Sonic Eye UV Mapping, Materials [HELP]

[Madcat MK-II]

I need some assistance with a Sonic the Hedgehog model. I've been attempting to get a custom eye texture png to appear on the model but I'm afraid I've gotten lost. I've researched a number of similar guides but they dont seem to be of great assistance.

I'm willing to bet this is just me being dim-witted but if anyone can provide a easy to follow list of instructions to solve my issue I would be most grateful.

[The Renderer]

Which part of the process do you have trouble with? Usually you simply select the faces that make up the eyes, assign a new material to them and then give that material the texture you want to use. Don't forget to UV unwrap them.

[Dr. Shenanigans]

Is this sonic model from a decompiled .SMD? I've decompiled a few .SMDs where eye textures don't seem to align with the actual model itself, even if the UVs are fine everywhere else.

are you using cycles render & nodes to display your materials? using those can fix your eye problem without needing to touch the UV editor.

EDIT: I'm asking because I need to know if you are, so i can provide your list of instructions to fix this problem.

[Madcat MK-II]

Apologies for the lack of clarity in my asking for assistance. I'll do my best to describe my trouble. If more is needed I'll continue to do so. To answer one concern; The model I'm working on was downloaded from DA and had all it's sculpting done with no armature

To simplify my issue it's a mix between UV Mapping and Materials. Even when I've deselected the eyes and group them and rest of the head as separate in Materials they remain together. Only upon putting them in separate groups does this seem to stop. I've compared this to a different, complete Sonic model where the mesh is all in one group.

As for the texture itself, like Dr. Shenanigans inquired, I've used nodes to apply the texture/png but when inspecting the model it doesnt appear. I'm unsure if it's me or the model I'm using

In summary: How to I separate the mesh of the eyes and head, so the UV maps will be separate, without putting them into different groups? I will need the entire model's mesh to be in one group when complete.

What is the process to input the eye texture? I've done UV mapping and want to be sure of the method I used.

An extra question I'd like to ask is how to get an armature to resemble that of Sonic models already used in SFM. They lack the regular "skeleton" build and only have points at specific points on their bodies (elbows, shoulders, knees, etc).

There is most likely an easy solution but I'm still learning everything so I apologize for my lack of inteligence on any of these subjects.

[Dr. Shenanigans]

Originally posted by Madcat MK-II:

...To simplify my issue it's a mix between UV Mapping and Materials. Even when I've deselected the eyes and group them and rest of the head as separate in Materials they remain together. Only upon putting them in separate groups does this seem to stop. I've compared this to a different, complete Sonic model where the mesh is all in one group.

the wording of this post confuses me, I have to admit, I have not actually worked with adding my own materials onto models, just using existing ones. what I will ask, however, is where does the model's vertex groups fit into this equation? Does the model even have vertex groups?

Originally posted by Madcat MK-II:

As for the texture itself, like Dr. Shenanigans inquired, I've used nodes to apply the texture/png but when inspecting the model it doesnt appear. I'm unsure if it's me or the model I'm using

I asked if you were using Cycles Render for a good reason - working with nodes in it is much more straightforward for using character skins (at least in my experience) than with Blender Render.

at the top menu bar, look for Blender Render, click on it and change it to Cycles Render.
you then can set up a simple image in a material with cycles nodes using an image material node, a diffuse shader node, and it's respective output.

Originally posted by Madcat MK-II:

In summary: How to I separate the mesh of the eyes and head, so the UV maps will be separate, without putting them into different groups? I will need the entire model's mesh to be in one group when complete.

What is the process to input the eye texture? I've done UV mapping and want to be sure of the method I used.

In edit mode, select the head of your model, and enter UV editing mode.
Optionally; generate a gray checker pattern for use as a temporary skin to see how things work.
select the vertices that make up the model's eyes.
are the eyes of your model's UVs directly attached to the eye sockets? if yes, then you will need to re-unwrap your model, but this may force you to completely redo your textures and I doubt you'd have the time for that.

I have a feeling that going through this will be unnecessary, especially if your model has multiple textures.

Originally posted by Madcat MK-II:

An extra question I'd like to ask is how to get an armature to resemble that of Sonic models already used in SFM. They lack the regular "skeleton" build and only have points at specific points on their bodies (elbows, shoulders, knees, etc).

There is most likely an easy solution but I'm still learning everything so I apologize for my lack of inteligence on any of these subjects.

you said that it doesn't have an armature, so, first thing's first- make an armature, get your vertex groups set up, rig your model if need be.
once that is done, go into your armature's "Object Data" tab, you can change how your armature looks like in the display section.

also, since you're using characters and not architecture, look up how to do Inverse Kinematics, it'll make your animating life a whole lot easier.

all else fails, experiment with other things to see how they work!

[Madcat MK-II]

The model does have vertex groups but a lot of them shouldn't be on the head. Examples like finger bones. The original creator must have forgotten to arrange/fix them.

[Madcat MK-II]

Good news. Following Dr.'s advice I got the eye textures to work using nodes and cycle render mode.

My thanks to both him and the Renderer for taking the time to help me on this. :)