I am getting close to UV mapping and texturing my first model.

I have spent a bit of time browsing around the internet and I read that UV mapping in Maya is a real pain and also that distortions in the 2D map and hence the texture can have serious effects on the final look of your object.

So are there any plugins / programs / tricks and tips to simplify this process?

I don't want to have to dump excessive amounts of time into UV mapping and countless hours of frustration in trying to get rid of distortions etc

I read that zbrush has tools that greatly ease the task of texturing. Has anybody tried it?

Also I came across some talk about BodyPaint 3D. Has anyone got experience in that?

Thanks