headus 3D tools

[Burpee]

(A short background on me - I have only used Hexagon2 to uvmap. It does simple objects easily and quickly. As they get more complex Hex will shrink one side of the uvmap of the object. Very frustrating and it takes too much time pushing polys around. I bought UVLayout Pro and am determined to learn to use it).

So far I've read the manual, watched a few videos, read through a lot of the forum questions and spent 3 days trying to uv map a torus. I've mapped it cut like a bagel, mapped it cut like a bagel with symmetry on and cut it into two rectangles.

What I'm stumping on is that when I do a new uv cut like a bagel without symmetry, I get one half beautifully round with minimal blushing at the center (almost all green). The other half is smaller and the very center ring is very red.

Why are these two halves not mapping exactly the same? I've tried it multiple times.

If I cut it the same way but with symmetry on, then I get two halves that look like the uvmap that was smaller with the much redder center. Symmetry is not the answer.

In Hexagon I would select the inner ring lines and do a universal scale on it and be done. What I did in UVLayout was to Ctrl-RMB with symmetry on to move the center rings points out.

Am I missing a step? People in videos have very complex objects and come away with beautiful uvmaps. I can't even get one on a simple object. Help!

[headus]

My first thought is the seam placements are off center, but its hard to say what might be happening with just that one picture; can you email me a UVL file of that?

Phil

[Burpee]

Hi Phil, I made the tori using two lines and the sweep function. I did not save any of my experiments but this has happened all three times I've tried it so I'll just recreate it and shoot off that uvl file.

I have not installed my dongle or permanent license yet. Maybe that makes a difference?

[headus]

No, your license wouldn't affect the flattening code.

Phil

[Burpee]

I went into my modeling program and checked the position of my centers and they were zero....good.

I then re-exported the un-uv mapped tori because I had saved over the original I was using. Wanted fresh.

This time UVlayout flattened both halves the same without having to use symmetry, but they both are like the smaller uv in my jpg with the very reddish inner ring. My wonky example must have been because I saved over my original obj after playing around, I suppose. The fresh object has fixed the discrepancy.

What would be the best way to relax that reddish inner circle? F doesn't work on it, R (set to relax) is too harsh and not precise here. Is there a way to select the entire inner ring lines or points and scale them?

[headus]

Thanks for the file! Yes, its all even now ... maybe before you had an odd number of polys going round the tube, so the cuts were uneven.

Anyway, as for the remaining red polys, there nothing you can do to get rid of that other than to cut it up into more pieces. The red is an indication of stretching in that area, and if you imagine you could skin a bagel and tried to flatten each half out, it would want to tear at that point. The only way to get everything 100% green is if everything can me made perfectly flat, and you only do that by add more seams.

The red is only feedback ... its not like it absolutely has to be gotten rid of.

Phil

[Burpee]

Thanks Phil