UV Blaster 0.6 Documentation

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• Tools Tab:
  
  Contains Custom M/S/R tools as well as 2D pivot point controls and UV copy tools (useful for matching two shells to each other)
  
  Most settings for these tools are controlled in the bottom tab which is the Globals Tab

  
  
  

• General Tab (with normal UV view):
  
  This tab contains most options for the entire suite that don't really fit anywhere else. Contained here are a quick UV snapshot export section, all UV sets controls for copying, merging, deleting, and creating new UV sets.
  
  Also contained are the display options for the 2D view port (default view).

  

• Projections Tab (with 3D view):
  
  This tab contains quick access to all the UV projection buttons which include all the normal Maya projections but also including custom projections such as Cubic, Shrink Wrap, Contour Stretch, and the Advanced projection.
  
  This tab also contains a channel box (for ease of editing projections) as well as the 2D/3D switch for the suite.

  

• File Tab (with 2d View):
  
  The tab contains buttons for easily opening, importing, exporting, and saving scenes (since UV Blaster is ideally used full screen).
  
  The tab also contains an outliner.

  

• Statistics Tab (with 2d View):
  
  The tab contains a list of all poly mesh objects in the scene for easy selection.
  
  The tab will also contain all relevant statistical data for an object as it is deemed needed.

  

• Globals Tab:
  
  Contains all the global settings for the tools and commands (as many of them are similar or identical).
  
  Many of the M/S/R tools use these settings (maintain aspect ratio or example).
  
  Most importantly, this section contains the on/off states for the auto functions .

  
  
  

2. Tools

   Layout UVs

   Utilizes basic Maya layout and normalize UV commands, but allows for the user to specify an algorithm for layout. Aside from the normal 0-1 space layout, there is also an algorithm that automatically detects UV shells and places them in different UV spaces according to a user defined threshold. There is also the option to layout with no change to position which simply flips any reversed UVs (behavior on by default with the other layout types as well).

   Unfold UVs(Maya 7+)

3. Simply utilizes the built in Maya unfold uv command. Relevant tool settings have been placed into the globals section. See the Maya documentation for more information on this tool.

4. Border

   Maya's default Straighten Border Edge command. Will straighten selected border UVs, but allows for restoring of curvature by editing the history connection after the fact.

   Flip UVs

   Flips the selected UVs along an axis (either U or V) and depending on the global setting for workspace will flip with respect to the origin (absolute) or its out bounding box (relative).

   Merge|Sew|Move/Sew UVs

   Will merge all selected UVs together under the restriction that only UVs sharing a vertex will be merged to each other. That being said, entire selections can have the commands applied to them at once and only the relevant UVs will merge. Commands work with both UVs and Edges.

   Cut UVs

   Divides a UV shell along the designated edge creating multiple UVs at given vertices.

   Relax UVs

   Attempts to distribute UVs with respect to each other and (depending on the global settings) with respect to the actual surface topology of the model in 3D in order to remove UV overlap and minimize texture.

   Delete UVs

   Deletes selected UVs (and possibly immediately connecting UVs of a face if required by the topology)

   UV Lattice(Maya 7+)

   Simply calls Maya's built in UV lattice tool which enables users to move UVs with a lattice structure much in the same manner as in 3D.

   UV Smudge(Maya 7+)

   Simply calls Maya's built in UV smudge tool which enables users to move UVs with an amount of falloff (similar to a soft selection).

   Move/Scale/Rotate UVs

   This section contains buttons that access the default Maya move, scale, and rotate tools in addition to custom m/s/r tools that have special functionality for UV Blaster. The sliders and input fields will control these tools. They operate based upon several global settings such as aspect ratio, maintain spacing, and whether operating in absolute or relative mode. When operating in absolute mode, the sliders will take on a behavior similar to the channel box which maintains a value so that the user can return to the zero position if they wish. Be aware that once a selection is changed though, the sliders will respond to the new selection as its starting values and the locations of the previous selection will be baked!

   Align UVs

   Four buttons next to the move tool allow for aligning an entire selection of UVs to either the minimum U, V, maximum U, or V positional values of the entire selection. Great for straightening edges.

   Pivots

   All the custom move, scale, and rotate tools for UV Blaster operate on a pivot point which is specified here by the user, or gotten from the average UV position of the selection. Pivots are automatically set upon selection change by default (see Automation).

   UV CopyFace Mode

   Attempts to match the given UV layout from one selection of faces to another. Most useful for taking two shells that should have the same shape and matching them to reduce labor. Simply copy the desired shell and paste its layout onto another. Obviously if the shells don't match face count interesting things may occur!

   UV Mode

   Matches UV position from the source UV to the destination UV. Can be applied to multiple UVs at once, but results are still currently buggy. Recommended to use Face mode at this time for matching entire shells. Simply copy the desired UV and paste its position onto another.

1. General

   UV Sets

   Contains options to copy, create, delete, and merge UV sets. Deleting all UV sets also deletes the baked projections at this time. In order to use simply choose the source and destination sets from the option menus and then select the command from the context menus and press the button to execute.

   UV Snapshots

   All settings for easy and quick UV snapshots are here. Simply input the resolution yourself or choose from a power of 2 preset. Maintain aspect ratio determines whether the second resolution field is active or not. Path defaults to your current project. Simply choose resolution, image type, UV space, and name the output file then press Snapshot!

