Are uvmaps copyrighted or considered a "template" for ideas?

shane3498

I would like to use my own 3d model of a character but my uvmaps are so similar in basic uvmap seams that the uvmap itself looks very similar to another popular character uvmap. I want to know if I adjusted my uvmaps to match the existing object, if it would be considered stealing. I will not be using their textures but rather supplying my own images using that uvmap so I can test other textures easily.

CrackRockSteady

Just to make sure I understand your question correctly:  You are using your own model and your own textures, and you have unwrapped your own model yourself, but the UV layout that you have used looks similar to the UV layout for a different character that someone else did?

If that is correct then I think you're fine.  Lots of character UV layouts are going to look similar because lots of characters have similar parts (head, hands, torso, legs, etc).  I'd even go so far as to say you *should* be looking at UV layouts for well-made characters by pro artists in order to understand why they did certain things and how they utilize their space efficiently, and trying to match their best practices.

You can't "steal" a UV layout any more than you can steal someone's modeling techniques or the way they organize their scene layers.

Eric Chadwick

But... If you're using someone else's model, that's generally not ok.

It's generally ok to rip models purely for education, to learn from them first hand. It's just not ok to share ripped models, unless it's a mod for the same game, and you're not profiting in any way from it.

shane3498

Eric Chadwick said:

But... If you're using someone else's model, that's generally not ok.

It's generally ok to rip models purely for education, to learn from them first hand. It's just not ok to share ripped models, unless it's a mod for the same game, and you're not profiting in any way from it.

sorry for late reply, I made my own model but i wanted to use a uvmap layout on mine very similar to one that already exists. And to be fair I dont think theres too many different ways to map a character since there is only so many different ways to efficiently cut and seam islands in a standard industry manner. I will have baked and created my own texture to my uvmap BUT since it is almost exactly similar in UVMAP LAYOUT of another model, i can technically use their texture. But that is not the intended case, I just like how they layed out their uvmaps and would like to have mine in a similar fashion matching the layout. 

shane3498

CrackRockSteady said:

Just to make sure I understand your question correctly:  You are using your own model and your own textures, and you have unwrapped your own model yourself, but the UV layout that you have used looks similar to the UV layout for a different character that someone else did?

If that is correct then I think you're fine.  Lots of character UV layouts are going to look similar because lots of characters have similar parts (head, hands, torso, legs, etc).  I'd even go so far as to say you *should* be looking at UV layouts for well-made characters by pro artists in order to understand why they did certain things and how they utilize their space efficiently, and trying to match their best practices.

You can't "steal" a UV layout any more than you can steal someone's modeling techniques or the way they organize their scene layers.

Yeah i created my own mesh model and retopod my own topology. I want to cut my seams in a very similar fashion of another UVMAP LAYOUT but i will bake and use my own textures. I created the model, I sculpted it, I unwrapped it myself with my own seams, and will bake and texture it with my own textures. Just the uvmap layout will be very similar/same.

Noren

shane3498 said:

BUT since it is almost exactly similar in UVMAP LAYOUT of another model, i can technically use their texture. But that is not the intended case,

I don't think it would cause any trouble, but unless we are talking about a generic layout with UVs laid out in a rectangular fashion and/or a very simple model (and even then it would be easy to simply switch some elements around) it's hard to believe it's necessary or likely that a UV layout would match that of another model that exactly. So if you have any doubts, you could simply switch some elements around or make minor changes.

However, if this is e. g. supposed to be for a game, I can't help thinking that it sounds like this is absolutely intentional (e. g. players can exchange the texture of your character to be able to play with a famous one without the developer having to worry about legal aspects, after all he "didn't intend that". And in that case I wouldn't 100% rely on getting away with it. That's different from community skins or parody.