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After applying to a small studio and making a model of an axe with two pieces which meant separate UV maps. After submitting the model and textures, I was told that both the blade and handle of the Axe should be in one texture. I don't really know how to do this in Blender, so any help would be appreciated.

brasshat
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Moonless_Sky
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    Welcome to the site. Your question may be on the verge of being off topic for Blender.Stackexchange, becaues combining two images into one, even if in support of a blender model, is image processing, and this particular bit of image processing is not within the scope of Blender.stackexchange.. – brasshat Jun 19 '15 at 02:12
  • you need use the compositor.. please check http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/32677/how-to-combine-two-different-textures-into-one – yhoyo Jun 19 '15 at 02:26
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    @yhoyo You linked back to this post – GiantCowFilms Jun 19 '15 at 02:27
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    @brasshat I don't see how this is off topic, it's fairly simple baking. I'm writing up an answer right now. – TARDIS Maker Jun 19 '15 at 02:32
  • @TARDISMaker, I can think of ways to combine two images in Blender, , which is why I explicitly included the bit about being on the verge of being off topic. Yes, Blender can do it, but I think it's better attempted in image processing software, where there are a wider number of tools available to help achieve the task more quickly and directly. – brasshat Jun 19 '15 at 02:41
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    @brasshat baking textures is blenders functionality, how is it off topic? Would be faster and easier to do that in blender than to switch to other software. – Denis Jun 19 '15 at 02:47
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    This is also one of those occasions where it would be okay to use other software in the answer. If this required work in GIMP, I don't see how it would be off topic. It's still a question about Blender, and 3D modeling. – TARDIS Maker Jun 19 '15 at 02:49
  • @Dennis, The OP's question was about combining two images. Seemed a straightforward image processing issue to me, and while Blender might be able to do it. without seeing the images, I'm not prepared to agree that it's faster and easier than opening GIMP and doing it there. – brasshat Jun 19 '15 at 02:53
  • @TARDISMaker, question 9393 on BSE was about transferring 3DS Max (student edition) ~.obj files into Blender, and it was closed as off topic. That's the basis of my understanding that questions about the use of GIMP, even in support of Blender activities, would be off topic in this case.. – brasshat Jun 19 '15 at 03:01
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    @brasshat I can understand the basis of this question. It's more about 3DS Max than Blender. It's about what can be done in 3DS Max, to export to Blender. This question is about what can be done inside Blender to join two textures. Also, on BSE, a question isn't judged to be off topic by it's answer, but instead the question. – TARDIS Maker Jun 19 '15 at 03:13
  • @brasshat http://meta.blender.stackexchange.com/questions/549/duplicate-answer-vs-duplicate-question http://meta.blender.stackexchange.com/questions/55/general-3d-graphics – TARDIS Maker Jun 19 '15 at 03:26
  • @TARDISMaker, if your consult the original poster's question, it was how to combine two textures, not how to combine two textures in blender. I admit it can be done in Blender, but until I see the OP's textures, I'm not yet convinced that doing it in Blender is the best choice. And I still argue that the question of how to combine images in GIMP or Photoshop are off topic. – brasshat Jun 19 '15 at 03:52
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    Okay, I disagree, but I'm done discussing it. – TARDIS Maker Jun 19 '15 at 03:54
  • When you say "and link in the image your just created to it." (in the answer w the most upvotes) what exactly do you mean/how exactly does one do that? Trying to follow the instructions step by step, but getting stuck on this one. Would make this a comment on the answer itself, but I don't have enough reputation points to do so..... – TysonGersh Jan 22 '19 at 04:31
  • As a beginner, i had problems with the solution to find the menus and to understand it. Found this video and it helped me a lot -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7Xdol5erw – Benjamin Jan 15 '21 at 01:22

2 Answers2

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This can be done easily with some baking in Blender.

First, join your two object together with CTRL J.

Create UV map for your bake that include both objects.

New "baked" UV Map

Then create a new image for your texture bake, create a new material for it, and make sure it's selected.

Then go to the textures tab, create a new texture, and create (or link in) an image; for example, to create a new 4096² texture image for the output:

Creating a new texture Creating an empty image

Setting size of the empty image

Then go to the Render tab of the Properties editor, and ensure that the Render Engine is set to Cycles (othwerise the Bake panel below will not be available):

Cycles render engine

In the Bake panel, set the Bake Mode to Textures, and press Bake.

Bake panel options

You should get something like this. (of course it will be your textures instead of mine)

Baked texture result

Then just save out the image, remove the other material slots and the first UV map, and you should be good!

nh2
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TARDIS Maker
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    And you can bake multiple materials with different UV maps into one texture also. – Denis Jun 19 '15 at 03:44
  • Ah, that's neat. I didn't think of that. Does it require any special steps, or does it work in basically the way I outlined it? – TARDIS Maker Jun 19 '15 at 04:05
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    Works the same, just define the UVs and textures in the material and bake on the main UV map – Denis Jun 19 '15 at 04:23
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Take your two textures, and combine them side by side in your image editor (such as photoshop).
It will make reassigning the UVs easier if the two images are the same size, and the new image is simply double the width (or height).

In blender change the texture image on both the handle and the axe.
You can do that by opening the properties region N in the Image Editor and changing the source of the image.
image source
You will have to adjust the position of the UVs (because you changed the size and shape of the image texture.) If your new image is double the width of the old imge, select all the UVs and scale along the X axis by .5. (SX .5)

Last join your two objects together CtrlJ. (If you join them before changing the UVs and texture you will be creating more work for yourself.)

David
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  • Is there no way to automate this solution? I'm headed down this path because blender's automatic re-packing is resulting in a huge drop in texture quality. It's like it takes the bits of my textures where the resolution was the most important, and scales those down, while storing other things multiple times which were only stored in the original texture files once. But I also have a lot of texture files and don't particularly fancy spending a whole week per file. – Hakanai Jan 10 '18 at 14:50
  • (Also, what mode do I have to be in for S to do what you're saying it does? As usual with Blender stuff, it is doing something completely different.) – Hakanai Jan 10 '18 at 14:52