I've been working on a new outfit in blender. Most times I uvmap in roadkill but I don't always like the way it turns out. I would like to learn to do it in blender but I can't seem to manage. The tutorials are either too old or too vague. Make seems, uvmap, done. That isn't working for me. I have a vest. I made seems along  the sides and across the shoulders. I select all the vertices and unwrap, but it doesn't unwrap. It overlaps. Is there something that is written for a preschooler but will cover organic mapping? No, make that something written for a senior. Preschoolers would understand "make seems, unwrap, done. " It's us older folk that need it simplified when it comes to electronics.

Thanks for any help

First have you gone through the make seam part? CTRL+W. Mark seam. That is the first part and will make it easier. But as far as a tutorial even the older tutorials are still relevant since the basics have not changed alot. http://www.blendernation.com/2013/10/24/learn-how-to-use-uv-unwrapping-in-blender/   try this one and see if it helps, if not there are more around that people here will be happy to help with. sadly I am still the sites hold out that refuses to grow up from 2.49b.

 show us some screenshots of what you have done and the result ~ give us more idea of whats going wrong for you

Here is a tutorial that may help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2-FfB9kRmE

The video Tutorial Cybermonk is recommending is the same one I would have recommend. UV Unwrapping is one skill that truly develops as you practice and do it. It is not one that will come automatic after watching just one or two tutorials if you need something written here is a very popular wiki book chapter 69 discusses basic of UV unwrapping. some of the information is a little dated but the principles are still the same.  Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Beginner Tutorials/Print version another very good source and is also written is Blender 3D Design Course  Both of these written out course are highly praised as great resources for beginners and old hands alike. they both have chapters on UV unwrapping and you will get a good foundation on the basics and then watching more advance UV tutorials will make more sense. Do let us know how your doing our community will do what it can to help you achieve what you want.

Good Luck 

I agree with Lobo, and Cybermonk about that being a good UV tutorial, but overall I find it annoying for several reasons for it to be a UV tutorial.  You will learn the basics needed to work with UV's in Blender, though.

RedPhantom, I UV map in both programs, and use both as a check/balance system since they both utilize the same UV coding (Roadkill was developed from early Blender UV codes derived from the Inria white-papers).  Both utilize LSCM (Least Squares Conformal Map[ping] - 2002), and ABF++ (Angle Based Flattening; advanced parameterizations- 2005).  Although, Blender does not allow you to switch between the two like Roadkill does (I wish this was added in Blender), and I believe Blender defaults to ABF++, but I am unsure (my testing results in inconclusive data, but Blender's stretch viewing seems to favor ABF).  Regardless, some items UV mapped in Blender yield lower stretching rates, while other meshes mapped in Roadkill are the better flattening results.

Yeah, I don't just create 3D, I study 3D...  but, I digest...  umm... I mean, digress...  Yeah, that's the ticket...

Anyways... I think you should cross-test your mapping in Roadkill since you are familiar with it.  Use both algorithm switches, and compare with Blender original.  Most likely LSCM will be the closer match to Blender's, and sometimes the flattening will be better in RK, which you will want to save that as a final map.

Okay, I am assuming you are proficient with RK, and know edit mode utilizes "C" for cut seams and "W" for weld seams, which work dynamically on the mesh.  Why do I bring this up?  Well, I'm glad you asked...

For you, who are used to working in RK, there is a more comprehensive work-flow in Blender for UV mapping that is parallel to RK (a coder added RK's dynamic syncing a few years back).  It is called "Live" UV unwrap, and will allow you to work in Blender how you work in Roadkill (but you're in Blender... Yay!).

Here is a tutorial that will show you how to employ the "live" dynamic UV mapping in Blender:  https://vimeo.com/21943368

I hope this helps.

*Edited to fix link...

Thanks for the info DaremoK3 I was not fimilar with the Live UV add on. I have found that once you grasp the way Blender UV tools work it does become easier with practice 

Thanks for the suggestions. Turned out when I was marking my seems, I missed a tiny line on each side. I didn't want to do it in road kill because seem selection isn't as nice there. Too often I select too many lines or ones on the other side of the object that happen to be front facing. Plus I'm trying to streamline my workflow.

The live unwrap looks good to, but I may stick with the other way for now until I get better at it.

Thanks for all your help.

Selecting lines on the other side happens to me often till I got in the habit of doing seems in solid shaded mode instead of wireframe or make sure that your clipped view is set to on so you can not select lines or verts on the other side 

This is just an update to my post above.

With Blender, one can learn new things everyday...

I'm just an intermediate user, and I only use Blender to create content for Poser/DS with a little NPR rendering here and there, but I barely touch probably 20-30% of the tools and functionality within.  I just learned that Blender does indeed have the ABF/LSCM UV switching that I wished was available in my previous post.  I found it by accident when I pressed F6 testing some UV functions, and it never occurred to me that it would be a conditional parameter (forefront unexposed) in the tools parameter settings window underneath the tool-bars (which I never keep open) that is linked with Function 6/F6 pop-up parameters (which I do use consistently).

Just thought I would let others know, in case there is anyone else out there that would like to know this information as well.  I find it odd that after viewing tens of dozens of UV tutorials for Blender out there over the years, I have not come across one author who shows this, or even talks about either of the algorithms.  If anyone has seen a tutorial showing this (text, or video), please share a link, so I, and others, may view it (thank you, in advanced).

ABF is the "Angle Based" parameter, and LSCM is defined by "Conformal".  Also, Blender does default to ABF as I had previously suspected.

 thanks for clarifying that, although I did know of the blender options I hadn't made the connection to the terms used in other programs