Mix Mash

I tried your suggestions but none of them worked out the way I wanted them to. The splines DID snap to the surface but any extrusions were still flush to the camera view rather than flowing with the voxel/polygon surface. Anyone else? Maybe this needs to be a feature request? I suppose that masking is already a feature request but this would be a good request, too.

I'm trying to use the outline function (spline shape option) for the voxel sculpting tools to make individual muscles for my figure. But every tool I use the function, it just adds geometry flush to the camera not flowing with the topology of the mesh. Does anyone know how I can outline shapes on my mesh so that the bulge follows the flow of the topology? Thanks. Paul

Stupidly, I found the solution to the problem after I wrote the message. But thank you anyway for your response. Cheers, Paul

Just quickly, when you retopologise, is it possible to select polygons (retopo polygons, not reference mesh polygons) and give them a new grouping so that when I export the retopo mesh that I can have some polygons as different surfaces? Thanks

I've had a few of those streaks myself when importing models and voxelising them. I think it may have something to do with the way that the voxel model is created. I'm not a technical guy but I think the placement of the points that make up the voxel mesh are placed in a fixed grid-like fashion on 3d dimensions kind of like the pixels in a 2d image but in 3 dimensions instead. OK, maybe I'm not explaining it in the best way but, basically, the way that the voxel mesh causes these "spikes" and checked mesh patterns. Paul

I suggest that if you want to retopologise in 3d coat only then there's a plugin for Zbrush 3 called "Decimation Master" that takes your high res mesh and reduces the number of polygons of the mesh while keeping the major form intact. There is a video tutorial for the plugin as well somewhere (it might be in the Zbrush classroom page). Since the mesh is so much smaller when you are done, your reference mesh will be easier to work on when retopologising. But Make sure that you DON'T save your Ztool after you use decimation master because you will be saving over the original mesh that probably has all the subdivision levels, textures, etc... The thing is that Decimation Master works so well that sometimes you can't tell the difference between your original high res mesh and your decimated mesh until you zoom in. I hope this helps you in some way. Cheers, Paul

OK, I found out what the problem was. You can't import your mesh as a reference mesh. You need to import your mesh with one of the painting options (IE import mesh for per pixel painting, etc...) With the mesh imported correctly, I could import the image onto the mesh correctly, too. Thank you once again for your help. Much appreciations. Cheers, Paul

Oh, I tried applying a texture onto the reference mesh like I mentioned and nothing happened. I also tried importing a normal mesh for painting and it didn't work (This was a different time previously). I will experiment with this one later, though. It was probably just a mistake on my part. However, no matter what I do with the reference mesh, the mesh just stays completely grey. Basically: 1) Create mesh in Lightwave with single surface 2) Create uvs 3) Apply UVs to the surface and save object 4) Load mesh into 3d coat as reference mesh 5) Texture > Import > Diffuse map >"My image.jpg" 6) Nothing happens. Mesh stays completely grey. I'd like to mention that I am using a legal version of the software and not a copy. What could I be missing?

That's a funny thing because I tried that and nothing showed up. In fact, I tried painting a model via the paint menu and nothing shows up. Strange.

OK, another dumb newbie question but how do you add a texture to you reference meshes. I have a reference mesh that I saved out from Lightwave that has UVs and a texture applied. I imported the mesh into 3d coat and no texture showed. Fair enough but now I have no idea of how to take the texture image I made (a simple colour map) and apply it to my reference mesh. Would somebody be kind enough to let me know how to apply a texture image to my reference mesh? Thank you.

Yes, I found the menu. Thank you very much for your time and help. Half the time I use 3dcoat I don't know what to look for when I am stuck. Even with a manual, it can be difficult to find the thing you want. That is why tutorials (especially video tutorials) are better when learning a program. Once again, thank you very much for your help. Cheers, Paul

When I import my multilayer Lightwave object as a reference mesh, it comes as one object and I don't know how to make any of the object layers invisible. Can you please tell me how this is done? Thanks

What I actually mean is that you create an object with separate polygroups/parts/surfaces and then when you activate my suggested "auto retopo via parts" idea, it would automatically create a quadralated mesh based on the groupings. This will allow for a more intelligent dispersement of polygons AND specified edges that can help with edgeflow. So, for example, if your model body and leg are different surfaces, you would automatically get an edge loop where the body and leg meet. There could even be an option where polygon count can be uniform (EG each surface will get exactly 16 polygons) with an extra option to allow extra polygons based on grouping area and density. Yes, it may be complicated or it may actually be simpler than imagined based on how the idea is approached. Even if the result is not perfect, the resulting mesh could be edited with the other retopo tools.

