Headus UVLayout - worth buying?

danshewan

Hey guys,

I'm considering purchasing Headus' UVLayout, because from what I've seen it looks like it could reduce some of the headache of, well, laying out UV's.

Anyone else here use it? Recommendations? I'm using Max's built-in tools right now, which compared to my experience using Maya's UV editing tools was a considerable improvement, but I'm certainly tempted by UVLayout.

Thanks in advance for the input.

renderhjs

I used to work a lot with UVLayout and I still love it for it elegant workflow design (everything keyboard mapped = such a fast workflow). UVlayout mainly saves time for relaxing shells because it can do some fancy stuff in that regards.
I do however the real layout always in max manually. But these days I kind of lost track of UVlayout since I started working on my own scripts to fill in the needs I needed in max. You can have a look and try at the scripts here:
http://renderhjs.net/textools

If you however do not work with max as a main tool and instead use Maya or some other modeler I would recommend UVlayout since it is an independent Application tool that usually works with OBJ input.

In development and interesting as well might be RoadKill pro wich is kind of in the work atm.
http://www.roadkillpro.com/
It looks like it has not nearly that much tools build in as UVlayout but surprisingly the most important stuff + good performance and max / maya integration. Though personally I am more a fan of external specialized apps because as soon as you have a newer version of max / maya the tool might not work anymore, you are forced to pay for some update or the company went down and you can forget it totally.

ah well lots of great tools to choose from though personally UVlayout beats them all in workflow speed and features.

3DK.P.

I've been using UVLayout for a while now and I must say that it has definitely helped me with an area I felt I was the weakest at when it game to making game art. UVying was definitely something I dreaded when came time to do it. UVlayout is an awesome program and I'd say if you are in the market for a UVing program then this should be it.

Popeye9

I used to use uvlayout at old job and loved it. I use only max unwrap now and scripts like renderhjs's textools. I dont have to go through hassle of exporting and opening new application.

Sage

You can launch uv layout from Max. It's really nice and makes unwrapping really fast.. The only problem of falling for uv layout is that you might not have access to it at a job so you should get used to not using it. Other than that it's really good.

renderhjs

oh yeah of course its pricey I guess that is its only major downfall - being a bit to pricey and therefore not always an option for work everywhere.

jocose

I'm a little confused about what exactly makes it special. I played around with it briefly and was impressed with the workflow. Are there any features or aspects that make it a must have app, or is it just the workflow that people love so much?

renderhjs

hmm very unique and standalone features imo.
- relax multiple selected objects as 1 task (get some coffee meanwhile while it does all the iterations)
- ability to setup relaxing rules such as align marked edges to closest grid, straighten marked edges, pin straighten stuff and lots of other unique rule sets that get incorporated in the relaxing process - you can really control the outcome unlike 99% of the other tools out there.
- stack shells
- subDevision preview + different algorithm to relax low level SubDiv. cages.
- texel blending brushes and transitions
- standalone !!! (= more independent)
- speedy workflow optimized and not like all other companies lately GUI eye candy ( = slow) bloated

its the most professional tool in that area imo.

danshewan

Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

But these days I kind of lost track of UVlayout since I started working on my own scripts to fill in the needs I needed in max.

Yeah, I've been looking at your tools, renderhjs! I made the switch from Maya to Max about six months ago, and I'll never (willingly) go back. Max's built-in tools are really solid (especially Relax and Pelt), but people seem to have a lot of good things to say about UVLayout, so I thought I'd ask.

You can launch uv layout from Max. It's really nice and makes unwrapping really fast.. The only problem of falling for uv layout is that you might not have access to it at a job so you should get used to not using it.

I did consider this, but right now I'm more interested on getting UV's done easier and faster than the tools required to do it. I can use Max's tools to get the job done, but sometimes it's just a pain in the ass.

I think I'll try the demo, and see how it fits. Thanks again for all the responses, everyone!

PixelGoat

Start using Modo, problem solved!

danshewan

Just tried the demo of UVLayout and I really like it, especially the hotkey workflow - very quick. I mean yeah, point-to-point seam / select face / expand selection to seam then Pelt is pretty decent, but this could potentially save me hours of time once I get really comfortable with it. It's good to know that if necessary, you can tweak the layout back in Max, but for actually getting the layout work done, it's pretty rapid.

renderhjs

I wouldn't say layout its more of a way of speedy relaxing stuff with user input. At least I always did the layouting (moving parts) in max.
And the relaxing or unfolding stuff is rather what max sucks at by default + everything is scattered in countless tiny and dated operations which make the whole unwrapping part in max or maya a pain by default.

danshewan

My bad - perhaps I should have specified I meant 'layout' as unwrapping, as opposed to actually arranging the shells. :poly136: