@chris fullmer said:
But if it has a built in "refold" process, it would not need to be turned into separate components. The idea then would be to take a component. Edit the component. Save that state of folding (no unfolding). Then unfold how you would like. Save that state as "unfolded". Then be able to switch back and forth quickly from folded (original form) to unfolded mode (flat form).
So you could unfold your components and lay them flat. Edit their textres easier, then flip a switch and they rebuild themselves, with materials in place.
That is how I think it should work.
Chris
Exactly what I have had in mind. Also, perhaps it would be nice to have a 'solid state' copy of the model while you unfold the other copy for texturing, that way you could quickly see if textures are lining up correctly as you apply them. But if that was too complex the quick unfold/refold options would be great.
Attached is a model of a building I made today. I textured it from the materials within SU, then unfolded a clone of it using the technique in my tutorial, ably assisted by Chris' Make Component tool. The layout is for printing to make a paper model. While I can accurately scale it to 1/87 (HO) when I export it as an eps file it loses the textures when loaded into Illustrator. Why I havent figured out, but by loading into Photoshop at A4 300DPI I can apply textures to the model, and either print it or export as pdf.
The large rectangles are the A4 page layouts. To save each layout I hide the others. it keeps the saved files tidier that way.
Bob
demo su house unfolded