{"id":3633,"date":"2022-10-13T10:46:35","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T10:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/?post_type=manual_documentation&p=3633"},"modified":"2025-02-18T16:21:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T16:21:19","slug":"surface-painting-polypaint","status":"publish","type":"manual_documentation","link":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/manual\/workspaces-rooms\/paint\/texture-painting-and-modes\/surface-painting-polypaint\/","title":{"rendered":"Surface Painting (Vertex painting)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vertex painting is a 3D computer graphics technique that allows users to paint colors onto vertices of a 3D model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vertex painting allows painting on a model\u2019s surface without assigning a texture map.
It is a list of colors which are associated with individual vertices as opposed to the texels within a texture map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once in Surface Mode, we are dealing with a polygonal representation of a voxel object\u2019s \u201cskin\u201d.
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

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Surface painting vertex color (and vertex alpha) add a little bit to the memory cost for each model.
It’s more data.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A texture map can be created at a later time, and the painted surface can be transferred (bake<\/a>) to the map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct painting over surface models <\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Just switch to the Painting Room, select “File > Import > Import for Sculpt\/Vertex Painting\/Reference” and begin using color painting tools: Import model for vertex painting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Both diffuse color and glossiness intensity are supported. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If the model is only a low polygon version, you can use Multiresolution on it to increase the resolution without losing the vertex colors. Also can do Facture painting<\/a> on this low poly version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To use the Painting Room tools for painting the diffuse color directly onto your Surface Mode mesh simply click on the Paint toolset<\/a> or switch to Painting Room<\/a> and start painting with the standard tools and Alphas with a single color or use a \u201cMaterial\u201d from the \u201cSmart Materials Panel<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ensure that you have enabled \u201cShow Voxels In Painting Room\u201d from the \u201cView\u201d menu to enable vertex color painting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have applied a Sculpt Shader<\/a> to your sculpture, the diffuse details from this shader<\/a> will be combined with whatever you paint in the Painting Room<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have an object where Vertex Paint is applied, the paint is on top of the shader material<\/em>.
Think of the Shader as the base object material and the paint (as in the real world) is applied over it.
When you then, try to adjust the shader settings, you cannot see the adjustments because the Vertex Paint is covering it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best thing to do is to wait until you have finished creating\/sculpting all of your models before applying paint to them, and use shaders to apply base materials for them.
After you are done with the modeling\/sculpting stage, you can then proceed to apply vertex paint or Retopo the model > bake the details > Paint in the Paint workspace on the low polygon, UV mapped model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Import model with a texture and convert it to Vertex Paint<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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When you import the mesh into the Sculpt Room as a Surface mode object (not voxels) for the vertex painting and it has textures, 3DCoat bakes the UV texture to Vertex Paint.
Textures will be converted to vertex color. All of them will be applied to the mesh (color, gloss, metal, displacement). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3Dcoat will automatically calculate the number of vertices needed to carry the amount of information in the textures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also tit is good method to import huge reference objects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The higher the poly count of the imported mesh, the higher the resolution of the vertex paint, during the bake.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The higher the poly count of the imported mesh, the higher the resolution of the vertex paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you work with ZBrush, export the model with polygroups and polypaint as obj from ZBrush, then import the obj file into Surface mode in Sculpt Room.
You get the subgroups with the sub-groups materials converted into vertex colors which is what you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Import models with polypaint <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Sometimes you need to get a polypainted .fbx from Zbrush into 3DCoat for the purpose of baking out the diffuse, normal, ao, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually you want to bring Zbrush model into 3DCoat for two purposes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n