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Quick way to neaten UVs (without spending money?)

HaiGan

Energetic
Contributing Artist
I'm currently working with UPMapper (the free one, not the pro version) and Roadkill, UV mapping a model I'm working on. Any suggestions for a quick and easy way to neaten up elements like this (e.g. make them rectangular)?
Hames Strap Leather.jpg

Ideal methods would be a. simple (I haven't found a quick, minimal-step way to straighten things up in Roadkill when something is as banana-bendy as this) and b. free or cheap, or reasonably-priced and absolutely worth its bytes in sovereigns. Something with a one-step 'make rectangular' option would be just the ticket.

In the longer term I suspect the answer is to learn Blender, but right at the moment I don't want to have to lay all the learning groundwork I'd need before I could do the one thing I want to do right now, i.e. have straps that are straight on my UV map so I can get on with the next steps.
 

seachnasaigh

Energetic
I sometimes use UV Mapper Pro to fix that sort of problem. I don't know if the tools are available in the free version.
You can set the selection mode to vertices, and drag them to the same vertical line.
Alternately, try selecting edges and reducing the X-scale to zero.

Another way, which won't need those tools, is to extrude a deep "skirt" of polygons 90' down from the model, then UV-unwrap that. You'll find that your mesh strip's UVs are nearly straight!:D
Dreamer's river - step 4 extrude a deep skirt.jpg unwrapped, the UV map: Dreamer's river - step 5 UV unwrapped.jpg

Once UV mapped, just delete the temporary "skirt" polygons.
 

English Bob

Adventurous
Something with a one-step 'make rectangular' option would be just the ticket.

I'd like that too. :cool: It seems easy enough to our eyes, but I suspect that telling a piece of software how to do it would be less that straightforward.

I sometimes use UV Mapper Pro to fix that sort of problem. I don't know if the tools are available in the free version.
You can set the selection mode to vertices, and drag them to the same vertical line.
Alternately, try selecting edges and reducing the X-scale to zero.

Unfortunately those tools are only available in UVMapper Pro. There's also the interactive mapping mode, which is sometimes handy to get you part of the way there. It makes the manual straightening process easier, at least.

Another way, which won't need those tools, is to extrude a deep "skirt" of polygons 90' down from the model, then UV-unwrap that. You'll find that your mesh strip's UVs are nearly straight!

Cunning. I'll give that a try next time I'm faced with this problem.
 

Glitterati3D

Dances with Bees
If you have Hexagon, you can do it loop by loop. While a little time consuming, it gets the job done.

I did a quick video using Hexagon but I am having trouble uploading it here.

OK, I threw it up on Dropbox: Dropbox - HexagonRectangle.gif

Things you need to know:
1. Use the universal manipulator in Hexagon to gain access to the tool you will need
2. Select an edge loop, then L to loop the entire edge
3. Drag the Scale BOX to manipulate the edge loop into a straight line. Once the manipulator changes direction, the line is perfectly straight
4. I start on the bottom edge and give myself plenty of room you re-arrange the map
 
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Glitterati3D

Dances with Bees
Looking more closely at your example, you may not be able to loop the edge loop as it will loop into a circle and that just won't work.

Select your 2 end edges, then use the "Between" command to select the edge loop. Then you can straighten the edge just like in the video.
 

HaiGan

Energetic
Contributing Artist
Roadkill has pin and flatten options, but it flattens everything selected on the X or Y axis, so where you have a long strap to square up, you have to flatten every single pair of points along the length separately. Hence why I was hoping there was something that could cope with squaring up (rectangling up??) a relatively simple UV into something gridlike.

Not free, but UVLayout makes that simple......Select the UV island, Type R and your island is a rectangle.
It's these shortcuts that make UVLayout worth it's price.

That is quite a price for the perpetual license though, and the demo version doesn't allow testing of that particular function. On the other hand, the video for that looks like it would be an amazing timesaver for something like hair or multiple straps... and I have a LOT of straps coming up in my mapping. Maybe I can persuade the other half that it would make a good birthday present?

*EDIT: dragging head back from the UVLayout videos* Thank you for all the responses! Looks like there's nothing free that can do a 'one-step' transformation. And yes, I'll have to learn Blender at some point, I've just got my head in another place right now and if I try to change gears I'll lose the inspiration.
 
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Glitterati3D

Dances with Bees
Roadkill has pin and flatten options, but it flattens everything selected on the X or Y axis, so where you have a long strap to square up, you have to flatten every single pair of points along the length separately. Hence why I was hoping there was something that could cope with squaring up (rectangling up??) a relatively simple UV into something gridlike.



That is quite a price for the perpetual license though, and the demo version doesn't allow testing of that particular function. On the other hand, the video for that looks like it would be an amazing timesaver for something like hair or multiple straps... and I have a LOT of straps coming up in my mapping. Maybe I can persuade the other half that it would make a good birthday present?

I couldn't afford the perpetual license at first either, but just FYI, after 3 purchases of a 12 month license (it was $100.00 at the time), it automatically converted to perpetual.
 

Miss B

Drawing Life 1 Pixel at a Time
CV-BEE
Ohhh, but Blender 2.80 isn't officially out yet, so I guess I'll have to wait.
 
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