   Display Options

   All standard UV editor display options. They are (from left to right): Display Grid, Display UV border, Display image, UV texture baking, Force rebake, Display RGB, or Display Alpha.

1. Projections

   2D/3D switch

   Button takes user between a 3D perspective modeling panel and the 2D texture editor.

   UV Projections

   Button contains the standard Maya projection types: Planar, Spherical, Cylindrical, and Automatic; as well as the custom projections Cubic, Shrink Wrap, Contour Stretch, and Advanced. The standard projection types have context menus for setting the mode and any options. Cylindrical and Spherical have a custom option now called Auto Orient. If the user specifies and edge along with their selection, this edge will be used to orient the projection gizmo to the selection.

   Cubic Projection

   Performs simultaneous projections of X,Y, and Z directions. Each face of a selected mesh are grouped according to facing direction (surface normal) and receive the projection that best suits it. The resulting shells can either be normalized into the 0 to 1 space, or each direction receives its own unit square (choose via the context menu).

   Shrink Wrap

   Handles the projection of a surface that is organic in nature. Best suited for face selections that do not have terribly extreme geometry changes in the surface. For such surfaces as those, it is recommended to use either Contour Stretch or some combination of projections to achieve a better layout.

   Contour Stretch

   Handles projection over a specific type of selection: it must be a rectangular patch. The user must specify a group of faces that is a rectangle and then specify the four corner vertices. It will then operate much like a simple planar projection, but rather than projecting according to a specific form, however, a contour stretch projection analyzes a four-cornered selection to determine how best to stretch the polygons’ UV coordinates over the image. This means that each face receives exactly the correct amount of texture space that is proportional to the surface area of the face in 3D. Currently in development.

   Advanced Projection

   Attempts to automatically project and unwrap UV shells of a humanoid figure. Simply select a mesh and use. Currently under development.

   Projection Baking

   Allows the user to bake a currently chosen projection for a selected mesh into a new space. These baked projections can be selected from the option menu. Upon baking, the user is asked for a name for that projection. Default is the standard UV space and the user can switch between baked projections as desired. The idea is to remove clutter, or simply try different approaches to projecting the same target (such as when using different UV sets for different textures). The baked projections can also be merged into a final UV set which is then transferred back to the UV sets section of the General Tab. Upon baking, if there are conflicting UV faces then only the first baked projection is used for those faces in the final merge.

   Channel Box

   A standard Maya channel box.

1. File

   File I/O

   Typical Maya file New, Save, Import, and Export commands.

   Outliner

   A standard Maya outliner.

1. Statistics

   Polygon List

   A list of all polygon meshes in the scene for easy and quick selection. Selects them for component selection mode (i.e. hilite mode).

   Other Statistics

   Other statistics of interest to the user will be added here as I am asked to put them.

1. Globals

   Pinning

   Contains settings for how UV pinning occurs for the relevant tools/commands (such as Relax and Unfold).

   Automation

   Section actually pertains to three different globals columns that perform various tasks automatically for the user when specified. Since there are three different sections and many of which might alter each others behavior depending on the order they are performed in, there is a queue for selected automation tasks in order to ensure consistent behavior. They can be used together for very fast and easy use of tools such as selecting a vertex, which automatically selects a boundary, and then automatically cutting those edges all in one click!

   Auto Select

   Operates first in the automation queue. Performs various advanced selections based upon the users input selection (such as selecting the entire shell of UVs, or grabbing an edge loop from the given edge).

   Auto Convert

   Operates second in the automation queue. Takes a selection from the user and converts it into the desired selection (ex. turning selected UVs into corresponding edges).

   Auto Tools

   Operates last in the automation queue. Takes the current selection and performs the desired tool upon it (such as cutting the given edges without needing to select the cut tool).

   Relax

   Holds the other relevant settings for the Relax command (which also utilizes Pinning). See Maya documentation for more on these settings.

   Layout

   Custom settings for my UV Layout functions. Settings: '0 to 1' yields all UV shells placed into the basic unit square, with '0 to Shells' performing a more advanced layout by detecting each UV shell organizing it according to threshold and then placing each in its own unit square (shells not meeting threshold are grouped in the same unit square). Threshold is the size of the bounding box of a shell. If a shell exceeds the threshold it receives its own unit square. The layout 'None' option simply corrects any reversed shells without adjusting placement (if the flip reversed box is checked--which also applies to the other layouts as well).

   Unfold

   Settings for the Unfold UVs command. See Maya documentation for more on this tool.

   Miscellaneous

   This section contains settings that are not specific to a particular command or tool, but rather effect a multitude of things. Maintain aspect ratio means that any sizing/scaling performed by a tool or command keeps the height and width in proportion to each other (i.e. uniform scaling). Maintain component spacing affects the m/s/r tools and only in absolute mode (relative transformation does this by definition). Absolute mode keeps record of where a component started before transforming so that you can restore it to the initial location (much like a channel box). Be warned that this memory only lasts until the selection is changed. Smart align is used in conjunction auto align so that it can determine for you the best axis of alignment automatically (as opposed to selecting it yourself as normal).