headus 3D tools

[Nisstany]

Hi there... first of all i just like to add that i am completely new uv-mapping and for 3 days now i´ve looked around different forums tips and tricks but without success...

I´m trying to get something in the line of this i´m gona take it to zbrush later on and paint my guy
(From another user here)

http://www.headus.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=565

 Like where along the face am i suppose to cut? and the body? my mesh looks like this...

I´ll take any help i can get... note that i´ve used UOlayout for 2 days only now.. really easy to understand love this application i just want to know how i can use it in the best way...

[SLI_Fallen]

http://www.uvlayout.com

Video link is right on the front page. Virtually everything you need to know about this application is represented in the exhaustive video series Headus has created. The help pdf in the application is the other.

Take the time to watch, read and learn. You will see everything that has been provided here exactly for the reasons you ask.

[headus]

"Like where along the face am i suppose to cut?"

Unfortunately there is no one answer to that question because
it depends on how the textured model is going to be used.
Sometimes distortion (i.e. stretching or compression) of the
texture has to be avoided at all costs, so more seams are cut.
Or it might be the other way ... no seams can be seen so the
whole face is flattened out in one piece. You cant have both
(no seams and no distortion) so how you cut something up
depends on your own preference there.

There's a sample head layout here ...

http://www.headus.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=218#218

... which you can load into UVLayout to play around with. Or
just use it as a reference when doing you own head.

One key thing to keep in mind when using UVLayout, as you'll
see in the videos, is that its not "draw seams, one click to flatten"
like other UV editing applications. Usually in UVLayout is better
to cut something up into smaller pieces to start with, flatten
those, then experiment with different welds to bring the
pieces back together into one piece to reduce the number
of seams.

Phil

[Aliastasia]

Check your inbox.

Do you have any texturing experience?
Do you remember what you disliked on the mesh you were texturing?
Then try to avoid that

If I were you, I'd cut seams to separate clothing, shoes, hair and skin. That means I'd cut, generally speaking, and assuming most angles will be viewed at some point:
* Around the neck, with a seam in the back
* Around the hair, with a seam in the back
* The seams between cuffs and hands - but I'd have to see where the hand seams were before recommending a cut
* As for the shirt, cuffs and collar, I'd cut and sttch those, but it'd depend on your workflow how you'd want that assembled as a UV map - some like a classical tailor's "cross" - where all the mesh components form a cross, with a seam runnning under the arms and down the sides, or with arms, and body separate, with a seam under the arms and on the back of the shirt

- and so on. Placement of seams is always an issue, but the general rule of thumb is to cut where it's least visible, or where you know your texture will match or tile up.
I see from the blue lines on your mesh that you can actually already cut and drop some components in UV view, so it'd just be a case of figuring out what works or not for you

Hope this helped

/A

[Nisstany]

Thanks for all the help... i will get back to you when im done!