Unwrap

Zen Unwrap

Magic button to Mark (Seams, Sharp), Set TD, Pack and Sort processed Islands. Zen Unwrap is a context-dependent operator and result of its operation depends on what was selected at the time it was run.

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Basic rules:

• The operator does not work in the UV Sync Selection Off mode of the UV Editor.
• The properties of the operator show the current selection mode. It matches Blender’s selection mode.
• Use only a single mesh selection Mode (Vert, Edge or Face). Multiple Selection Modes will not work (Vert + Edge, etc.).
• The operator works the same way in the UV Editor and in the 3D Viewport.
• Zen Unwrap always operates on islands in the active UV Map.
• If the marking is disabled in the operator, the division into islands will still occur. Seams will remain and lead to desync of what is happening in UV Editor and 3D Viewport.

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Processing Mode

The main operating mode switch.

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The behavior of the operator if nothing is selected:

For using this just make sure you have no selection and press the Zen Unwrap button.

• If nothing is selected, the operator assumes that you want to unwrap the whole mesh. This mode can be used if you have already marked seams in some way and just want to unfold islands.
• When you start the operator, it may already be in Processing Mode - Selected Only. In this case, you will get a warning that the entire meshes will be unwrapped. If this suits you - confirm your action by pressing Ok.

• In case you have no marked seams and nothing selected, the operator will offer options for creating seams. Select the one you want.

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The behavior of the operator if something is selected:

The main modes of operation are Face and Edge. Vertex mode is used as an auxiliary mode.

Face selection mode.

This mode will create seams around the selected polygons. The entire mesh will be unwrapped based on the existing (and newly added) seams, depending on the Processing Mode. In fact, you will create a new island from the selected polygons.

Edge Selection Mode.

In this mode, all selected edges will be marked as seams and then the mesh will be unwrapped.

Vertex selection mode.

Working in Face or Edge mode makes changes to the selected islands anyway. If you need to unwrap an island without adding seams or splittings it, use Vertex selection mode. You can select only one vertex or several. This will tell the operator which island you want to work with. It is most convenient to use this mode together with the Processing Mode - Selected Only.

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Settings

• Unwrap Method - Unwrapping method.
  • Conformal - Fast algorithm that gives good results.
  • Angle-Based - More accurate algorithm, but a bit slower.
• Mark Settings - Operator settings to enable automatic seam marking. See Mark Settings (Global Mode) for details.
• Fill Holes - Virtual fill holes in mesh before unwrapping, to avoid overlaps and preserve symmetry.
• Texel Density - Sets Texel Density. Works only if Pack Unwrapped option is disabled.
  • Skip - Do not make any texel density corrections.
  • Global Preset - Set value described in Texel Density panel as Global TD Preset.
  • Averaged - Sets the averaged Texel Density for newly created islands. This keeps all islands about the same size as you work.
• Pack Unwrapped - After the islands have been created, this option will start the Packing process of the islands. The Pack Engine specified in the Pack System will be used.
• Sort Unwrapped - After the islands have been created, this option will start the process of Sorting the islands by Finished tag.

Additional Options

You can change main Zen Unwrap settings before running the operator.

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Unwrap Constraint

This operator unwraps Islands and Faces along selected axis.

• Mode - Choose what to unwrap Islands or Faces. - Islands - Affect selected Islands. - Faces - Affect selected Faces only.
• Method. Unwrap method. - Full Unwrap - Unwrap Islands but keep it in BBox boundaries. - Along Axis - Unwrap Islands along Axis.
• Fit Axis - U - Unwrap / Fit along U axis. - V - Unwrap / Fit along V axis. - Min - The minimum length axis will be automatically determined. - Max - The maximum length axis will be automatically determined.
• Current Axis - Current Axis.
• Mark Settings - Mark Settings (Global and Local modes) to Mark Seams and Sharp Edges.
• Fill Holes - Virtual fill holes in meshes before unwrapping.
• Correct Aspect - Map UVs taking image aspect ratio into account.
• Use Subsurf Modifier - Map UVs taking vertex position after subsurf into account.

