{"id":2611,"date":"2022-09-27T19:31:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T19:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/?post_type=manual_documentation&#038;p=2611"},"modified":"2026-03-11T14:00:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:00:39","slug":"surface-painting","status":"publish","type":"manual_documentation","link":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/manual\/workspaces-rooms\/sculpt\/surface-mode\/surface-painting\/","title":{"rendered":"Surface Painting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Surface painting (also named Polypaint and Vertex Paint) allows painting on a model\u2019s vertex surface without assigning a texture map, modifying vertex color attributes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you use any method to \u201cBake\u201d your model and its UV topology into the Painting Room, all these painted details will be baked into this permanent mesh as a texture map, which can then be exported along with your mesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Surface Mode, we are dealing with a polygonal representation of a voxel object\u2019s \u201cskin\u201d. <br \/>Although this skin represents a temporary condition of a model before it is ready for export, vertex colors can be applied to this temporary, relatively high-resolution mesh in the Painting Workspace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just switch to the Painting Room and begin using color painting tools. This function is \u201con\u201d by default. <br \/>If you need to use regular painting methods (Per-Pixel, Micro-Vertex, etc.) deselect \u201cView > Show voxels in painting room\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"direct_painting_over_surface_models\">Direct painting over surface models<a href=\"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/dokuwiki\/doku.php?id=general:sculpt_workspace:surface_mode:polypaint#direct_painting_over_surface_models\"><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Both diffuse color and glossiness intensity are supported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">To use the Painting Room tools for painting the diffuse color directly onto your Surface Mode mesh simply click on the Painting Room tab and start painting with the standard tools and Alphas with a single color or use a \u201cMaterial\u201d from the \u201cSmart Materials Panel\u201d.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have applied a Sculpt PBR Shader to your sculpture, the diffuse details from this shader will be combined with whatever you paint in the Painting Room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\" style=\"background-color:#f1f1f1\">\n<p>Ensure you have enabled \u201cShow Voxels In Painting Room\u201d from the \u201cView\u201d menu to enable diffuse color painting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>All painting done in this manner is strictly temporary in the sense that it is bound to the realm of 3DCoat, itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tutorials\">Tutorials<a href=\"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/dokuwiki\/doku.php?id=general:sculpt_workspace:surface_mode:polypaint#tutorials\"><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/D6ePLDKL3fw?list=PL0614F2A03AD725CD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Polypainting<\/a>:<\/strong>&nbsp;This video is a feature demonstration of the Vertex Painting toolset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WkcZ_hPdBsw?list=UUz7E0meXd2yMj4TKY2h0Rbg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Unique Sculpting Features<\/a>:<\/strong>&nbsp;This video begins a series highlighting some of the unique features in 3DCoat that helps set it apart. It begins by showing how 3DCoat leverages PBR Texture Painting and High Poly Sculpting simultaneously\u2026taking care of two normally time-consuming and tedious tasks at once and done rather quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ArXh1V5bkCc?list=PLlQ3JITh9bXOcshH7ALiXsMJlP4hrZjd4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">How to Import to Surface with (Image) Color<\/a>:<\/strong>&nbsp;This video covers a quick tip about importing a model into 3DCoat&#8217;s Sculpt Workspace and having the color from a texture map baked into the model&#8217;s vertices in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/6XTxGeYZPXU?list=PLlQ3JITh9bXOcshH7ALiXsMJlP4hrZjd4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Surface Painting: Exporting<\/a>:<\/strong>&nbsp;This video continues the PolyPainting demonstration by covering an example of exporting the object directly from the Sculpt Room to a 3D application (3ds Max, in this case)\u2026no UVs..no Retopo work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/nw4NnG0cjsY?list=PLlQ3JITh9bXOcshH7ALiXsMJlP4hrZjd4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Advantages of Vertex Painting<\/a>:<\/strong>&nbsp;This video demonstrates some advantages of using Surface Painting (Vertex) , as opposed to the standard UV-based texture painting tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jmZkv941FPQ?list=PLlQ3JITh9bXOcshH7ALiXsMJlP4hrZjd4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Choosing Right Shader for Vertex Painting<\/a>:<\/strong>&nbsp;This video briefly addresses a common question about Vertex Painting (why the user can&#8217;t see their painting strokes, sometimes). And it&#8217;s simply a matter of choosing the right type of shader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":2336,"menu_order":4,"template":"","manualdocumentationcategory":[9],"manual_doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-2611","manual_documentation","type-manual_documentation","status-publish","hentry","manualdocumentationcategory-manual"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Surface Painting - 3DCoat Documentation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Description how Polypaint allows painting on a model\u2019s surface without first assigning a texture map in 3DCoat Sculpt room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/manual\/workspaces-rooms\/sculpt\/surface-mode\/surface-painting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Surface Painting - 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