To transfer UV, color per vertex (CPV), and vertex position information between meshes that have differing topologies (that is, the number, arrangement, and connectivity of vertices on each mesh is not identical) use the
Transfer Attributes feature.
Transfer Attributes transfers vertex data by
sampling the vertex information on the source mesh and then transferring the information to the specified target mesh, based on a comparison that is spatially based. The target mesh gets modified as a result.
Transferring vertex attributes using
Transfer Attributes is useful in the following situations:
- Transfer a finished UV layout, including multiple UV sets, from one surface mesh to another mesh that has no existing UVs.
- Transfer a UV layout from a high resolution model to a low resolution version.
- Transfer color per vertex (CPV) data, including multiple color sets, from a high resolution model to a low resolution version.
- Modify the vertex positions on a low resolution surface mesh to match the positions on a high resolution version.
- Mirror vertex information from one half of a surface mesh to another half. For example, you can ensure symmetry of UV, vertex, and color information on one mesh by sampling the attribute information from one half of the mesh and transferring the data to its opposite half.
Note:
You can set the
Transfer Attributes feature to transfer the UV sets, CPV color sets, and vertex position data either separately or all at once depending on your requirements.
While the source and target meshes can vary widely in their topology, the default transfer settings require that the objects be positioned in identical locations spatially because of the nature of the sampling and transfer process that occurs.
You can also use
Transfer Attributes to flip the orientation of the UV shells as they appear in the
UV Texture Editor. This streamlines your UV layout and texturing workflow.
To transfer attributes between separate meshes
- In the scene view, move the source and target meshes so they are positioned and oriented as you want for the attribute transfer. Ensure that the source mesh and then the target mesh are selected in that order.
Note: The order of selection is important. The last object selected is always considered the target for the transfer operation.
You must select the source mesh in object mode, you can select the target mesh either in object mode or by selecting the individual vertices in the region to be modified on the target mesh.
If you have difficulty selecting either the source or target meshes in the scene view, change the display of the meshes to wireframe mode or select them using the
Outliner.
- Select
. In the
Transfer Attributes Options window, specify the
Attributes to Transfer as follows:
- Set
Vertex position to
On if you want to transfer the vertex positions on the source mesh and have the vertices on the target mesh modified to match. The default setting is
Off.
- Set
UV sets to
All if you want all UVs from the source mesh sampled and transferred to the target mesh. When multiple UV sets exist, the
All setting ensures they are all sampled and then transferred to the target mesh. If the source mesh has more than one UV set, you can selectively transfer the currently active UV set by selecting the
Current option. The default setting is
All.
- Set
Color sets to
All if you want all of the CPV data for the source mesh sampled and transferred to the target mesh. When multiple color sets exist, the
All setting ensures they are sampled and then transferred to the target mesh. If the source mesh has more than one CPV set you can selectively transfer the currently active color set by selecting the
Current setting. The default setting is
All.
- Specify how you want the sampling to occur by setting the
Sample space setting as follows:
- Set the remaining options based on other specific requirements:
- Set the
Mirroring option when you want the attribute transfer to occur across a defined axis (X,
Y,
Z). Ensure that you have selected the vertices along the mirror border. You must set a mirroring axis when the source sampling and target transfer occurs on the same mesh. The default setting is
Off.
- Set the
Flip UVs option when you are sampling UVs and want the transferred UV shells to be flipped along the
U or
V axes as they appear in the UV Texture Editor. This is useful when you are mirroring UVs on the same surface mesh. The default setting is
Off.
- Set
Color borders to
Preserve if you want the hard color edges in the source mesh maintained when the CPV data is transferred to the target mesh. Otherwise, if the surface topologies differ widely, you may set the
Color borders option to
Ignore. The default setting is
Preserve.
- Click
Transfer to transfer the attributes and close the options window or click
Apply to transfer the attributes and keep the window.
To mirror vertex attributes on the same surface mesh
- In the scene view, select the components on the surface mesh (that is, faces, vertices, or edges) that you want to have modified by the
Transfer Attribute feature.
The
Transfer Attributes feature samples the surface about the specified mirroring axis and assigns new values to the selected components. All unselected components retain their original attribute values.
- Select
.
- Depending on your workflow, set the
Transfer Attributes options as follows:
- Specify the attributes you want transferred (Vertex Position,
UV Sets,
Color Sets)
- Specify the axis you want the attributes mirrored along. For example, if you want the attributes mirrored along the X axis based on what you have selected, set the
Mirroring axis to
X.
- Click
Transfer to transfer the attributes and close the options window, or click
Apply to transfer the attributes and keep the window open.