UV-Mapping-How Do You Guys/Gals...

... go through the 'skinning' procedure for a model?

first, do you break the model up and uvmap each part, or do you uvmap the whole thing?

second, if you do break up the model, how do you maintain a consistant scale across the different parts... say, one part is very long as compared to a smaller part?

any other insights appreciated... i'm using UltimateUnwrap...

--Mike

I've found it depends on the mesh in question though in general I prefer to have things joined as much as possible to prevent ugly seams.

This might be of some use...

http://www.gamasutra.com/gdc2004/features/20040325/banninga_pfv.htm

I do not physically break apart my models, but my method is very similar to the one in the link posted above. (the head example at the bottom)

What I do to maintain scale, is that every time I add UV coordinates, I make the UV gizmo the same size (using 3dsMax) Then when everything is done, I re-arrange or scale everything together to fit into the image. This keeps proportions equal for everything.

thx guys

--Mike