Huri: A 3d model is mapped to a 2d plan Thus it is called UV. Since we can only paint in 2 dimentions the 3d model must be transformed into a 2d flat version also. Inside a 3dEditing software the mesh is flattened out and pulled and streched until all the faces are flat (2D) Since the model has both original mesh coordinates and UV mesh coordinates the map can be deformed back to its original 3d shape. It is the same as taking a cardboard box and undoing all the flaps until it is flat, then you paint on it and then fold it back to the original box form. Hope this help explain UV maps. Any UV mapped object has 2 sets of coordinates one for the 3d mesh faces and the other for the flat map. To the original Poster on the importance of texture. For me it has a lot to do with how close you are to the mesh. If the image you are making has figures in the background these can have little or no texure at all and the figures appearance is almost totally the mesh contour. However the closer you get to the mesh the more important the texture map becomes until the point that you do extreme close ups and it is almost all texture and very little mesh profile. Good post by the way. Paul Hafeli