Never having used modelers or imported UV-mapped meshes, I don't know
much about how UV-mapping works for objects of complex topology.

It seems to me that a shape of an animal or the human form could never
have a 2d UV-map in a single piece. So how are shapes such as those
textured? Do some triangles use one map, and the other triangles a
different map? If, so, isn't it very difficult to make the maps match up
smoothly if the textures are detailed?

I know that POV-Ray can interpolate between two or three textures for a
triangle, but the UV coordinates are still shared, so that doesn't solve
the problem. And single triangles are often so small anyway, that the
blend wouldn't hide a possible misalignment between textures.

I don't even know how you'd UV-map a simple sphere. Sure, in this case
the UV-map could be in a single rectangular piece, but that would mean
that near the poles all details would have to be stretches very much, in
a way that's very difficult to draw by hand, which ultimately would lead
to unsmooth results. Alternatively the UV-map for the sphere could be
made from two circular regions, but they would still be difficult to
match up smoothly by hand.

So all those people using 3d studio and similar programs where
UV-mapping is the standard, how do they draw their UV textures so that
they fit the object and still line up smoothly?

Any insight in UV-mapping techniques would be appreciated!

Rune
--
3D images and anims, include files, tutorials and more:
rune|vision:  http://runevision.com (updated July 12)
POV-Ray Ring: http://webring.povray.co.uk

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