headus 3D tools

[Mateusz]

Hi folks

There we have an object which I created in Marvelous Designer (1) and after that extruded in 3ds Max (shell modificator ) in order to feel the bandana's thickness. Marvoulus have mapped my object (2) but the thing which is unmapped is the edge (3 - marked with red colour).

At previous company i've worked on Maya - it was really easy and quick - but now working with 3ds max i feel like newbie and can't do it in the same way. Having in mind my favorite mapping program ( uv layout ) have question for you guys: is there a smooth method of mapping my edge of model which final efect i showed on number (4) - i need a straight line of polys - can be distorted - need to be fast and easy - every edge is simple loop build with quads

greets
Mateusz

[headus]

Sounds to me like the rectangle/pipe flattening tool is the one you want. On a true pipe (i.e. nice straight cylinder) its mostly automatic, but in your case you might need to detach the edge geometry from the rest of the mesh, and then R will flatten that out as a UV aligned rectangle.

There's a video here ...

http://www.headus.com.au/doc/uvlayout-expert/videos/UVLayout-Rectangles-and-Pipes.mov

Phil

[Mateusz]

Thank U a LOT! It works great as always! 3ds Max is little creepy for me - we need a little time to like each other (modificator shell makes all the mapping but after this packing and cutting uv shells is a way easier using uv layout. Besides, i really like the way of using uv layout - if U need something just look in documentation or ask at forum and u in 100% find your funcionality. Great soft!

thx once again
Mateusz

[Mateusz]

uff - and a one fast question - how i can check orientation of uv shell according to normals of faces of the mesh? ( if are they fliped or not, and in what axis? )

[headus]

I'm not 100% sure what you mean there regarding face normals. If you go to the 3D view and use the T key to change the texture, you'll get the one with the numbers ... that'll show you how the texture is orientated on the mesh.

Flipped is easy though ... if a flattened shell is drawn with white lines instead of black, then that means its inverted, and the arrow keys can be used to flip it round.

Phil

[Mateusz]

Thanks - that second idea was what I need.

Another question - can I load a mesh and check tile coverage without any packing?

[Mateusz]

And next question: using box mapping on more complicated stripes of mesh after i have problems with cutting it for smaller slices which fit better to uv0-1 (without box mapping cutting works properly) - i'm using hotkey "C" while having edge under cursor

do we have pont-to-point seam maker in uv window?

[headus]

The tile coverage will only show after packing. But you can trick it by locking all the flattened shells (use the L key and draw a box over everything with the left mouse button), then pack, then you can unlock everything with L and a right mouse button box.

As for your cutting problem, zooming in should help. Or you can use the G key instead; aim the mouse pointer at empty air, tap the G key, then you can stretch a box around the polys you want to mark. For example, you could select the middle third of one of those ling strips. Once marked, move the mouse pointer over the select polys and tap Enter to detach them.

Phil

[Mateusz]

Great feedback! It works perfectly.

Thanks once again