Video to unwrap a giraffe

[dalboris]

Hello !

Here is a 20 min video (in real time), showing how to do the UVs of a giraffe, and so, a great majority of animals. (sorry, the hexagon's interface is in french... but i think it isn't a real problem)

You need QuickTime 7 to see the video (size 1024*768 ; 12 fr/sec)

click on the picture below to download the zipped file (77Mo)

[mykyl1966]

Excellent. Cant wait to have a look. Been waiting on a full UV mapping of a character or animal to learn from.


Cheers

Mike R

[tonytrout]

Nice demo. Nice to have one in real time for a change Thanks

[dalboris]

you're welcome !

you are a lot to ask for "how does UV work ? How does seams work ?... etc", and it's normal, it isn't easy at all !

So it's easier to do a video tutorial/demo than to answer all the questions

[bwtr]

Sorry to be a grump, because it's beautifully done work. But it's Not a tutorial it's a demonstration!. It worries me that so many wonderfull works are completely lost to other than the experienced--who know what you are saying ----anyway!

[Pete Exxtreme]

[Thomas]

Nothing to add the Pete reply...

[dalboris]

err... bwtr, do you know there is a documentation with Hexagon, in the "help" menu ?

if you don't understand what I do, please, look at the doc, and not what I do !

You are probably the exception, you know... Have you seen that the problem of everybody around you is not HOW to use the UV tools, which is very easy, but WHERE to use the tools ??? Sorry, for that, I can't do more than a video demonstration...

[mwgrafx]

Very nice!!! It answered all my questions.

[dalboris]

thanks mwgrafx !

(how should I pronounce this name ??? )

[bwtr]

dalboris I am not alone, unfortunately. My problem is similar to many others on other forums. I have read the (difficult!!!) help files, and have done the excellent Tony Trout tute--which taught me a lot of the whys and wherefores--and it is this latter which is missing from your great movie. Why are you sellecting what you are sellecting and, when you have made some particular selection, I can not follow clearly, the visual end result obtained from that particular selection?

As with the Help files, the order in which parts are written, and the important desciptive links that are missing is quite staggering.

[bwtr]

Just a few thoughts.

Are not most of the Hexagon and Carrara uses coming from a background of Bryce and Poser?

I have used Carrara from 2 through to 5Pro and have never found the need to use UVs really ever!

I do have a 3D paint programme on which I can paint on the 3D object directly without any UVs.

I have, a couple of times used UVMapper Classic to produce a map (not really UV I think), to use to paint on in Photoshop and apply as a texture.

Now I suggest my learning is probably "average" (maybe above that of the average?)--can you fully realise the consternation at reading the first paragraph (below the heading 1.Texture Mapping on p224 of the Hexagon Help)?

Again this is not a complaint about "tutes" that are done but stressing the importance of the desperate need for detailed steps and clarity in the quality of Help files and tutorials for us, the "average" people!

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by bwtr

Are not most of the Hexagon and Carrara uses coming from a background of Bryce and Poser?

For Hexagon, not at all. And it's not completly true for Carrara (even if Carrara was designed originaly by Metacreation, also creator of Bryce and Poser)

[dalboris]

Originally Posted by bwtr

I have, a couple of times used UVMapper Classic to produce a map (not really UV I think)

UVMapper IS real UV

but the way to optain them is radically different.

in UVMapper, you use gizmos (you can use them in Hexagon too), gizmos uses a "projection" on primitives to do the UVs

and in Hexagon, it's an "auto-UV", so you select How you want to "cut" your model, and Hexagon automatically unfold the UV map.

the most difficult is how to place the seam.

imagine that you have in front of you the real model that you want unwrap. Your aim is to put it all on a plane, without overlapped your model.

Imagine a giraffe. If you cut nowhere, it's impossible. You would have the two sides (left/right) of the giraffe one over the other.

if you cut in two parts, in the middle (from tail to head), now, you can put one side next one the other, you shouldn't overlap the two sides... but there is always a problem ! The twos sides of thelegs are overlapped !!! Effecly, you can't put on a plan a cylinder without overlap... it's logical

So you have to cut the legs too !

but... you can't put the horns on a plane, for the same reasons ! So... you have to do the same thing... etc, etc...



to summum, it's impossible to unwrap a model in one part. You have to cut it in various parts.

So, you will say : "Why do not cut all the polygons ??? Then, we are sure that we won't have overlap !!"

the problem.... is that the seams create some problems for textured them... there is always some imperfection to each side of the seams, for that, when you unwrap a model, you have to "hide" the seams as more as possible.

So you have to do a compromise : cut to have no overlap and no stretching of your map ; and have the minimum of seams

for that, if you look my demonstration, you could see a "optimised" method to unwrap the giraffe, and all animals (it's the same method and the same seams)



(sorry for my english...)

[bwtr]

Thomas, whatever, the point is Tutes and Help files should be of virtual Universal level usage--allways.

dalboris. Other than that "gizmos" don't seem to be mentioned in my copy of UVMapper, your explanation was very helpful though trying to follow those ideas in the movie is very difficult. Thanks for your trouble--your English is great too by the way.

[bwtr]

I downloaded UVMapper Pro. Still can not find any Gizmos there? In my use of English a gizmo is what you use in conversation when you can not think of the proper name. Such as "we use a "thingy" and then we do whatsit----"

I am trying to get a message through --not a complaint as such.

[dalboris]

all what you do in UVMapper is to use gizmos. But... maybe they aren't called like that

the gizmos are the "boxes", or "cylinders" you have to move to generate the UVs

for exemple :

http://www.uvmapper.com/

in the screenshot, in the right window, there is something around the head. It's that I call "gizmo".

[bwtr]

Is that UV mapper "frame" the same as a "bounding box" in Carrara? I find that "frame" difficult to associate as a gizmo in the same --visual- context as the Hexagon gizmos. The use of language for descriptions in 3D becomes "peculiar" by the day!

[dalboris]

Originally Posted by bwtr

Is that UV mapper "frame" the same as a "bounding box" in Carrara?

no, it isn't a bounding box at all !!!

the bounding box is the "limits" of your object.

a "gizmo" (I haven't seen noowhere how they are called on UVMapper... so I will caled them "gizmos" ;) ) is a "representation" of the method you use to unwrap your model. For exemple, if with want unwrap your mesh with the "planar" projection (the most basic), your gizmo wil be a plan.

like that : http://www.uvmapper.com/interactive3.png

if you do a rotation of this gizmo, this plan, the axis of the projection will change too, and then your UV map.

If you have UVMapper, the best way to understand is to test it. move the gizmo, and the UV change in realtime. It's really fun to use it

instead of having a lot of parameters for the projection, you have a plan, which represents the projection, and to move this plan change automatically the paramaters (axis of projection, limit of projection, center of projection...)

[bwtr]

dalboris I think it's outside my ablility to understand. Thanks though for your efforts.

Looking at that UV Mapper screen shot, that looks EXACTLY like rotating the bounding box? Sorry I'me so thick headed but don't worry any more.