headus 3D tools

[simonrobson]

Hi,
I'm a newb and this is my first question, here goes…
I've just started going through UV Layout. Great tool and a HUGE improvement on the UVing tools in C4D's Bodypaint, as I'm sure anyone who's used Bodypaint's UVing tools will agree…

Anyway, I've been working through the video tutorials for UV Layout (Which are great) and cutting up and UVing organic models like dinosaurs and so on. But I was wondering what the best approach would be to UV a very geometric low-poly model. I've made a low-poly military drone. I need to keep the UVs very geometric and true to the model, as I'm working with graphic designers to design the texture for the drones, and they have no experience with 3D. Simply put, the UVs need to be as straight as possible so as to best represent the skin and not confuse the designers!

I hope that's clear enough. Attached are a couple of editor screen grabs of the model to give you a good idea. Any tips and techniques would be really appreciated.

Simon

[headus]

"Any tips and techniques would be really appreciated."

If it was me, I'd be aiming for zero distortion in the UVs. That way your graphics people will be able to simply stamp on the textures and not have to worry about decals and lettering etc ending up skewed or stretched or whatever.

So with that goal in mind, cut everything up into one polygon wide strips, flatten those perfectly, then you can look at stitching shells back together if you want to cut down on some of those UV seams.

I've used the same approach recently when making patterns for folded objects, like these heads ...

http://www.headus.com.au/case-studies/fold-girls

Phil

[simonrobson]

Thanks Phil,
Yes, zero distortion in the UVs is a must. I would then stitch shells back together as best I could because it will mean less time and guess work for the designers who are working on this project for fun.
I'll have a go and post any questions / results.
Thanks so much for your help,
Simon