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Unwrap Inplace

Unwrap Islands and Faces keeping their Size, Orientation and Location in UV Space.

• Mode - Choose what to unwrap Islands or Faces. - Islands - Affect selected Islands. - Faces - Affect selected Faces only.
• Location - Restore Islands Location and gabarit.
• Orientation - What Orientation to use after unwrapping. - Keep - Use Initial Orientation. - World Orient - Use World Orientation for the Islands. - Skip - Skip Orientation adjustments.
• Size - Restore Islands Size.
• Ignore Pins - Ignore Pins.
• Fill Holes - Virtual fill holes in meshes before unwrapping.
• Correct Aspect - Map UVs taking image aspect ratio into account.
• Use Subsurf Modifier - Map UVs taking vertex position after subsurf into account.

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Mark System

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Mark by Angle

Mark edges as Seams and/or Sharp edges by Angle.

• Keep init marks - Keep the state of intital Seams and Sharp edges.
• Selection Respect - Mark only within current selection.
• Mark Settings - Mark Settings (Global and Local modes) to Mark Seams and Sharp Edges.

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Mark 

Mark selected edges or face borders as Seams and/or Sharp edges.

• Clear - Clear marking inside of selected Faces.
• Mark Settings - Mark Settings (Global and Local modes) to Mark Seams and Sharp Edges.

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Unmark 

Unmark selected edges or face borders as Seams and/or Sharp edges.

• Mark Settings - Mark Settings (Global and Local modes) to Mark Seams and Sharp Edges.

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Unmark All

Remove all the Seams and/or Sharp edges from the mesh.

• Clear Pinned - Clear all the Pins.
• Mark Settings - Mark Settings (Global and Local modes) to Mark Seams and Sharp Edges.

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Conversion System

• Seams by UV Borders - Mark Seams by existing UV Borders.
• Sharp by UV Borders - Mark Sharp by existing UV Borders.
• Seams by Sharp Edges - Mark Seams by existing Sharp edges.
• Sharp Edges by Seams - Mark Sharp edges by existing Seams.
• Seams by Open Edges - Mark Seams by Open Edges. The way that looks in the viewport.

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Mirror Seams

Mirror Seams along selected Axis (X,Y,Z) in a given direction (+ or -). If the source side has no seams, the operator will halt without performing any actions to prevent the loss of adjusted seams.

Instead of Replacing existing marked Seams you can Add them.

Holding Shift you can select both directions and flip Seams along the selected Axis and direction.

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Smooth by Sharp

Before Blender v 4.1.0 - Toggle between Auto Smooth 180° (with sharp edges) and regular smooth modes

Since Blender v 4.1.0: - Sets the “Shade Smooth” mode for all the mesh faces

For more details, refer to the “Emergency Light Tutorial”.

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Finishing System

Finishing system helps to Mark, Sort and Display Islands that you have already unwrapped. It can be used to check the progress of unwrapping as well as prevent Finished Islands from accidental Unwraping.

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Sort Islands by Tags

Finished Islands move to the right side from Main UV Tile, Unfinished — to the left.

• Move Finished - Determines whether to move islands marked as Finished
• Move Unfinished - Determines whether to move islands marked as Finished

Sot Islands by Tags

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Tag Finished

Tag Islands as Finished and move them to the right sied from main UV Tile. These Islands won’t be unwrapped.

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Tag Unfinished

Tag Islands as Unfinished and move them to the left sied from main UV Tile.

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Select Finished

Select Islands tagged as Finished.

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Deselect Finished

Deselect Islands tagged as Finished.

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Hide

Hide Islands tagged as Finished.

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Unhide

Unhide Islands tagged as Finished.

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Display Finished (Toggle)

Display Finished/Unfinished Islands in the viewport.

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Finished preferences

• Pin Finished - Pin Islands after Tag Finished operation.
• Auto Sort Islands - Automatically Sort Islands by Tags. Finished Islands move to the right side from Main UV Tile, Unfinished — to the left
• Auto Update Draw - Update draw cache every time when mesh is changed.
• Finished Color - Finished Islands viewport display color.
• Unfinished Color - Unfinished Islands viewport display color.