Sorry, but how do you do that? Do you mean to import a multi-layer Lightwave file? Or import multiple Obj files in a special way?

It seems like I will have to cut up my reference object into various parts and import them separately then hide/unhide when necessary. Thanks anyway. Cheers, Paul

Basically, after I import a reference mesh to be retopologised, I would like to know how to hide parts of my reference mesh so I can retopologise tricky areas? Thanks, Paul

I know that Quadralate (?) automatically creates a quad mesh based on the surface of you mesh but I thought it would be interesting to be able import a reference mesh that has surface groupings (parts) or surfaces that could help automatically retopologise a mesh based on the groupings. It would be like 'patching' but based on polygon groupings and your custom settings. ...Or maybe this can be done already without me knowing it? Just an idea. Cheers, Paul

Thanks, that's great. Tried it out. The mesh sculpting tools are a bit to be desired but I might be able to make something work. Cheers, Paul

Yes, but because voxels are distributed uniformly (or based on a uniform equation) there can be a loss of details. You may notice that any 'seams' that are in the original mesh come out duller instead of sharper when turned into a voxel object. By mixing an adaptive voxel approach with a preservation of original mesh parts, you would preserve the details. Plus, If I wanted to keep a majority of mesh polygons as they were for whatever reason I choose then it would be achievable. I don't know if you have tried using a mesh of different densities (IE big details plus small details) and turned it into a voxel object but I can tell you that it does not cater to the smaller details. I would have to enlarge the mesh object to a ridiculous size that my ram (3 gig) could not handle just to get the finer details to look decent. Paul

Pretty close. If you press that button again, does it turn the mesh back into voxels or not?

No, the deco brush would stretch the alpha along the path rather than stamping a repeat print of the alpha. Thanks anyway.

Even though it is great to have 'unlimited' voxels when sculpting, it would be better if you can turn off voxels so that you can work with a limited mesh as well. Basically, you start with a voxel object, toggle off voxels which turns you object into a mesh, sculpt a bit, toggle voxels back on to add more geometry, then toggle voxels off again to sculpt with a mesh, etc..... I find it sometimes more comfortable to work with a 'limited' mesh when sculpting because you get more control over what you are doing but having the option to 'turn on' voxels to add to the mesh makes things more powerful. Just a thought. Paul (mix_mash)

I love using the deco brush in Zbrush and would love to be able to use it to sculpt with voxels in 3Dcoat. You can use deco brush in Zbrush to do deformations but only via projection master. I'd love to be able to pick an alpha then drag it onto a mesh and have the alpha stretch and deform along the mesh to give unique shapes. It would also be nice to use splines to have a more controlled path so you can make cool deco patterns. Paul (mix_mash)

Hi, Could you possibly make two new options for voxels for when you import objects to merge. The first option would allow you to create a voxel model based on the outer polygon surface rather than a bounding box volume. This way, tight seams can be captured in the translation to voxels. The second option allows you to have "adaptive" coverage for your voxels and not a consistent volume so that there are more voxels in areas where there are more details. Last night I imported an object in 3d coat and the main part of the object came out nicely bit the fine detail was lost especially the ears and face of the character connected to the rest of the sculpture. These options would make voxels more accurate and more appealing. I would also love to make 'booleans' utilising voxels in 3d coat. Basically, you would import your object/s into 3d coat, the program would delete any 'hidden' polygons (IE unnecessary polygons), the intersecting polygons would be converted into voxels and then finally converted back into polygons again which should now be joined with the rest of the mesh. Oh and any extra 'hidden' polygons after the voxel conversion would be deleted, too. I know it's alot to ask but I believe that it would make the program much better on the construction front. Cheers, Paul (mix_mash)

Thanks, guys. I didn't know about the manual. Cheers, Paul