[Plugin] SketchUV - now free

[Whaat]

Hi,

Just wanted to let you know that I have released an update to UV Tools called SketchUV.

It adds some notable features including:

- planar mapping
- box mapping
- tube mapping
- Save/Load UVs
- UV transformation (move, rotate, scale)
- view-based projections at any orientation

Also it improves on all of the previous features of UV Tools which included:

- spherical mapping
- cylindrical mapping
- Export/Import UVs to external mapping software
- OBJ export

Thankyou very much to my testers and especially to Rich for the very nice review in CatchUp #9.

Update: Plugin can now be downloaded for free on the Extension Warehouse!

Below is one of several video tutorials that I made for the plugin. You can see all of the tutorials and manual at at the EW page.

http://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/sketchuv

Thanks!
Dale

[Marian]

Awesome, with this SU is just about as complete as any other 3d modeling application.
I just feel my money wanting to burst out of my pockets....urm paypal.

[dtrarch]

Smustard SketchUV PDF downloads doc for Profile Builder.

[Marian]

Smustard SketchUV PDF downloads doc for Profile Builder.

Yes I can comfirm that too.

[Whaat]

Smustard SketchUV PDF downloads doc for Profile Builder.

Thank you! Fixed now.

[cotty]

The plugin can be purchased for $15 at Smustard

Thank you for providing this fantastic plugin (and your others of course) for an affordable price so that hobbyists like me are able to use them...

[notareal]

Great work!

[moghamdi]

I tried to use it on my sofa, but I could not get the result that I am looking for.

I used Box map and planner map, but it did not work.

Can you please help me with this?
I attached SKP file.

Thank you.

[cotty]

I tried to use it on my sofa, but I could not get the result that I am looking for.

That are the results the tutorial videos from Whaat promises?!

[moghamdi]

I think I need to spend more time on this plugin.

[Rich O Brien]

To properly map that sofa you need to unwrap it in an external app. Box map is a viewed based method that assigns textures from 6 views - top/bottom/left/right/front/back.

This is why there is a noticeable break in the texture. Did you try select the area that is misaligned and rotating/scaling the textures?

[numerobis]

wow! great!
i think this will be my first paid plugin!

[solo]

wow! great!
i think this will be my first paid plugin!

really? you do not have Artisan? I'd suggest you get that too.

[Krisidious]

will this work for mapping cars? and will the maps transfer over to other programs well like Max?

can you optimize UVW maps with it? using all the area on a map for more than one piece of geometry?

[jason_maranto]

Tube mapping looks to be a especially nice new tool.

Best,
Jason.

[ninopiamonte]

If only I have bucks I would buy that plugin!

[utiler]

Well done, Dale!! I'm going there now to purchase....

[EarthMover]

Woohoo! Great job Dale! A MUST HAVE PLUGIN!

[Frederik]

Excellent plugin, Dale...
I've always wondered why the Google SU team haven't made better UV-tools...
Well... It's fortunate for you guys, who then have the option to work on various plugins and get some $$...
Nevertheless, it should be a standard in SU IMHO...

[thomthom]

Looking forward to see the models people make with this tool.

[agamemnus]

I just got the newsletter. No visible link to the review.

I can't find the review via google. (try putting "sketchuv" on there... no hits)

http://news.sketchucation.com/ is a horrible indecipherable mess.

[Gaieus]

Here is the announcement, Agamemnus:
viewtopic.php?f=323&t=44500

The links are in big, fat letters at the bottom of the first post.

[agamemnus]

Thanks.

That soldier example was very impressive...

[numerobis]

really? you do not have Artisan? I'd suggest you get that too.

i have tested the free demo but found it to be too slow and lagging for intuitive sculpting and it's still no subD-modeling so the geometry gets broken and the model becomes very large and unhandy... - i prefer subD-modeling in max and export it to sketchup or merge the geometry before rendering.
Real SubD-modeling in sketchup would be incredible!!! Hope dies last...

(maybe i'll integrate silo or voidworld into my workflow - quite nice little modeling apps, but this would be one import/export step more... which holds me back for now)

[Whaat]

I tried to use it on my sofa, but I could not get the result that I am looking for.

I used Box map and planner map, but it did not work.

Can you please help me with this?
I attached SKP file.

Thank you.

Hello,

Box mapping will show seams at curving surfaces so it is not ideal for that part of the couch. I recommend using the exact same technique that I used in the tutorial video attached to the first post of this thread (first part of the video):

1) Separate the surface into smaller surfaces using the Path Select Tool
2) Use planar projections on each surface
3) Align them using the UV transformation tools

In the attached video, I actually began with box mapping, and then used the seams as a guide to separate the surfaces. I didn't have to switch the material to the UV Texture but I thought it would help with the alignment.

[Gaieus]

This is still magic to me.

[Whaat]

will this work for mapping cars? and will the maps transfer over to other programs well like Max?

can you optimize UVW maps with it? using all the area on a map for more than one piece of geometry?

Hi Kris,

You can map cars by dividing the surfaces into separate panels and applying planar projections to it. I expect it would work very well. Any surfaces that were especially tricky could be easily unwrapped using Roadkill (a free UV unwrapping app) that you can export and import UVs with using SketchUV.

You can not optimize maps with it directly. However, by exporting to another app, that can be done. Again, using Roadkill, the maps are automatically optimized by default as you unwrap the mesh. See this tutorial:



The maps should transfer perfectly to Max as long as you first use the triangulation function prior to 3DS export. This is explained in this tutorial:

[numbthumb]

A kind of magic I´m willing to learn.
And how did you make your signature dissapear Gaieus?

[Gaieus]

...The maps should transfer perfectly to Max as long as you first use the triangulation function prior to 3DS export...

Well, I do not know about Max itself (although why would it be different) but have tried a couple of 3rd party apps and indeed, with triangulation on, it exports perfectly.
And Dale, you need to make a new video for this feature. This one shows the UV maps a bit distorted but the plugin does not distort them (any longer).

Off-Topic:

And how did you make your signature dissapear Gaieus?

It's there...
ucp.php?i=profile&mode=signature

[Krisidious]

awesome... Thanks Whaat.