[Plugin] UVTools 0.2 Pro (Beta) (Updated for SU6)

Whaat · 23 Nov 2009, 18:58

Thankyou Whaat for this fantastic plugin. I tried it with UVLayout. It failed to work with Sketchup 6 and had me feeling gutted that I had spent a few hours learning uvlayout for no reason. Then tried it with Sketchup 7 and it worked thankfully!

Are you sure it only works in SU7? If so, that's very strange.

@unknownuser said:

I have run into perhaps a bug though.. while I set up the uv mapping correctly in uvlayout - I got an error message when importing into sketchup. It told me import successful but 1 face failed.. This is the result:

It looks like from your image that more than one face failed. This 'bug' seems to be caused from SketchUp not 'liking' the UVs that are generated from the external application. I'm not sure how fixable it is...

@unknownuser said:

I have one more question which isn't related to the plugin but something I have experienced myself (with my basic uvmapping skills) and is something I also noticed in Whaat's videos. When I split open my mesh to flatten it, when it reassembles the joining seam never lines up correctly... any simple suggestions to combat this?? i'm thinking there must be some sort of weld function i'm missing inside the uvprogram. Here's an illustration anyway:

Seams are (by definition) discontinuities in the UV coordinates. I think the only way to avoid seams is to use spherical and cylindrical mapping. I don't have a ton of experience with UV software. There might be a weld-type function somewhere that will align the UVs along both edges of a seam.

vidy · 24 Nov 2009, 22:31

yes whaat, it failed in sketch up 6.. could it be fixed?

Chris Fullmer · 24 Nov 2009, 22:41

Dale did you use the "true" flag in "modelstart_operation "UV Mapper", true"? That will crash a plugin in su6.

Just a thought,

Chris

Whaat · 28 Nov 2009, 02:22

@chris fullmer said:

Dale did you use the "true" flag in "modelstart_operation "UV Mapper", true"? That will crash a plugin in su6.

Just a thought,

Chris

Yep, that was it! Oops! New version available that works now with SU6.

numerobis · 1 Dec 2009, 00:58

Thank You very much!!! It's working great! Unbelievable... proper mapping in sketchup!... this is so cool!
i've tested it with UVLayout - i have some scaling problems when i apply the same material to multiple unwrapped objects, but i think this can be adjusted in uvlayout... i don't know how at the moment but i'll find it out...

vidy · 1 Dec 2009, 14:50

Thanks Whaat, its working now.. its great to have a function of 3dsmax Unwrap UVW inside sketchup

Regards

McGyver · 6 Dec 2009, 16:44

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but am I right in understanding this... Basically this plugin allows me to paint a bunch of faces and the put them into a UV mapping program like UVmapper, map them and them take the map and put it into an image mapping program like Photoshop? This then is for use in models meant to be exported in say .obj format? I've been looking for a way to add more detailed texturing(painted tiling textures only go so far) for my models but due to the size of most of my models it really only makes sense to do so for certain parts(like say a wall with dirt and graffiti at ground level). Sorry if this is a stupid question, but my knowledge and terminology is spread thin over many different programs all of which I am still using.

It may be a day or two before I can check back, thank you in advance for any replies. Oh and Thank you for sharing this cool plugin!

The images show some stuff that I'd love to be able to further detail...

remus · 6 Dec 2009, 17:05

Its more to do with painting particularly complicated shapes. Organic things for example: if you can imagine trying to texture a human head in sketchup it is basically impossible. Whaats plugin basically allows you to export the mesh to another piece of software, use the UV mapping tools there to 'flatten' the mesh so that you can then paint straight on it. Once youve done this you can then import the textures back in to SU thus leaving you with a nicely textured head that you otherwise wouldnt have been able to do.

Whaat · 7 Dec 2009, 13:59

@unknownuser said:

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but am I right in understanding this... Basically this plugin allows me to paint a bunch of faces and the put them into a UV mapping program like UVmapper, map them and them take the map and put it into an image mapping program like Photoshop? This then is for use in models meant to be exported in say .obj format?

Yes, most UV mapping programs allow you to export the UV map so you can use it in a program like Photoshop. The plugin uses OBJ format only internally for import and export. The final file format of the model is up to you.

McGyver · 8 Dec 2009, 16:13

Thank you remus and Whaat. I'm gonna give it a try and see what I can do with it. Thank you for sharing this ruby Whaat!

Rich O Brien · 2 Jan 2010, 21:52

Hi,

Been struggling with this the last few days and felt the need to ask a few questions....

Tried this with UVMapper Classic and didn't get desired results with 'Red Brick' Material on sphere or cyclinder. It exported and imported perfectly but the mapping either missed faces or scaled incorrectly. I couldn't find any useful tutorials for UVMapper Classic so........
moved to LithUnwrap, this has proved even more difficult to handle [mainly due to my user level] and it again proved difficult to find tutorials because of the workflow involved

So does anyone have a solution, or even better a tutorial in using this plugin?

I realise that users here are familiar/adept with Blender and i'm considering this as my next approach

Khai · 2 Jan 2010, 22:20

try the UVmapper forum at Renderosity.com. (they can help with most UVmapping programs)

Mouais · 24 Feb 2010, 16:48

Hi all!

Everytime I try to UV map I get a bug splat
I get copy paste the .rb in the plugin folder... Am i right?
I have SU 6 maybe that's the issue

Whaat · 24 Feb 2010, 16:57

@mouais said:

Hi all!

Everytime I try to UV map I get a bug splat
I get copy paste the .rb in the plugin folder... Am i right?
I have SU 6 maybe that's the issue

What steps are you doing immediately before the bug splat?

Mouais · 24 Feb 2010, 17:40

as in the video I select the cylinder -> right click -> UV map tool -> cylindrical...

agamemnus · 28 Feb 2010, 17:47

Thanks!

viewrick · 4 Mar 2010, 22:42

Awesome! Using your rb with Lithunwrap (free). Lithunwrap is pretty easy to use and I'll have to agree with some of the other posts about UV tools being difficult to use and not user friendly, but this one is.

Your UVtool helped me big time modeling some furniture with texture UV requirements.

Thanks,
Rick

REGIS · 5 Mar 2010, 19:47

Hi Whaat

I'm trying your plugin now and it seems to works fine on mac.

Cheetah3D doesn't deal with mtl file it only opens the obj and only export obj file without mtl file

Blender 2.52 doesn't open the obj file.

Perhaps I've got to try an UVmapping app.

Hope it can help you

cheers

REGIS · 6 Mar 2010, 21:35

LOL, I think I can do something with your plugin and Cheetah3D, I've got try a little bit more

Thanks Whaat

EarthMover · 8 Mar 2010, 14:18

Here's a quick screen capture I made of using Whaat's plugin to demonstrate going from SU to Max (2009) for UV. It's a bit tricky as there are a lot of options in the .obj exporter that make the re-import not work properly. I've found the best preset to use in the Max .obj exporter is the one for Bryce with the default settings. This seems to be the only one that gives consistent success which I believe is due to the scale adjustment applied in that preset. I've had a couple people ask me privately so I figured I'd make a quick video - http://www.screencast.com/t/NWM0YzRiNTU