What is UV Mapping?

2020-05-22 offline RizomUV (formerly called Unfold3D) is a high-powered UV mapping /unwrapping software developed by Rizom-Lab from France, which can intelligently and automatically allocate UV within seconds.

UV Mapping is the process of unwrapping a finished model and preparing it for textures. This involves flattening out the triangles and converting them into a single square. The terms UV Mapping and UV Unwrapping can be used interchangeably.The letters “U” and “V” refer to the individual axes of the 2D texture, while “X” “Y” and “Z” refer to the location of the 3D model.

Why is UV Mapping Software Important?

Without UV unwrapping, you lose control over textures. If you want a high level of accuracy with your textures, UV mapping is an absolute necessity. Many 3D artists use a 3rd party photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop in their workflow. From there, they can add artwork, edit, and alter the UV unwrap before they bring it back into Strata (or another 3D modeler).

Tutorial by Chris Tyler

Roadkill, Ultimate Unwrap 3D, and UVLayout are probably your best bets out of the 9 options considered. This page is powered by a knowledgeable community that helps you make an informed decision.
Low Stretch UV generation. RizomUV use advanced algorithms to create almost stretch-free UV Maps using energy minimization methods, like the ones used in finite elements software. If your 3D surface is developable, you’ll get zero stretching at all in your UVs. With a curved surface, you’ll get the lowest stretching possible.
Ultimate Unwrap 3D Ultimate Unwrap 3D is a specialty Windows UV mapping tool for unfolding and unwrapping 3D models. It includes an easy-to-use UV coordinate editor, a standard set of UV mapping projections such as planar, box, cylindrical, and spherical, as well as advanced UV mapping projections such as face UV mapping, camera UV mapping, and unwrap UV faces for those difficult to map areas.

A general overview that is intended to help you gain a solid understanding around the concept of UV unwrapping.

Tutorial by Chris Tyler

Free Uv Mapping Software Download

Walks through the generation of UVs from a projected texture, and then shows how to manipulate the UVs in order to get a texture to correctly adhere to the object.

Tutorial by Chris Tyler

Covers textures, merging and grouping objects, 3D and 2D geometry.

Getting Started

Free Uv Mapping Software

For a good first time UV mapping project, see our tutorial on UV Mapping a Simple Cube. To follow along using Strata, download our free 3D modeler or our more powerful Design 3D CX ($19.95/mo).

Best Uv Mapping Software

For other 3d modeling questions and tutorials, visit Strata 3D University. We also have an forums and a helpful Facebook community that are full of artists of all levels!