Is there a tutorial for doing "Unwrapped" UV mapping. Boxes and cylinders just aren't getting it. In need shrink wrap mapping!

From prior discussions here, it appears that this can only be accomplished with high-end ($10K+) software. Never seen anyone speculate on how it could be done with tools available to mere mortals.

The 3-d painting program from Metacreations is almost good enough to do this...sort of... I didn't use it much, because the interface is so completely dreadful and unintuitive... But a program needs to be written where you can load in an .obj (or whatever) and have a camera that can move about it in 360 degrees like in any modelling program. The program will have it's own uvmapper that will make sure each material's surface will be kept seperately on a map. Then, you can have the option of painting on the template in Photoshop or whatever, to get the basics down, then load that back into the proposed program and paint directly onto the model for finishing touches (and this is important, the ability to do that with tools that make SENSE!!!) and it will put what you have done on your template. Also, you should be able to assign new materials to the obj from the program. Metacreations 3-d painter was ALMOST like this, from what I could make of it, but just wasn't any fun to use at all. It should burn in hell, really. It seems you could make what I propose as a Photoshop Plug in, but I know nothing of that really. -Darth_Logice

So, quit beating around the bush Darth, do you like it or not? ;-)

I think that anyone that can use that program to 1/5th of it's potential is probably in a padded room somewhere. -Darth

Deep Paint 3D, by Right Hemisphere, is "only" $800, and I believe it does what you are aksing about. Still too rich for my blood right now. Painter 3D has one excruciatingly annoying habit that prevents me for using it. When you paint on the 3D model, if you cross a "seam" (like from front to back) Painter bridges the gap on the 2D texture by drawing a streak through it. It overwrites anything in its way. It pretty much the most annoying software feature I've had the mispleasure of coming across in a while. Regards- Lemurtek

Steve Cox was working on an Unwrapping program, but it's been many months since I heard anything new about it. -JH.

I just mailed him a question about Mapper, Maybe we'll hear somthing! Nerd <---- Holding breath...

Allerleirauh to the best of my knowledge Deep Paint will not create UV Maps but only work on existing ones, I believe the new Texture Weapons addon package for Deep Paint is supposed to do this.

I know your all looking for inexpensive solutions... But, for MAX: there's a shareware plug(textporter) that unwraps it specially for use in pshop or other paint prog... I've tried it a bit. Works great so far...

Okee... there are several ways to unwrap UV coordinates. None are free or cheap. 3d Studio Max 2.5 and up comes with a UV unwrapper in the Modifier section, and then I personally prefer and use the freeware utility called Unwrap that not only unwraps the shrink wrapped or other UV coordinates, but draws the whole mess onto a plain jane bmp file for you to haul into your paint program. I am using it even as we speak to map some incredibly complex maps onto my latest project to then flatten to mesh and bring into Poser. Flattening to mesh still holds those UV coordinates kiddies. Without flattening to mesh the chances of getting it into Poser the way you modeled it are not so good. That is the high priced solution. Painter 3d... fool around in there. Painful lame assed interface. What I do is I map it as best I can in Painter 3d, then "drop the mesh" onto the map so I see the outlines, and then lastly, I mark it up, with Red or some other very visible color, to show me marks of where the shoulders meet, the eye corners are, the nipples really are, etc. The mesh lies a bit on this stuff really, due to map stretching. As to Deep Paint 3d, if any of you have it, and would like to write a review of it, I would love to know how you like it? I have Deep Paint, and have not yet upgraded to Deep Paint 3d. Ironically, the most affordable professional solution out there is to be had here. http://www.texturetools.com/products.shtml Mesh Paint 3d. Only 69.00 dollars. Heh, and when it first came out it was the ONLY product of it's kind on the market, and I paid 600.00 for it. Now it is down to 69.00. And you can download a working time limited demo of it to see if it does what you need. Lastly, when all else fails, turn to your community members. If you send me your file to hbg@kreative.net, I can weegle it into some program or another here, get out a UV mapping and template for you, and mail it back.

Liz, would any of those options allow you to duplicate the combo style mapping on the Zygote/P4 figures?

Yes, 3d Studio Max would. I have not tested the others to find out. In fact if you export your characters into 3d studio format and do not mess with the mapping (it comes along for the ride) then look at the UV Unwrap Modifier, you will see that all of your mapping IS intact in there. It will pull in only the areas on the map it is told to, once you load the map in as a diffuse material. That is what gets my goat about that thief who claimed he was offering an export to 3ds max service. Hell, Poser does an ACCURATE export all on its own, one does not really even need to fuss much with remapping and chopping up textures like alot seem to instinctively do first.

