Sketchup was my first 3d software, i use it for archviz.
In the beginning i tried a lot of rendering software but vray caught my eyes though it wasn’t cheap but gave the best results.
During my time in sketchup i always felt a little missing about UVW feature.
Recently I have been learning unreal engine because it is cheaper, faster and gives outstanding results.
What I am really struggling is with my work flow, i makes my model in sketchup export it in 3ds max or maya or blender or others in order to just add a 2nd channel of Unwraped UVW.
Why do I have to buy a 3rd party software for just a little tweaking in models though blender is free but the point is why do i even have to use a 3rd party software when sketchup can be built a lot better.
There a few plugins for sketchup but they lack a lot of features.
Not just people who are using unreal engine can benefit from UVW feature but also texturing a model will be much more easier and then sketchup can attract more people.
I believe there are my others out there facing the same problem and i wish that they join me.
I understand about UVW mapping, and for myself wish they never added the W component.
Trimble is making Sketchup to be many things to many people, it is a modelling package for art works, architecture, scientific applications, gaming, etc. It’s main feature is that it is easy to use, and bolting on features for specific applications breaks just adds complexity. Additionally it is free for non-commercial use, and that helps drives sales because people get familiar with the package at home then bring it to the office.
I’ve written my own scripts for texture mapping and I’m sure there are better ones out there.
I’m trying a potential solution to texture mapping, and that is export the model to Paint 3D and allow Paint 3D to do the texture mapping. I don’t know how Paint 3D does it mapping magic yet, as I haven’t examined its output.
I’ve created a glTF exporter to get a sketchup model into Paint 3D, I’m just waiting for approval to be a developer before posting it to the extension warehouse. Next project will be a glTF importer, which will be a lot harder!
But again, that defeats the purpose, we want Sketchup to do everything! And remain easy to learn, fast, free…
I believe proper texture mapping feature is the basic requirement for a 3d program.
I don’t see it as bolting feature for specific app, because it can be used in wide range of fields.
You are not alone.
SketchUp definitely need more advanced UVW features (or plugins).
By the way did you check these: SketchUV and Wrap-r. (Though they are still not working as good as 3rd party software but this is all we have…)
I think proper texture mapping is a feature that would be used for rendering (photorealistic for kitchens, etc, and gaming models). I’m not sure that it would be widely used in mechanical engineering, architecture (except for the final render), etc. I don’t think of UV mapping as a basic requirement - because if so, we would need better materials such as support for Physically Based Materials. PBR is a component of the glTF 2.0 model format, so maybe Trimble will be compelled to go in that direction? That would mean adding a LOT of properties in the materials creation tab, along the lines of metalicity, plus images for Normal maps, Ambient maps, Emissive maps, etc. Doesn’t that deviate too much from the simplicity that Sketchup provides?
There is also an alternative to UV mapping, PTEX (http://ptex.us). Perhaps Trimble could explore that possibility alongside better UV tools, but that wouldn’t be a replacement for UV mapping, as it is largely non-portable.
For me, I’d love to be able to paint a model with a spray brush type of feature as per Paint 3D, so in that case, the model should be UV mapped first so you are painting on the image.
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