Using Unwrap UVW for Advanced Texturing

In the video, "Unwrap UVW," Maestri uses the more sophisticated Unwrap UVW modifer to apply a precision texture to his fish:

1. Open the planar-mapped fish file: observe streaking at top of body.

2. Open Fish_Texture_Unwrap.psd and note structure of this file: the basic fish texture is surrounded by textures for the fins and other parts.

3. Make a new material. Add a bitmap and use the Fish_Texture_Unwrap.psd file in the Diffuse channel. Apply this texture to the fish. The results aren't very impressive yet.

4. Go to Modifiers < Unwrap UVW.

5. Turn off Subdivision Surfaces.

6. Select the Face sub-object level under Unwrap UVW. Click Edit under Parameters. This brings up a special, new viewport in which we can adjust vertices to particular bits of the fish texture. Note that the texture file is repeated in a 3x3 grid, for a total of 9 iterations.

7. Go to the Front viewport. Select faces, excluding the fins, that will planar map along the near side of the fish.

8. In the Unwrap UVW parameters, switch sub-object parameters from X to Z and click Planar Map. The fish vertices now look more like an outline of the fish body.

9. Move vertices to align with the texure map. Vertices may be scaled, moved, rotated, or freeform modified.

10. Repeat this procedure for the dorsal fin, etc.