Wolf: first off, You've got a lot of valuable empty space left on the map. Keep in mind, that the larger the area that you use to texture a small part the better, the detail will show on that small part of the model.
When you shrink say, a wood texture down, to fit over a part that needs to be wood, it will loose a lot of detail. So if that part uses a larger area of the map, the bigger your original wood texture can be, and you will not loose as much detail.
When mapping, Try to picture in your head, all of the largest parts of the model, and give them a large amount of the map. Make all small parts that have detail, "bigger" so you can add the detail easier on the map in your paint program. Then, all other parts that have little or no detail, (just a flat texture, like metal) can use up the space on the map thats left over.
You can even stack the mapped parts on top of each other as well. If you have say, 3 diferent parts that all use the same base texture, you can stack them on top of each other and use a smaller area of the map for all three parts. And by placing your texture on that area, all three parts will be textured exactly the same.
Download the attachment! It has the maps you need to do the AK-47. Check out how I utilized as much of the empty space on the map as I could.
Also note, that I mapped some small parts, and scaled them up in the map, so I could add detail easier in photoshop, while some of the large parts got a smaller area ( No detail needed, just the base metal). Dont waste space on your texture map!!! Use as much of it, as you can. It pays off. And "always" scale your mapping uniformly.
If you map a cube, and end up with 6 perfect squares, don't stretch, or deform them in any way, to fit the area on the map you want to put them. If it's stretched in the map, it will be stretched on the model. instead, scale them together, "uniformly" so you end up with 6 smaller, perfect squares.
The next thing I see is that when you mapped the foreward grip (wood) it appears to me that you used 2-sided planer mapping on the "Z axis" (front, and back), and I'm seeng the front and back of that part only, not the sides. So your texture is stretched across the sides, and lays flat only on the front, and back.
Try using a "cylindrical cap" on the same axis and your texture can lay flat on all the surfaces. Try it, and see what I mean.
Using photos is cool, if you learn how to use them. In my spare time ("Geez! when is that?) I have been working on a large set of tutorials which covers all aspects of texturing and such, That "I" use to make FPSC entities and stuff. I plan to release the whole lot of them, after we're done here.
Hope this helps out.
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