uv transfer scripts/plugins for maya

[rasmusW]

hey all!

i got a small question i hope you guys can help solve.
what tools do you (maya users) use for transfering uv's from one mesh to another? -mesh's that doesn't share topology.
sorry, i can't show any specific examples from the related project.

any ideas is much appriciated.

-r

[bneall]

if your talking about same mesh but different point count, you don't need any scripts. If the mesh is very different, then transferring UV's wont do much for you.

[Flo]

ahhh .. this is always fun. I listed a few the common situations you can run into, luckily most can be solved

same mesh, same vertexIDs ->
...will work fine with standard transfer tools (transferAttributes)
same mesh, same topology, different ID ->
...you may have to reconstruct the geo to match vertex IDs. There are a couple of free/commercial solutions out there (or a nice programming exercise for you)
different mesh, same shape ->
...try to transfer uvs by worldspace correspondence, this will give you a ok starting point. If possible try to have matching topology a the tile borders for better transfer results.
different mesh, different shape ->
...you`re screwed. you can try to allign the mesh in worldSpace for the above mentioned transfer but that`s pretty much all you can do.

[rasmusW]

thanks for the quick response you two.
flo described my exact position. "different mesh, same shape".
i'm also going the same way for solving the "problem". matching topology as much as posible, before transfering.

once again thanks for the response.
i still try and search the web for scripts/plugins that can help the process.
i write here if i find any good.

-r

[BrettSinclair]

Not sure if this will help you out at all.

But have you tried using zbrush 3.5r3?

All you do is load up your old model with the old uv's and the textre you need. Apply the texture as a polypaint. Then just import the new model with the new topology and uv's.
Zbrush will transfer all the detail and texture too the new model. If you have multiple maps you'll need to repeat the process I think. Once you have all that on the new model, create a new texture from polypaint, clone the texture, flip v and export it again.

Hope this helps.

[ianucci]

xNormal can also bake maps from one mesh to another, its free too.

[rasmusW]

thanks for the suggestions guys!

-r

[nghia59]

Softimage has their insane GATOR tools that will let you bake UV's, skeletons, morph targets, and shaders from one mesh to another with no need for any topological relationships. It's also got the Ultimapper and Render Map tools to bake textures from one object to another or from an object's shader onto itself.

Really fast and easy as well as the operator stays live until you kill the history. That means that you can adjust it after the fact and see it update in real-time as you move the source and target meshes between each other.

http://aimediaserver2.com/studiodaily/GATOR/GATOR.swf

- Nghia

[rasmusW]

thanks a lot for this, nghia. i have never got around xsi, though i have planned on for quite some time.

for the task i ended up using bits and pieces from your suggestions.
due to the two meshes, not aligning completely. i first posed my "target" mesh so it roughly fitted the source, in maya.
then in zbrush i would gradually use the "project all" in the subtools menu aswell as the zproject brush. getting the taget to fit the source model more and more up through the levels. lastly you still have to retouch some parts in photoshop to make the match the best.
sorry, i can't show any screengrabs of any of this.

-r

[Rimasson]

Houdini will help you to transfert a shape to a mesh with different (or no) Uvs and different vertex Id.
After that, you'll be able to use the new vertex Id to transfert Uvs....

[Rimasson]

And houdini apprentice is free :)

[rasmusW]

thanks a lot rimasson, i'll defently remember that till next time.

-r