Getting Started

Getting Started#

The UVFlow add-on enhances the UV mapping workflow in Blender, providing powerful tools for unwrapping, packing, and managing UV islands. This guide will walk you through the installation process and help you get started with the tools.

Key Features#

  • Cut UV Tool: The primary tool for marking seams and unwrapping UV islands with intuitive controls. You can easily mark seams, draw seam paths, and select UV islands.

  • Material Workflow: Pack UVs per material, making it easier to texture in external applications like Substance Painter or Mari.

  • Auto Unwrap: Automatically unwraps only the UVs affected by new seams, preventing the loss of previously adjusted UVs.

  • Seam Layers: Manage multiple UV maps with separate seam information, allowing for efficient workflow when working with decals or complex models.

  • Customizable Overlays: Adjust seam colors, thickness, and brightness for better visibility. Enable checker textures for a clear view of UV layouts.

  • Scale Compensation: Automatically stretches UVs to compensate for non-uniform object scales, ensuring accurate texturing.

  • Mirroring: Marking seams with UV Flow respects the Edit Mode mirror, unlike in vanilla Blender.

Basic Usage#

Select an object in your scene and switch to Edit Mode. The main UVFlow tool, Cut UV, will be available in the toolbar on the left side of the 3D Viewport. The various helper operators are located in the UV menu in both the 3D View and the UV Editor.

With the Cut UV tool active in the toolbar, left click on an edge to mark it as a seam. Double click to mark a whole loop as a seam, or left click and drag across multiple edges to draw seams.

In the Cut UV tool settings, which is located in the 3D View header, in the sidebar under Tool, or in the Tool section of the Properties Editor, you’ll find operators for managing the object’s UV maps as well as unwrapping, straightening, and packing its current UVs. In the Overlays section, you can even customize how the mesh looks while using the tool.

To unwrap, straighten, or pack UVs in the 3D View, select some faces and click the play button next to the corresponding menu. Inside the menus, you can customize each operation.

For a deep dive into all that UV Flow has to offer, keep reading the documentation. I promise, it will be worth it!

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