UV map and Teeth

To familiarise myself with the basics of UV mapping, I made a quick un-wrap of my

skull, before moving on to create the teeth.

UV maps are the surface area of a model displayed as a flat plane. This pelt or un-wrapped skin is used to hold textures and colours for models used in games, animations or renders. the image to the right shows a basic 'pelt' of a human figure. The aim is to cut the seams in places where we wont see them, and not across areas where they may be noticeable such as the face.

Using reference sourced from google I made an image plane within ZBrush and using a simple cube subdivided once, repeated for each tooth, laid out and adjusted in size and orientation for one side of the mouth. I cloned and mirrored these for the other side, then cloned and the mirrored the full set to use on the lower jaw.

I divided the cubes again and modelled them into their basic shape, then appended them to the Skull model, and made a few further adjustments to set them right. Now that all parts are complete and in place, I can unwrap the whole for UV's and move on to refining the forms, detailing and finishing the sculpt.

The video playlist above covers the use of the Pixologic's UV Master plug-in. Follow the video to you tube for further chapters.

A test at unwraping the cranium showing the flattened UV map (pelt) and the cranium base where the seams meet. I'm not sure why there is a pink square present?

Teeth template, subdivided cubes set into place, and appended tooth set to skull.

Both sets of teeth, appended to model, subdivided and ready for detail pass.