What do you think is the best UV mapping software ?
-
I'll decline to comment on external apps since I am still hopeful SketchUp Pro 9 will arrive (soon) with proper UV layout tools.
Best,
Jason. -
I hope your wish comes true. But I imagine mapping isn't on the immediate roadmap.
-
I fear you may be right
, but IMO Layout will never be all it could be until UV mapping is a feature built-in as part of the SketchUp Pro suite.Removing an object from SketchUp to bring it back into SketchUp is not a workflow Google should be encouraging.
Best,
Jason. -
Well, maybe not on the immediate roadmap but at least they admit that there could be much development in this area so hopefully at least they start contemplating.
I think that for a beginning step, they should at least change how some UV mapping data is stored (especially with distorted materials) since there are serious issues with exported models where images "explode" into zillions of small pieces.
Tomasz could fix this with his Thea exporter. The Twilight folks could fix it for Twilight. I think (never used) Al could fix it for iRender. All small companies...
-
I agree. I think they'll need to completely rewrite the whole mapping system before SU has anything that's approaching professional level. As Gai points out, you map something like a sphere and it outputs with a separate image for each facet...not good.
In answer to Rich; that's the reason I still tend to use the obj proxy with UU3D...because it triangulates the faces on export. My workflow requires that I end up with a model in at least 5 different formats, including 3ds. Without the triangulation the mapping is usually totally wrecked (also, only then does it reliably output a single image when distorted textures are used). I can't use SDS, because even 1 iteration divides into 8 not 2 triangles. -
@alan fraser said:
I think they'll need to completely rewrite the whole mapping system before SU has anything that's approaching professional level.
I can't imagine Google would fund something like that. Frankly, I regard EVERY release of SU as an act of charity by Google... I just cannot see how it fits anymore into any aspect of the company in any meaningful way -- street view changed everything.
All that said, let me add how grateful I am for these many acts of charity -- they are appreciated and for as long as they continue, one can hope for better UV features.
-
I am not sure. LayOut for instance (although they had already worked on something pre-Google) was eventually released by the team when it was already Googlified and they have been regularly and intensively updating it ever since.
Also, a lot of things have been added to SketchUp itself even though they have nothing to o with GE and stuff. Sketchy styles, dynamic components, camera tools etc. True that many of these are now "pro only" features.
-
@gaieus said:
True that many of these are now "pro only" features.
Let's hope that if better UV mapping will be implemented into SketchUp, will be somehow available in free version too, otherwise, exchanging models between pro and free might be strange...
-
-
Things should be ok between Pro and Free versions in such circumstances. After all, SU will import properly mapped 3ds files etc...it just can't map such meshes itself. Rather like the Free version being able to utilise Dynamic Components without being able to author them.
-
@alan fraser said:
Things should be ok between Pro and Free versions in such circumstances. After all, SU will import properly mapped 3ds files etc...it just can't map such meshes itself. Rather like the Free version being able to utilise Dynamic Components without being able to author them.
Agree %100 -- and I hope the Sketchup dev team sees it the same way.
Best,
Jason. -
Now that I've got into organic modeling after using Artisan for a week or two I feel like I'm learning SU all over again and this UV mapping thing is driving me nuts I have tried UV Toolkit 2 and UV Projection plugins but seems to beyond my comprehension at this point would really like to see some tutorials as this texture thing seems like a force to reckoned with. My self taught architectural visualization would like a hand as I didn't even finish High School but really like to model and render better than any first person shooter game out there.
-
Unwrapping/flattening UVs for a complex shape allows you to decide what parts of the 2D texture image will be placed where in the final 3D... after all you need a 2D representation of the geometry to match the 2D texture to -- if done well there should be a very clean/low distortion wrap of the 2D texture image around the 3D object afterward.
The current implementation of UVs in SketchUp does not allow for us to work in this rather straightforward concept -- a number of workarounds have been created to help in the form of Ruby plugins... but if you really want to have full control over texturing complex organic shapes, right now you really need to exit SketchUp and use one of the packages listed in the poll above (or similar).
FWIW, I also did not finish High School (although I did get my GED when I turned 16) -- self taught is not necessarily a bad thing as it shows willpower and native intelligence... I personally do not see it as a limit since I know many people with higher degrees who never use them professionally.
Best,
Jason. -
UU3D is a good app and is a pretty good price. It has tons of features and works well with the UVTools plugin. Take the time to learn it and you won't regret it.
Advertisement