UVW Unwrap - how to 'align' a section

[tricky]

Not had much cause to use UVW unwrap, though I appreciate its power. I am reasonably unskilled with it.

I have a 3D model of a baby grand piano which that is currently nicely textured, though with a traditional black glossy finish. I need to apply a timber material to it instead, so I need to get the grain of the wood to align nicely.

I have a long thin strip that runs all around the edge of the main body of the piano. I'm wondering if there is a way to have the element (which I have very roughly straightened out) normalised (if that is the correct term) so that each polygon is proportionally scaled correctly? It would also be nice to have all the vertices aligned correctly as when I zoom in, they aren't really that correct.

Very difficult to explain, but here's a couple of screengrabs.

[AJ Jefferies]

I might be mis-interpreting your problem but as the polygons on the object aren't evenly spaced, the polys in the UVW editor should be the same uneven spacing to keep the texture constant. Evenly spacing the polygons in the UV Editor will make the texture stretch.

If I've completely misunderstood what you're doing maybe you can save out that part of the piano so I can wrap (oh!) my head around it.

[tricky]

I might be mis-interpreting your problem but as the polygons on the object aren't evenly spaced, the polys in the UVW editor should be the same uneven spacing to keep the texture constant. Evenly spacing the polygons in the UV Editor will make the texture stretch.

If I've completely misunderstood what you're doing maybe you can save out that part of the piano so I can wrap (oh!) my head around it.

I think you are getting me. I suppose what I want is for max to distribute the vertices so that the 'stretch' is proportionally correct.

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Heya

I agree with AJ however in the UVW editor in Quick Transform tab there are buttons that can align 2 pairs for you. U still have to select them tho... U can always use spline to control uvw and flow...

[Donald2B]

I would use the spline mapping feature of Unwrap UVW. Create your spline by selecting an edgeloop from the faces. I use it quiet a bit lately and it is pretty quick to get a decent UV layout.

Just a thought.