UV mapping an OBJ

lucartl

Hi there. I had a look at some rreplies on the forum, but I am too novice to understand, what we are talking about here, sorry. 

All I want to do is create some very simple objects in Fusion 360, and apply to them some very simple UV mapping, I think, so I can then apply any shader I like in Daz Studio. So far I managed to create OBJ, import them in DAZ, apply iRay shader, and no much else. Meaning if I try to apply a shader with a pattern or a texture, the OBJ won't take it. So there is any way to do something to the OBJ I create in Fusion 360 to make them accept any shader, like I can do it when I create a primitive in DAZ? I have got Photoshop at hand, but I am willing to try any program, possibly free, to get started,

Many Thanks. Luca

TomDowd

I recently went through a similar set of problems with a "greeble" OBJ that wouldn't properly take a texture. So. Much. Time. Wasted.  I ended up UV'ing it in Blender. It ended up being one command in Blender, but it did take me a while to figure out which command I should use. :) 

UV Editing --> Edit Mode --->? UV (sub-menu) ---> Smart UV Project (though one of the other uv options would probably have worked too)

TD

Richard Haseltine

There do appear to be some mapping options in Fusion 360 https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/uv-mapping/td-p/5107724

lucartl

TomDowd said:

I recently went through a similar set of problems with a "greeble" OBJ that wouldn't properly take a texture. So. Much. Time. Wasted.  I ended up UV'ing it in Blender. It ended up being one command in Blender, but it did take me a while to figure out which command I should use. :) 

UV Editing --> Edit Mode --->? UV (sub-menu) ---> Smart UV Project (though one of the other uv options would probably have worked too)

TD

Thanks TD for the tip. To be honest I'm not a fan of Blender. I had installed before in my PC, but we didn't "connect". It is free though, and if it does what I'm saying, I may have a look again at it.

 

Richard Haseltine said:

There do appear to be some mapping options in Fusion 360 https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/uv-mapping/td-p/5107724

Thanks Richard. True. And I even tried already to use it, but so far I could not make it work. 

What I'm really looking for is a software that can do the basic and allowed also to explore further. Any idea? Thanks.

 

Richard Haseltine

Hexagon and Blender are both free and both have the ability to UV map.

CarlCG

If by "explore further" you mean also going into applying and creating materials and textures for your objects, perhaps the best texturing software available Substance Painter, now in it's newest version, has an Auto-UV-Mapping feature that UV Maps any object/mesh that you open in it. Subscription price gets a little expensive over time, but you can also buy the full new version of it on STEAM for under $200. It is an amazingly dynamic and incredibly powerful tool to do materials on your objects and bake out textures which you can export for your models. 

Also you can try Ultimate Unwrap 3D. A lot of folks love this program. It can do a very basic UV mapping, but also is packed with adjustable features that you can use, if wanting to, to customize your maps any way you want. 

Dead Cow Digital

After many, MANY hours of experimentation (and frustration) with UV Unfold and UV tools in Hexagon, I was never able to get the results I wanted for complex objects that didn't require many more hours of adjustments in the UV Editor.
I began extensive searching online for a tool that would speed up the process, but everything that was worth the trouble was well outside my budget as a 3D hobbyist, and most free tools were no better than Hexagon.
I have Blender, but Daz and Hexagon do pretty much everything I need and I'm not up to teaching myself Blender just for the UV mapping tools, and most videos I've found assume a level of familiarity of Blender I don't possess (I do use Blender's superior Decimation tools for polygon reduction, though).
Most of the videos demos/tutorials I've found for UV functions in Hexagon are of clothing or simple models/primatives, and the only ones I've seen where someone is UV mapping a figure's head is in French (I think), which I don't speak.

I may have found a "poor man's" solution:
I really like the Demo version of UVLayout and found it very easy to use.
UVLayout gets me most of the way to "perfect" UV maps quickly, and I can save out in OBJ and open in Hexagon for fine tuning with a LOT less work to do.
This allows me to spend less time messing with UVs before bringing the OBJ into Daz so I can get on to the stuff I enjoy most which is building scenes, animating, and creating morphs and grafts.

Here's the steps if you're interested:

1. Download/Install Demo version of UVLayout: https://www.uvlayout.com/try/
2. The first UVLayout video was all I needed to get started: https://www.uvlayout.com/videos/ > UVLayout-Watch-Me-First.mkv
3. In UVLayout, stay in the basic "Demo" version; the "Try Hobbyist" and "Try Professional" options do not allow saving the OBJ.
4. Once the UVs are generated to your satisfaction, Save as OBJ.
5. Import the OBJ into Hexagon where you can use the UV Editor to move, rotate and tweak the UVs quite easily.
6. Re-save the OBJ (or use the Daz Bridge).

I hope some find this helpful. 

If I continue to use UVLayout I may spend the $200 on the Hobbyist version to show my appreciation, but so far the Demo version does what I need and their site says you can reinstall to continue using it when it expires after 90 days.

Edit: I'd like to add that - for a free modeling tool - I LOVE Hexagon, including it's UV Editor, I just haven't yet figured out how to properly place pins after creating my seams on complex objects.  For simple objects it works great.

GeoffreyHawkins

TomDowd said:

I recently went through a similar set of problems with a "greeble" OBJ that wouldn't properly take a texture. So. Much. Time. Wasted.  I ended up UV'ing it in Blender. It ended up being one command in Blender, but it did take me a while to figure out which command I should use. :) 

UV Editing --> Edit Mode --->? UV (sub-menu) ---> Smart UV Project (though one of the other uv options would probably have worked too)

TD

Big shout out for this!  I downloaded Blender and solved my UV mapping problem instantly.  Needed UV mapping on some rocketship OBJs I purchased over fifteen years ago.