UV-Unwrapping and Texturing the Marine

It has been quite some time since we discussed UV unwrapping and texturing back in Chapter 5, On the Level: Making Modular Scenery , so let's remember how the basic process goes before tackling the marine.

UV Unwrapping Refresher

In order to unwrap an object, you need to select it and then switch to the UV Editing view from the view choices at the top of the screen. There is no need to follow along right now. Just recall how this works. The view has two panes. On the left is the 2D UV Texture Space. On the right is the regular 3D view we have been using all along:

Fig. 12.1 – UV Editing view selected

First, we load a texture image into the UV space. Then, we pick a part of the model to unwrap by entering Edit mode, which gives access to the UV menu. There is a handy function called Smart UV Project that we use. ("Project" as in "projection," not as in "the project is late...