Is there another unfolding software than Pepakura Designer? Free?

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Oh, man...

Rogerio: good for you :) I expect no intelligence from an unfolder - I design my models with a way of unfolding of individual parts already in my mind, so for me, it's really just an unfolder - I mark the faces that form an individual part, separate them from the rest, mark edges, unfold.
I can't help you with the texture (assuming this is about the paper export plugin for Blender 2.6x); but ask on the blender forum, the guys there are helpful.
B-Paperizer is for some old versions of Blender, if I remember correctly; you'd have to find the correct one.

And Inkscape is cool - just wait for the 0.49 version ;)

Really? I've just downloaded 0.48.4...:cry:
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Whadaya think?

:(:(:(

Too bad. Well then, I'm glad that you have an alternative. I'm sorry I can't operate Blender so I can't help you there. But if you need any help with SketchUp, feel free to contact me. :wave:

Revell-Fan

This I just made in Google Sketchup (I'm talking about smoothing edges!:eek:ops:). Just playing with it... Only the Collada format was able to bring along its textures and colors. What do you think? I know the antennas will probably have to be transformed into 2D, and the face texture got all scrambled, but it's a very good (although incomplete) model - compared to its Blender source.
 

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Revell-Fan

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Revell-Fan

This I just made in Google Sketchup (I'm talking about smoothing edges!:eek:ops:). Just playing with it... Only the Collada format was able to bring along its textures and colors. What do you think? I know the antennas will probably have to be transformed into 2D, and the face texture got all scrambled, but it's a very good (although incomplete) model - compared to its Blender source.
COOL! :thumb:

I'm sorry I missed the sense of your post, but now... Cheerio, pal! The model looks really good. As for the crushed face texture, don't worry. There is an easy way to fix it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHsRRLCAOm8
Switch to parallel view, zoom in on the front of the face and draw a rectangle which is big enough to cover it. Switch to half transparent view so that you can see the face shining through the rectangle. Make a screenshot and import it in your favourite graphic program (e. g. Gimp). Crop the image to the dimensions of the rectangle. Import the original texture of the face and rescale and realign it so that it covers the front section of the face. Save the pic as .jpg or .png. Import it in SketchUp, put it on the rectangle in front of the face and project the texture on the face as shown in the vid. Repeat with the sides of the face.
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Anyone? Please?

I was able to import my model to Google Sketchup and make it a bit "rounder":thumb::cool:, but I would like to go back to the Export Paper Model script for Blender. I really think that it worked fine so far, considering that no software can do what humans do (yet).
My problem is, after exporting the paper model, all I get is plain black-and-white, uncolored templates. Yes, I know that you have to uncheck the "Pure Net", and I did, but all I've got was separate files, one for the "color", and the other for the net:curse:.
When I say "color", I mean that the parts come filled with black, and no other color whatsoever (forget about textures). As I said before, I use Blender 2.65, and this is the best script I've found to unfold a paper model in Blender, but without the colors and textures...:cry:
I did try to color the SVG files that the script generates, but for some unknown reason, I couldn't do it in Inkscape. I select the parts, change the filling color, and nothing happens... Although I could change the flaps' color! But I won't use them...:cry:
Any comments? Please, not the "throw Blender away and do it all in Google Sketchup"...:eek: I really would like to solve the problem, but if things don't go anywhere, I'll change to Google.
Thanks!
 

imcold

Member
It's no secret, take a look at http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Release_notes/0.49 . I've been using nightly builds for some time. Some things that I particularly like:
-it's way faster - the rendering has been rewritten, that's the main reason why 0.49 took so much time to develop (it's over a year since the last major version)
-improved selection modes - select by object type, or by attributes (color for example)
-improved snapping

Rogerio: do you have some lights in your Blender scene? That may be it. Upload the svg file, I can take a look tomorrow; my guess is that the parts are in a different group than the tabs.
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Shed some light...

It's no secret, take a look at http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Release_notes/0.49 . I've been using nightly builds for some time. Some things that I particularly like:
-it's way faster - the rendering has been rewritten, that's the main reason why 0.49 took so much time to develop (it's over a year since the last major version)
-improved selection modes - select by object type, or by attributes (color for example)
-improved snapping

Rogerio: do you have some lights in your Blender scene? That may be it. Upload the svg file, I can take a look tomorrow; my guess is that the parts are in a different group than the tabs.

I think I understood... I once read something about illumination, and now that you've mentioned it... it all makes sense! If the model is not lit for rendering, it all comes black! DARN:eek:! I'll give it a try right away!:thumb:
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
For Revell-Fan: a face, at last

Revell-Fan

I'll bet you thought I didn't give your post the proper attention... HOHOHO... GOTCHA!sign1
Thank you for both the projection class and the video, it was quite interesting and insightful. I need more practice, but here's a result. It's coming along nicely!
I wanna learn about unfolding in Google Sketchup as well, and it seems a lot easier than Blender...
Well, you know, maybe I like to suffer...:cry::rolleyes: Better to learn Blender and then go to something easier!sign1
Here's Groizer-X face, still needing some corrections...
 

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Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Unfold your enthusiam...

I think I understood... I once read something about illumination, and now that you've mentioned it... it all makes sense! If the model is not lit for rendering, it all comes black! DARN:eek:! I'll give it a try right away!:thumb:

Imcold

You were right:thumb:. All I had to do was to turn on the lights, and man, LET THERE BE LIGHT!:mrgreen:
Here's a head test (literally:rolleyes:), with the SVG and PNG superimposed. No intelligence here, only automatic, but results do look VERY PROMISING.:thumb::cool:
 

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Revell-Fan

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Hey, it looks great! (Anyway, you could have left the face the way it was and called it the "battle damaged version" :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:!)
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Hohohohoh0

Hey, it looks great! (Anyway, you could have left the face the way it was and called it the "battle damaged version" :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:!)

Hillarious, but it was too scrambled to look like something you could call face, even with some HEAVY battle damage...:cry::rolleyes: Well, now to learn about marking and unmarking seams...
But I've got to tell you: I had to make some mods in the rear part, in order to make holes for the "rocket legs", and now, for this particular part, the Paper Model Export script doesn't want to work. I guess it's because I couldn't make the faces as a whole...:cry:
So, maybe I'll have to unfold it in Google Sketchup, and I'll need your help. I guess there may have some videos in YouTube, right?
Thanks!
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Internal issues...

Do you guys know any threads or videos on how to desing an internal support structure (in Blender, prefferably...:twisted:)? Since we've been talking about the same model I'm trying to design, this question would come up sometime, anyway.:confused:
I've been working on a model and I don't know how to make it balanced and internally formed. Of course, in the virtual world, it looks good, but when you print and build it, you have to deal with weight, gravity, and paper not being a stiffy material...:cry:
Well, I think I'll redesign the "chest" and "waist" parts, to make them look better, but not much different from now. AND my model is a balance nightmare, because of thin, weirdly shaped wings, and things to add weight on the tip of them. Since I'm no engineer, I'm having a little trouble thinking about it, even after building some models and observing how they reinforce it internally.
Just take a look at these two pictures, and you'll know what I'm talking about...:rolleyes:
 

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