How to pack UVs but retain hand placed UV shells in Maya?

bentraje

You can see an illustration of the problem here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6lhrb9peb...ed_UVs.jpg?dl=0

What I have done so far is PIN the selected UV shells. However two things happen when I do the layout command
(1) If the pinned UV shells is not selected, the layout command will overlap the pinned shells rather than respect it. 
(2) If the pinned UV shells is selected. the layout command will also move the pinned shells rather retain its original UV position. 

Is there a way around this? Thank you for your time.

onionhead_o

which version of Maya are you Using?

bentraje

I am using Maya 2018. It's not LT. 

Axi5

Unfortunately that's a limitation of Mayas UV layout tools. Houdini has a solution for this in 16.5 as does Headus UV layout. I think those are the only two softwares on the market with the feature you want. 

If you can only use Maya unfortunately you'll have to layout manually

bentraje

@Axi5

Thanks for the response. At least I know that I am at a dead-end. Regarding the Headus UV layout, is it still relevant? The interface seems old. No offense. 

Axi5

I'm not a big fan of it but some users here will swear blind by it I'm sure. Looking at xNormal I'm not sure if elegant ui design is a word on the developers lips haha

bentraje

Okay mate. I'll take it your word for it. If get recurring projects such as this, I'll definitely check out Headus UV Layout. 

oglu

unfold3d has also a feature for shell pinning/packing...
https://www.unfold3d.com/

bentraje

Thanks oglu. That seems like a good alternative.