headus 3D tools

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

Hi guys,

I am creating this beasty for the "Cgtalk HMC10: Animals in Motion" and thought you might be interested in taking a look at it. I sure am interested in your opinions and perhaps further advice and comments on the unwrap. Wink

Lets hear it from you guys! Very Happy

PS: Thanks again for an increasingly awesome tool, Phil.

headus · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:12 pm Post subject:

Looking good! By the way, if you want those UVs to be perfectly symmetrical, you can use the Symmetry Find tool even on an existing layout. Have a look at the videos in the "Advanced Tools" section of uvlayout.com/videos. The second one I think shows you how to apply it to already flattened meshes.

Phil

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

Thanks, Phil!

Yeah, I watched both vid's after I had flattened almost half of the mesh and was able to successfully apply a lot of the info. Many thanks for the vids as well!

However, I ran into weird issues were the symmetry would not work on isolated polys (dark yellowish coloring) spread out randomly over or close to parts of the outer edges, although the mesh is completely symmetrical. So I had to disconnect those parts and flatten them speparately. It all worked out nicely though, so no big deal. Any ideas or suggestions what could be the issue?

headus · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:01 pm Post subject:

"... (dark yellowish coloring) spread out randomly over or close to parts of the outer edges, although the mesh is completely symmetrical. "

Yes, the yellow polys usually indicate a point of difference between the two halves. It could be a triangulation difference, similar to the one seen in this posting ...

http://www.headus.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=410

Phil

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

I'll look into that.

Thanks, Phil!

moochie · Posts: 105 Joined: 13 Jul 2006

Cool. Good luck in the competition. That map looks ideal for some seamless texturing. Maybe put a couple of extra darts in the tip of the tail, unless it'll be hidden by a few separate tufts of hair parented on the end.

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

Thanks a lot, moochie!
What do you mean by "darts"? One-edge cuts?

moochie · Posts: 105 Joined: 13 Jul 2006

I think it's a tailoring term .. it means cutting one or more slits into a mesh from the edge. Allows compressed or stretched polys to resize. The red on the tail tip indicates compressed polys, so cutting the single dart that's already there even deeper might be a problem, because the polys want to expand (they'll overlap). Just work out where the tension is, and experiment with a few small cuts to lessen the red.

Normally a small amount of red isn't a problem, but you really want sharp hairs on the tail tip to make your animation zing.

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

Many thanks again, moochie.
I already followed your advice and reduced the red on the tail with a dart there. One and some additonal flattening were enough to do the job.
Cheers!

scarabrae · Posts: 20 Joined: 10 Aug 2007

Not wanting to sound like a real weirdo...but this unwrap looks real good, almost an art in itself.

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

lol

Thanks, scarabrae!

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

Hello again guys,

the challenge is done and in case you are interested check out the final entries on CGTalk for voting. As I put this here, the voting thread is not yet up, so I cant link you there, but I am sure y'all can find yer way to the site and appropriate forum blind-folded. Wink

Cheers!

PS: To insert some unpaid endorsement here: Wink

"I could'nt have done the layout as speedily as I did without Phil's awesome tool here. Great work on Phil's part!"

headus · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject:

Found your final tiger renders at cgtalk ... they wowed me! Those action poses really make a difference to the interest of the image; I'll have to keep that in mind when doing graphics for uvlayout.com.

Phil

highlander_72 · Posts: 41 Joined: 23 May 2007

Thanks for the comment, Phil!

Would you like me to upload some of the final images here?

I wasnt sure if that was appropriate or not, since I didnt want to distract from the purpose of this forum.

Btw, the tiger is not done with yet. I still plan to fully texture him and apply a complete fur coat, but that will have to wait a little while due to other work.

Cheers!

headus · Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:31 pm Post subject:

"Would you like me to upload some of the final images here? "

Go for it! I'm sure I'm not the only one really appreciating your pics of the UVs themselves, because thats what UVLayout is all about after all, but final renders help to liven up the postings as well :-)

Phil