Oh yeah, and at least in 3d studio max, the UV Unwrap Modifier allows one to directly force UV sections to lay where you want them, all on one map if you so desire that. Just like Poser. Now this is the Modifier that comes with 3d studio max, not the cool freebie Unwrap that does a totally different thing. Used in combination one can easily map accurately in 3d studio max. By the way, any of you who rush off to buy Meshpaint 3d, for that way cool 69.00... get ready for a learning curve and an less than elegant interface there too. But it is VERY powerful once one adjusts.

Not sure I followed. Let me ask specifically. Could you remap a P3 figure to exactly match the Unwrapped mapping of the P4 figures. (Please say no!) I ended up doing it in UVMapper by dragging all the polys around by hand. What a pain!

Yes, one can remap a figure by dragging all the parts around by hand to overlay the mapping of say Poser 4 figures in 3d studio max at least, by using the UV Unwrap Modifier.

deep paint 3d won't unwrap the mesh it has no uvmapping abilities ...but when texture weapons is released that will do it..........Steve

Bast, where can I find thise plugin for Max? The One in Max is a little confusing. I've tried it and I always end up with "Out of Range" co-ords. (I guess I'm looking for the talent button for Max ;-) )

Ok, since I have to shut down everything to even be able to run 3d Studio Max (it hates competition, it is definately an artist and a female at that...;p ) I will do so and post a mini-tutorial sometime today. I have uploaded to my site Peter's Unwrap Utility (See the above post) and will attempt to create a fast walk through for you all. Give me a couple of hours or so... am doing laundry and being a mother too today ;)

Nerd check these out as well (The same people make Mesh Paint 3D as Bast suggested although I believ TrU-V is a their hot product available as a stand-alone or plug-in. ) http://www.texturetools.com/products.shtml "TrU-V (patent pending), is the world's FIRST and ONLY analytical texture mapping solution.TrU-V analyzes your object's geometry, and automatically sets mapping coordinates that are perfect wherever you paint. Your brush strokes never change in size or shape, and the paint goes where you expect it to, every time. $299.95 Intel-based processors TrU-Viewer allows TrU-V owners to view texture mapped updates of their objects with any 2D paint software including Adobe Photoshop, MetaCreations' Painter, and Corel's PHOTO-PAINT. Depending on the program, updating the 3D OpenGL window can be as simple as a single keystroke. TrU-Viewer nearly turns any 2D paint program into a 3D paint program. The only real difference is that all of the painting takes place in the 2D views. Award-winning MeshPaint 3D is the worlds first full-featured 3D paint program to support multiple 3D animation applications, including Kinetix 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio Classic, NewTeks LightWave 3D, Microsofts Softimage and Caligaris trueSpace. $69.95 Intel-based processors" Hope all of this helps and does not further confuse the issue.

Liz, where is you website? I probably have the link, I just don't know its you ;-) My poser links folder is worse than that list! ---->

Cool, a no-new-software-to-buy method! http://www.cschell.com/skinmaxtut.html Liz, can this be done with the UVW Unwrap technique too? I remember now why I stopped playing with that modifier. I keep getting "Assertion Failed" and kicked out of Max when I'm in the Edit Map window. And if i move something in the window, the whole UV Map just balls up. (Max is definately a crank!) Do you have this trouble? Maybe it's my cheap video card. I can't wait to try this new technique. I'd better get busy with the Dreamspinner model. (Thanks to Liz Pope for the idea.) Along the way to building that model, I'll be making a new catsuit. That will likely end up in freestuff. How'd Y'all like a catsuit for Vicki?

Maybe if you get some time you could make or point us to a tutorial on how all this would be done? Thankyou :O) Sprout (who just browsed through this thread, sorry if someone already aked)

Hihi all, I have finished the tutorial on how to use the Unwrap Modifier effectively in 3d Studio Max. You may go here to participate in it. For those who do not have 3d Studio Max but wish to have the prop anyway, I have included in the support file zip both the Poser 4 scene and the Poser 4 Prop object I created in the end. I hope you all get some use of it. GreebleFly and her mates will soon become part of a vast and wonderful terrible winter landscape, where things are white. Part of a series of Themed environment settings I am making for the store. Go to http://www.kreative.net/hbg/Tutorials/UVMapping/tutorial01.htm