i realized why the snapshot wouldn't come out - the entire UV texture needs to be in the upper-right square of the editor. now i see it.

but i still don't know where to paint - it's just an unfolded square, so all the sides look the same. it's not like a face, where i can tell where the eyes/mouth are from the lines. is there a way to be sure which side is which, like does maya always unfold things in a certain way? or should i use the split polygon tool to draw in where the thumb/fingers should be to see?

thanks for the reply though alan.