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Map Entire Mesh to Grid

 
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jaw312



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Joined: 03 Oct 2006
PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:10 pm    Post subject: Map Entire Mesh to Grid Reply with quote
Hi

I see a lot of talk about edge straightening but can't seem to get it to work...is there a video on this process?

Ideally I would like to take a mesh and map all points to a perfect grid (internal AND edge points)... is this possible?

Currently the Num Grids is the same for U and V. It would be nice if you could enter different values for each and map your mesh to it accordingly.

Thanks
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jaw
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headus
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Location: Perth, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:24 pm    Post subject: Re: Map Entire Mesh to Grid Reply with quote
jaw312 wrote:
... edge straightening ...is there a video on this process?

Yep, its the v1.15A video. You use the S key to mark two end points, and double-S or Shift-S between them to straighten that edge. It only works on boundary points.

Quote:
Ideally I would like to take a mesh and map all points to a perfect grid (internal AND edge points)... is this possible?

No, not currently for internal points, unless you move every one individually when the grid snapping is turned on. You can snap corner points to the grid then use the edge straightening to get rectangles, but even the individual points along that boundary line wont be snapped to the grid points ... they'll be spaced relative to the 3D meshes lengths of those edges, which is done to reduce distortion.

Quote:
... Num Grids is the same for U and V. It would be nice if you could enter different values

OK, thats not hard. I've added it to my job tracker ... it'll get done sometime.

Phil
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jaw312



Posts: 14
Joined: 03 Oct 2006
PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ok thanks, I'll check it out.

Is there a way to at least select and move multiple points in a column/row (and snap all to grid)?

One more thing...
Not sure what the face marking(G) or webbing tags(T) are all about. Is there a video on those functions as well?

Also it would be nice to have the texture cycling in the UV mode as well. Where do those textures live anyway? Is it possible to view your own textures while editing?

Ok I confess...that's more than just one more thing Wink

Thanks again
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jaw
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headus
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Location: Perth, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
jaw312 wrote:
Is there a way to at least select and move multiple points in a column/row (and snap all to grid)?

No sorry. I guess my aim with UVLayout is to minimize the amount of manual tweaking needed to get a low distortion layout. It sounds like you have specific requirements though ... maybe explain why you need to snap everything to the grid and at least then I'll understand where you're coming from and maybe theres a better way to do it???

Quote:
Not sure what the face marking(G) or webbing tags(T) are all about. Is there a video on those functions as well?

There's a video for everything :-) If you go to the uvlayout.com/try web page, just hover your mouse pointer over the "i" symbol, and it'll give you a brief summary of whats in that video. You'll find ones there for the webbing and the G marking.

Quote:
Is it possible to view your own textures while editing?

Yep, open up the Preferences panel and you can pick your own map there to replace the one now that has the numbers. if you want to view textures in UV view, use the Trace tool.

Phil
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jaw312



Posts: 14
Joined: 03 Oct 2006
PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Phil,

I understand and certainly appreciate the thought and execution you've put into minimizing texture distortion. I love this tool for that.

Quote:
... maybe explain why you need to snap everything to the grid


Ok I'll try...
I'm trying to prep my UVs for texture painting. The object is organic but the textures need to be ordered in their make up. Think lots of panels, parallel seams, etc. UVLayout wants to flatten my UVs based on your parameters so I end up with curved ribs on in the horizontal and vertical (kind of like a bee hive). This would make painting panels that conform to these curves problematic.

Flattening to a grid (breaking your rules) would go a long way at first. But to tweek the distortion after the fact I would need to manipulate multiple points in a row/column to find a happy medium, much like the UV editing in Maya (please forgive the reference). Flatten To Grid in U and/or V on a selection of points would be even better.

Currently I can't seem to move a selection of UVs at once except for the Ctrl-Shift MMB which works on a weighted range. Handy it is but not quite what I need.

So I guess you're right this is a specific need...but aren't they all? Wink
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jaw
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headus
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
... Think lots of panels, parallel seams, etc. UVLayout wants to flatten my UVs based on your parameters so I end up with curved ribs on in the horizontal and vertical (kind of like a bee hive). This would make painting panels that conform to these curves problematic.

Got it! OK, it sounds like a fair request :-) About the only work-around I can think of is to split your larger shells up into the panel pieces and along the seams, then use the edge straightening on each of those separately, then weld it all back together again. The G key here will be handy to quickly select the panels for detachment.

Unfortunately I wont be able to come up with anything easier than this for the next month (too much traveling round), but I've added it to the wish list!

Phil
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jaw312



Posts: 14
Joined: 03 Oct 2006
PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not a problem Phil.

I'm sure the more I use this tool the more familiar I will become with the intended methodology. Still getting my head around the workflow. Thanks for listening.
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jaw
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