From Headus Docs

Webinar

Mastering UVLayout : Comprehensive Tips and Tricks from the Author

I'm not a texture artist, or modeler or animator ... studied architecture.

This not a seminar on how to make the best UVs for any particular object.

The Core Mechanic

Knowing whats going on behind the GUI can only help. Rubber ball demo.

explain heat map, red compression (texture stretched), blue tension (texture squashed)

seams vs distortion

Setting Up UVLayout

ping main gui for position and 3D window size

floating panels, how to pin

preference for restore GUI panels

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other preferences

select LMB pick style

select Auto Save

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Load file, remembered folders,

also Dir button under Windows

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explain kbstate ... shows hotkeys being used.

not so much for live, but when you look back at the recording.

Cutting

There's more than one way to skin a cat (apologies to cat lovers).

It doesn't have to be perfect first time. Its a process of discovery ... you can try out different schemes. Cut, flatten, see how it goes, then adjust seams by detaching and welding.

Even if the plan is for a single piece "pelt" layout, better to cut and flatten many pieces, optimize them for minimum distortion, then join them back up again.

If you're really happy with how a piece is looking, then just use B key over join, not general optimize.

turn on D drag mode

killeroo example, legs separate or joined etc HERE preview uvsets There is no one perfect solution. Even for the one object, there can be UVs for diffuse color mapping, normal maps, lightfield maps, particle (hair) seeding.

Chassis sample, segment threshold

couch, G key, facing, and other rectangle selects.

plyedit preview for polygon select

Flattening

difference between F, Space-F, Shift-F, B, and Run All in optimize

here look at slow smooth optimize preference

also look at defining F1 for Run All / Edit -> Settings

Welding

often easier in 3D view,

LMB select in uv view, then home/. in 3d view to locate

use M, or Shift-M

look at Segment Fast Weld option

Kinks

What they are, why the occur, how to get rid of them.

Ctrl-Shift MMB drag

Shift MMB drag

Shift B

Geometry to UVs

The relationship between the flattened shapes and UV coordinates, and how that impacts on other tools such as scaling and packing.

so don't scale shells up and down to fit UV square, move square around to fit shapes.

this maintains texture density across the loaded object,

also across all assets but fixing the UV scale.

so use auto fit, or probably pack.

having said that, there are tools for varying the scale, hand example.

Green Balance

Where you need to use it. plugins

select already flattened, click green balance

select rest, rescale U & V

Advanced Packing

continue with leon and cube file

pack selected only

pack quality

turn on coverage %

rotate with 0, whats that?

try wrapping

Subdivision Surfaces

Why they need special handling.

Obscure Tools

Niche usage, but handy to keep in mind.

Camera scaling

probably in combination with render repaint

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Reshape (eg Phileroo),

Pattern Making

Costume. Tip: Use Segment tool.

load edit01.uvl

triangles better than quads, less ambiguity

use segment with 0 degree

set scale to size of paper/material

if not square, make b/w mask image

pack with no resize and mask on

folder aluminium face test

Easter Eggs & Under Development

F9, UV Sets