texture and contour relationship in any significant way. Or of you put the corner, itself, against something, you can show 4 faces either completely or almost completely without seeing the seam.

I recently also made a cube template in which the edges of the sculpt are pulled to a corner, so there's no seam or pucker as such; just the texture you put on it will not be very even from the center corner to the opposite corner.

If you want the template for free, just ask. Otherwise, it's up for sale as a "seamless cube" prim.

[Drongle McMahon]

In case it's of interest, here is my cube sculpt .. lodproof for 2 steps, easily textured (see pic with plain grid), does suffer round-edge shadinf effect. The "poles" are tucked inside (grey = middle). It was made mathematically. Use Plane stitching type. Use Develop\Rendering\Wireframe to see how it works, or import it into your 3D program.