The dumbest question on polycount about auto UV.

i772

Hey guys, I know this is going to be a stupid question, but I just want something that can auto UV for me. I am able to use Zbrush and Maya, I just hate Texturing!!!!

Is there anything that can make my life easy? Just toss it into something and let it handle everything?

Some of my great UV mapping...

And I don't even know how the hell I am going to get this out and textured...
 

Fuiosg

Whatever you use, you'll have to exert a modicum of effort

i772

Fuiosg said:

Whatever you use, you'll have to exert a modicum of effort

What is the quickest thing that I could use? 

Eric Chadwick

General Discussion is not the right place to post software questions like this. I'm moving this to Technical Talk, where you're more likely to get the right eyeballs on your topic.

This is not a big deal, just be aware of where to post in the future, check the forum descriptions.

musashidan

Most programs have auto-mapping features, but you get out what you put in. If you're just doing illustration rendering or background assets then fair enough. However when it comes to game assets it's probably the only part of the entire industry that UVs are crucial, as the asset can be viewed at leisure from any angle at any distance. There's no 'fix it in post' option. Lazy unwrapping will stick out and show up in both texturing and baking. Ugly seams, distorted and stretched textures, and poor texel density are usually the outcome.

Unwrapping tools have come a long way and it actually isn't as bad as you might think. I find it rather enjoyable if I'm honest.

kanga

You are not alone. Lots of people have difficulty with wrapping their heads around uvs. Headus has a great unwrap app: https://www.uvlayout.com/ Go there and watch the first vids. What uvlayout does is let you cut your model up into manageable bits. You can actually pull parts of your model away from each other to get a great idea of how the unwrap will be. Slicing seams actually shows on the 3d version of the model itself. I used it for a while and it makes organizing and relaxing uvs fun! I stopped using uvlayout when uvs started breaking in max, but maybe withMaya that wont be an issue. Anyhow UVLayout is a great tool and worth checking out.

Like Masaahidan say, UVs are uber important for game assets and it would pay you to follow some tutes and get the process down.

musashidan

kanga said:

 I stopped using uvlayout when uvs started breaking in max, but maybe withMaya that wont be an issue. Anyhow UVLayout is a great tool and worth checking out.

@kanga what issues are you having with UV Layout and Max? I use the 2 together on every single thing I unwrap. I use the Pipe bridge script and have never had any issues (Max 2016) 1 click to send to uvl, 1 click to send back to Max. Works perfect every time. It's like having uvl built into Max it's so seamless.

cptSwing

You could use Ptex - but as soon as you want to use your model in realtime applications, you will have to bite that UV bullet.