I’ve always used the standalone version of Unfold 3d for UV work but I’ve recently switched to staying in Maya for UVs. Unfold 3D is an awesome program that makes UVing fast and fun, but it has the disadvantage of being external which requires the extra time and hassle of export/import. Working on UVs in maya does require a lot of tips and tricks so I’ve put together a video series.
Here’s a quick start video explaining how to UV any object quickly and easily:
This video goes into more detail on how to UV an object with multiple parts:
In the above video we go over techniques and tools such as:
Camera Based Projection – this gives you the same convenient starting point as Unfold3D
Edge Selection Tricks:
edge loops – this is easy, just double click, click one edge and then double click another or use the selection constraint
shortest edge path tool – select one edge then shift select another, great for decimated or organic models
faces to edge perimeter – select or paint faces and then convert to edge perimeter, also great for decimated models
select hard edges – set normals to 30deg and then use constraints or crease+
Set Display Options
show texture borders
hard/soft edges
stretching
Cut and Sew
Unfold
Orient, Optimize and Layout
Also here’s a bonus video showing how to UV a decimated mesh