Miss B posted at 5:12PM Wed, 22 April 2020 - #4386810

I can't think of anything else that could make texturing something easier than using Mat Zones.

I can think of something!! UV maps that match the structure of the item in a human-readable way are MUCH easier to re-texture than maps that break items into lots of little parts in order to squeeze them all onto the UV map space! By "matching the structure" I mean laid out like a sewing pattern, so you can easily tell what goes where if you're texturing in a 2D app.

Summoner's dragons come to mind as an example of the kind of UV maps that prioritize maximizing the UV space over being easy to retexture, although I've made changes on a few items using blender nodes and masks for things like teeth, horns, or ornaments (which I had to painstakingly select in Photoshop). I wouldn't have any idea how to create a new body texture, however, unless I had the ability and talent to paint directly on the model, which I don't.

Summoner's stuff does usually have more than one mat zone, with separate ones for the body and the eye and maybe other areas you might want different spec or reflections on, but all the zones use the a single texture map (plus spec + bump maps). I suppose if the single map had the UVs laid out like a sewing pattern, it wouldn't be too much bother to re-texture, but when the UVs are all over the place, your only option is 3D painting!

I wonder if what's what's going on with the vendor who commented that he has only one mat zone b/c he uses Substance Painter? Because he uses SP, he may unwrap his models into only one UV space (not separate ones for each body part or mat zone or whatever). If you're intending to paint directly on the model, that would certainly be easier for you, but not for anyone else who doesn't have the same tools!

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TOOLS: MacBook Pro; Poser Pro 11; Cheetah3D; Photoshop CC

FIGURES: S-16 (improved V4 by Karina), M4, K4, Mavka, Toons, and Nursoda's people

GOALS: Stylized and non-photorealistic renders in various fantasy styles