Edit uv's for multiples objects
The uv's in blender are great, but it's not possible to edit them if we have multiple objects.
We have to combine all the meshes to make our uv's and because of that we have to export our asset to another program like maya to do this.
So the workflow is not great because if we have some modifiers like the bevel modifiers, we will have to clean the meshes after separate them. Clean the bevel, change the bevel size etc.
Same for mirror object.
And if we have a fix to make, we will have to combine the meshes, fix the issue, separate the meshes, clean the modifiers etc.
Very difficult !
On Maya for example you can select one object, go in uv mode, select another object and then see the uv's of the objects in the uv editor.
On blender, we need to have both objects in edit mode. An addon do this, but it's really limited and we need this directly in blender.
github.com/ndee85/Multi-Object-UV-Editing
Seeing the uv's without being in edit mode is great to check a mesh or an ensemble of meshes in one time.
Having the possibility to edit all the uv's in one time is also needed.
17 Comments
This would be great, one solution could be:
-UV shells show up in UV editor when selected in object mode. They can be moved around as a whole, but not edited. -When in edit mode, only the active object's UV's can be edited, but the UV's of the other selected objects are still visible.
To be able to edit the UV's of more than 1 object at the same time is defenitly one of the features I would wish me the most. It could really save me a lot of time in my daily work. I tried some addons like the "Multi-Object-UV-Editing", "MultiEdit", "Texture Atlas" but none of them works perfectly for it. Texture Atlas works in my opinion the best but it is somehow unhandy, makes new UV Layouts which can be anoying when working with other software and has some other downsides for my workflow regarding the groups it creates. A native solution like proposed here would awesome.
This is something I miss often, and addons are not as good as a native implementation. For conveniences sake, but also because the ones I've used have all failed in certain situations, often with loss of work as a result.
One thing I'd suggest is the ability to show which islands come from which mesh, preferably through colour-tinting them, using either the Material colour, or object colour as a fallback.
This would probably be an option in the UV editor's 'Display' section of the N-panel, as a sub-option to 'Draw Faces'.
Just for inspiration, what if we had some kind of Join-Modifier for this? Something like that could also provide other useful functions, like merging double vertices. Think of a character with switchable body parts. This is a spontaneous idea that just goes through my head, and I do not know if it makes any sense, but I just wanted to mention.
I would apreciate a join modifier, even if it is not a solution for this:)
This idea complements my UV mapping modifier suggestion: rightclickselect.com/p/general/9cbbbc/uv-mapping-modifier
There is a selection you can select when viewing UV map to show all objects UV's in that map with the current object selected as highlighted.
blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php
You cannot use this addon when you have modifiers.
I would better like to this works like maya, but due the modifier system that blender has I think it would have to work more like 3ds max with an unwrap modifier applied to all selected objects. And I agree this is very needed.
I edited my post but I cannot add balises for the images.
You need to use Markdown syntax (there's a cheatsheet link on the right when you edit) to embed your images in your post. I've fixed it for you.
I'd still prefer that you show exactly how this would work in a Blender workflow rather than showing screencaps from another program, though.
Actually this already works in blender for viewing other objects : UV Editor>View>Draw Other Objects, no addon needed(they must share the image). doesn't support editing though.
Add-on "Texture Atlas" works great for this. Installed in Blender default addons.
yes, but it creates a new uvmap and a new checker assigned automatically. also it is difficult to check multiple objects that shares same uv space.
I agree. I think this is exactly what is necessary to tell in this proposal. The addon is not ideal. For me,Texture Atlas enough to not go to other software for make UVs, until there are no functions better. But I support the idea to make more comfortable work with UVs. ( If Atlas named same as already existing UV, it does not create new)
You've done a very good job of describing the issue you're trying to resolve. However, it would be helpful if you could provide more details about how users would actually work on UVs for multiple objects at the same time. What would the workflow look like? Could you provide mock-up images that show how you envision this working?