Calabi

XNormal can bake high poly AO maps on to low poly without actually loading(, meaning no preview in a viewport or anything, just calculates it purely in the background.) the meshs.

I knew you'd ask that, so I prepared an exhaustive list. Not really. I'm not going to argue with you or hunt around for evidence, because I know its as pointless as arguing with the moon.

The software isnt that bad though, compared to something like, 3ds max or Zbrush the amount of workarounds or things that are unworkable in them, and ask for them to be fixed, and your lucky if you get an answer at all.

I get the same slowdown in retopo except my model is really low poly. I think I may have figured it out(well at least a solution). I pressed the clear mesh button in the retopo menu, now it starts working really quickly.

You should be able to use refs for common seals, for the front view, I dont think seals, in their basic form vary that much. I havent looked at any seal refs but the side view looks perfect to me. The front view I think it looks a bit fat needs to be sleaker, the nose/head needs to taper.

Use Ctrl-Alt mouse button to zoom, same as in 3DSMax.

I've got plenty more but their not much better. I had the same trouble with my bat head(I gave up eventually) didnt matter because its not going to be animated or sculpted further. I think its just a matter of terminating the edge loops correctly like in that blender thread, if your just looking for all quads. Perhaps a matter of practice and knowledge you cant be taught.

Here's a couple of good ones. http://www.phungdinhdung.org/Studies_paper/Realistic_face_modeling.shtm http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=93651

Cool, really nice details and characterful face.

Its a good start, you shouldnt need to go up in detail yet you can get a lot more detail at the res you are and the forms arent entirely correct yet. I hope you dont mind but I did a rough paint over thing. Thats just to give you a rough idea of the shapes, I think arent right at the moment and what they should be, not exactly but close to. I think the top of the skull may be needed to moved up a bit and the back of the skull needs to be extended a bit. I think a good way to help, if your beginnning if your not going to use references in the viewport(which I've found can make it harder) is to take a screenshot and overlay it on the reference in photoshop and use that to guide you.

Cute lizard Guiseppe, and yay for someone else that uses Wings3d.

I dont suppose anyone knows how I import a uv on to a model. I cant import it on to just a retopod mesh it would appear, and yet when I have mesh in the paint room, it appears to change the model(the checker pattern changes)when import uv, but theres no way of seeing it, there's just kind of a line in the uv preview room which I think may mean its messed up somehow.

I think yeah the tooltips/hints are very good, its so easy to start using things very quickly when you just highlight over something and it tells you about that tool(although I think they could be, perhaps a bit better similar to the autodesk ribbon where you hold over an item and it gives you more detailed info, like what is the purpose of that tool, can be used for).

Thanks for the ref image Guiseppe. I'm still trying to figure out how to terminate edge loops etc, and how to transition from a higher poly area to a lower poly, like with the ear, but I do have a source from the blender forum which should help. I'll do my best to emulate that poly flow, thanks Guiseppe.

@Guiseppe. I think you are right, but in my defence, I didnt have a clue what I was doing and I was just trying to get something to texture. Thanks for the honest comment. I would appreciate it, if you had an info to get it more correct.

I understand about scaling the whole islands, but yeah the brush seems to work ok, ableit slow and somewhat inaccurate. Thanks Tony.

I've managed to retopo and start the UV. I have a few questions if anyones able or willing. When I retopo it and am going to use a normal map does it matter where I put the edges. I know that you have to define the silhouette as best as you can but what about the internal edges. I also had a problem with the ears they stick out, and so I cant get them to conform with the whole mesh without them overlapping, is the cut out the way I did it the way to do them or is their another way? Is it possible to scale the facial areas, features, so they take up more space of the UVs than the other parts. I saw soft scaling method in another program.

Do you mean its really bright, like sun shining? If it is, then you need to turn the lighting down, the ambient to 10 and the spotlight to about 40.

Cool, looks like a grim frankenstien. Did you use the toothpaste or muscle brush to do the wrinkles?

It could just end up giving artists more work. LIke "oh could you knock up a quick animation to present it". Or a few people use it so everyone has to.

Cool, thanks. Checked some out briefly and they seem pretty good, not sure how easy cutting the planes for the skull will be with 3dCoat though.

I think I'm on the way to finishing it, refined it a bit, removed symmetry added some rubbishy wrinkles. Next to give him a rubbishy paint job.

I did try the flat shade but your right LJB it was really wierd. Those settings work thanks, I have to have the ambient at about ten, then I can see the light flesh tone colour. The trouble is then the baked in clay shader shows up as black. I guess it doesnt really matter as I'll be painting over it anyway.

Would it not be good/possible to be able to texture in the paint room with no lighting at all. I mean like photoshop. With that you know what you are painting are the colours they are because there is no distortion from lighting. Personally I'm going to have enough trouble texturing anyway, without being uncertain of the accuracy of the viewport renderer.

Realised the form is all wrong, but want to try and finish this so I dont have a ton of unfinished stuff. I'm having trouble with the wrinkles, I've tried the sf.clay and surface pinch method but it doesnt seem to be getting the results I want. I guess another way would be to use the extrude brush, but I'm not sure if that wont end up like a trough in the flesh. When I see others detailed models the wrinkles and folds look like such integral parts of the forms, it doesnt seem to me the way they do it. I dont suppose anyone has anyone hints for how they do it? And can it be done in approx 2mil tris.