this tutorial^ covers how to use blender's uv mapping function to mock up mural designs on non-flat surfaces.
it requires:
*(text-colour:green)
[> beginner's knowledge of the blender workspace (2.91.0)
> a 2d sketch or drawing that you want to translate into a 3d shape
> an image editing tool, like photoshop]*
<img src =https://images2.imgbox.com/50/4b/kOh9jBth_o.jpg>
*have you ever wondered how a flat sketch will translate to a curved or multi-sided surface, while planning out a mural? UV wrapping with blender can help you visualize difficult to imagine surfaces, as with this lamp pole mural design, designed to wrap around a streetlamp pole*
[[>>>->page 2]]
^ disclaimer: this tutorial is a bit janky & written by an absolute blender novice we'll start with making a to-scale sketch, which is going to be projected onto the mural shape:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/15/5e/zFnCC4R8_o.jpg>
next, open blender and add the base mesh *(text-colour:green)[(shift A)]* most similar to your anticipated mural surface. here, it's a simple cylinder which we'll leave at 32 faces:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/9e/b7/gqkhk8EU_o.png>
before clicking onto any other action, make sure to adjust the base mesh to scale by changing *(text-colour:green)[radius + depth]* to match your mural surface dimensions
[[>>>->page3]] next, enter edit mode to select and delete any extra faces that won't be covered by the mural design. with this example, the 2 circular faces of the streetlamp/ cyclinder are deleted (*(text-colour:green)[tab / 3 - faces / shift select faces to be deleted / x to delete faces only]*) :
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/70/d8/NFwLJbYX_o.png>
the rest of the shape will be UV unwrapped, to apply the sketch to the mesh
[[>>>->page 4]]in uv editing mode, select all faces *(text-colour:green)[(A)]*, then use the *(text-colour:green)[smart UV project]* function to unwrap the mesh:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/d0/5f/EVp4M2xQ_o.png>
now, click and drag to create a new window on the left above the UV editing window, then change the work space to a *(text-colour:green)[shader editor]*
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/ba/d5/6vQoB6I0_o.png>
hit *(text-colour:green)[n]* to collapse the side panel, then *(text-colour:green)[new]* in the shader editor to add a new material:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/50/8f/7KQXhqiy_o.png>
this is the set up into which an image texture of the mural sketch can be applied...
[[>>>->page 5]]UV unwrapping time! this is the potentially janky bit
click *(text-colour:green)[A]* to select all faces, then in the UV editing window, click *(text-colour:green)[UV / export UV layout]*:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/28/57/VC5rOyAV_o.png>
the result is a png like so, which can be opened in any image editing software, ie photoshop:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/67/6c/3E3SJdRy_o.png>
using the UV layout as a map, fit your scale sketch to the layout like so and save a copy. it may look strange, if you have done a strange job of the UV unwrapping, but go with it because the layout will shape itself to the mesh of the object:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/05/5d/tnu6AlyS_o.png>
[[>>>->page 6]]back to blender!
*(text-colour:green)[shift A]* in the shader editor to add a new *(text-colour:green)[texture > image texture]*. open to import the sketch which was sized to fit the UV layout. then drag the connecting node over to *(text-colour:green)[base colour]* to apply the texture to the mesh.
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/d9/f2/SUjQlvLe_o.png>
now, in the object window, scroll over to *(text-colour:green)[viewport]* shading to view the resultant mock up:
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/93/62/5oieaj5T_o.png>
which leaves you with - a 360 view of whether a flat sketch translates to 3d space!
<img src=https://images2.imgbox.com/92/9d/f1LMrAMR_o.png>
a streetlamp pole... & beyond (u o u)
[[to beginning->p1]]