To rotate elements like UV shells within Maya's UV Editor, you primarily use the Rotate Tool or its corresponding keyboard shortcut.
Rotating UVs and UV Shells
The most direct way to rotate UVs or entire UV shells in the Maya UV Editor is by selecting the desired components and activating the Rotate Tool.
- Select the UV Elements: In the UV Editor window, switch to the appropriate selection mode (UVs, Edges, Faces, or UV Shells) and select the components you wish to rotate. Often, you'll want to rotate an entire UV shell to optimize layout space or align texture direction.
- Activate the Rotate Tool:
- Go to the Tool Box on the left side of the Maya interface and click the Rotate Tool icon.
- Alternatively, and more commonly, you can press E on your keyboard. As stated in the reference, you can use the Rotate Tool or press E to rotate a UV shell.
- Perform the Rotation: Once the Rotate Tool is active and your UV elements are selected, manipulators will appear on your selection in the UV Editor. Click and drag the circular handles of the manipulator to rotate the selected UVs or shell around its pivot point.
- Pro Tip: Hold down the J key while rotating to snap the rotation in fixed increments (default is 15 degrees, but this can be adjusted in the Tool Settings).
Understanding the Rotate Tool in the UV Editor
The Rotate Tool functions similarly to how it does in the 3D viewport, but it operates specifically on the 2D UV coordinates.
- Pivot Point: By default, the rotation will happen around the center of the selected UV components or shell. You can adjust the pivot point temporarily by holding D (or Insert on some keyboards) and dragging the manipulator's center point.
- Tool Settings: Double-clicking the Rotate Tool icon in the Tool Box opens its settings. Here you can adjust:
- Step Snap (useful for precise rotations)
- Pivot settings
- Other options
Why Rotate UVs?
Rotating UV shells is a fundamental step in the UV unwrapping process. It's often done to:
- Make better use of the 0-1 UV space, reducing wasted texture area.
- Align textures correctly with the geometry in the 3D view.
- Avoid distortion or stretching in the texture mapping.
Using the Rotate Tool (or pressing E) allows you to freely orient your UVs to achieve the desired layout and texture alignment.
