headus 3D tools

[TwoSheds]

Hello.

I'm not sure I understand this, from the manual:

If the mesh being loaded is the control cage for a subdivision surface, then make sure that SUBD is selected. The subdivided surface will then be used in the flattening calculations, rather than the control cage itself, producing more accurate results. If the mesh isn't a subdivision surface, then select Poly.


How do you load a control cage for a subdivision surface into UVlayout? I've never heard of OBJ being able to support subdivision surfaces as an export.

Aside from that, is there some way of unwrapping a model in UVLayout that I know is going to be used as SUBD later?

Thanks.

[TwoSheds]

OK wait a minute... scuse me cause it's still early here.

The OBJ export for an object IS the control cage for the object when placed into Sub-d, right? Meaning, all the vertices in the mesh are the control cage for when you put it into sub-d mode.

So, if I know my model is going to be subdived in my modeling program, I should select SUBD instead of Poly when I load it, right?

[headus]

"I've never heard of OBJ being able to support subdivision surfaces"

It'll depend on your modeling app, but in Maya you need to put your surface in Polygon Proxy mode, then the export will save the SUBD control cage out to the OBJ file. If you use the Maya to UVLayout interface plugin, it handles that for you.

"is there some way of unwrapping a model in UVLayout that I know is going to be used as SUBD later?"

No, not currently. The UVs may be close enough for you though, even if flattened as Polys instead of in SUBD mode.

I do have code in other software that can calculate the SUBD cage from a polymesh surface, so if you cant work out how to get your SUBD cages exported from your modeling app, I could look at dropping that into UVLayout.

Phil

[headus]

"So, if I know my model is going to be subdived in my modeling program, I should select SUBD instead of Poly when I load it, right?"

Exactly! There's also further "expert" options for dealing with SUBD surfaces; have a look at the "SUBD Surfaces" video under the Advanced videos section for details.

Phil

[TwoSheds]

Hi Phil,

Ok, thank you for the answers, and I'll have a look at that video too. I think I might have missed that one.

I'm using Maya 2009 and Lightwave 9.6 (both 64 bit) for modeling and rendering, by the way. Does that UVLayout Maya plugin work in 64 bit Maya 2009?

Thanks again!

By the way, I downloaded the "Killaroo" .uvl model from here and loaded it up and exported it out as OBJ. I was surprised to see how blocky it was in Lightwave, but when I put it into sub-d, it looked exactly as it did in UVLayout. So obviously UVLayout is capable of displaying sub-d.
Is that an example of an object exported from Maya as a subdivision surface as you mention above?

[headus]

"Does that UVLayout Maya plugin work in 64 bit Maya 2009?"

As far as I know. Its a mel script, so 32bit vs 64bit shouldn't matter.

"So obviously UVLayout is capable of displaying sub-d."

Yes, and if you're in the 3D view and tap the "S" hotkey, it'll display the subdivided surface, not just the normal fast polygon display.

"Is that an example of an object exported from Maya as a subdivision surface"

Actually the Killeroo has come from another package, but the principle is the same; the SUBD cage is saved into the OBJ file as if it was just another polymesh, and then it up to the software loading it to interpret that correctly. This only works for "standard" SUBD surfaces though; extensions like hierarchical modeling or edge sharpening cant be transferred via an OBJ.

Phil

[TwoSheds]

Thanks again Phil.

I hadn't checked out the Maya plugin yet. Yeah, if it's a MEL script there's no reason it shouldn't work.

I saw what you mean today in the SUBD video. Pretty cool.