Mystical

Can confirm render room leaves artifacts on my models. Leaving the room and coming back does not fix it either. Also the default 3D-Coat renderer is still missing the custom render size options. It has been this was at least since .32 Edit: I don't seem to see the "File->Import multiple objects" option either. I just see the regular import objects selection.

As digman said there really are multiple ways to make the same object. I figured since you are curious of how a possible hardsurface approach could work in 3D Coat I figure I share with you my process so you can get an idea of what may work for you. The model demonstrated below (a medkit) I whipped up from start to finish in just under 2 hours yesterday (could have gone faster but was screwing around with the design in the first step). Step 1 (Basic Model - External 3D program): In my 3d modeling program I lay out the very basic shape of my model. For what I do I focus on low poly assets primarily: Some things to keep in mind when planning to import a model to 3D Coat (especially in voxel form) is make sure there are no holes. It makes converting the model to a voxel way easier. Also one really awesome feature of 3D Coat is it knows the smoothness of the edges on your model so if you smooth the edges (like the rounded sections of my model have) then when you use the subdivide tool when converting to a voxel the program will automatically smooth those to perfect round edges even though your model is super low poly. Step 2 (High Poly Voxels - Sculpt Room): The next step I convert my entire model in pieces to a voxel then merge them all together again. I don't have to make a high poly version of my model with a program like 3D Coat becasue with voxels I can do just that. Simple things such as upping the voxel resolution the re-sampling creates that nice clean smoothness I want to bake as a normal map on my low poly. In this stage you could also start to apply more detail to the object (like bolts, indents, details, etc) but I do this after my initial bake and save it for the paint room. So now my high poly version of the model is done. The strap is not included since I didn't need to make it any smoother since its already flat, hence why its not included in this voxel. Step 3 (Low Poly Unwrap - UV Room): Now that my high poly is ready and waiting I go back to my low poly model and using 3D Coat's powerful unwrapping tools I unwrap the model. For the most part 3D Coat is so efficient at unwrapping I barely have to do manual unwrapping of pieces unless I know I need an easier time to paint in the 2D viewport. Step 4 (Baking normal map - Retopo Room): The next step is to bake the normal maps from my high poly voxel onto the low poly one in the retopo room. This step is pretty quick and straightforward granted there are no errors in your bake. If you know how to model correctly and how normal maps are best generated with little to no errors it starts to become second nature on how your low poly models should be prepared to get the perfect bake (or the level of quality you care about). Below is the normal map I generated on top of my low poly model with no textures applied to it yet. Ambient Occlusion and Curvature were also generated at this step too. Step 4 (Applying those sweet textures - The Paint Room): Last but not least is the beloved paint room. This is really where I get all my enjoyment out of 3D Coat. It is where I finalize my model applying the extra normal detail and of course adding those sweet textures. It is extremely fun and intuitive how 3D Coat lets the user paint on the object so once you start painting more objects you will get a very good feel for the methods and process to get the exact results you want. With my Medkit object below I created my own custom textures and smart materials (will release them as a set one day) but you can use what 3D Coat ships with to get a very good understanding how materials work in PBR workflow and all the crazy fun stuff you can do. Really the important thing to remember in the paint room is to have a lot of fun with your models. I used only one 1024x1024 uv map for the entire kit and the strap is in 512x512 resolution. Nothing super ultra 8k or anything. oh come on now, I can't leave it looking perfect now can I? Time to give this medkit some battle scars and dirty it up a bit more I think: Hope this helps a little. I don't claim to be an expert of 3D Coat or an expert of making art assets. I am just simply providing to you my workflow but I am sure all the other artists out there have possibly better methods or alternative ways to do the process which you may find better for you. Really the most important takeaway is get some modeling done and play around with them in 3D Coat seeing how each room in the program best suits your needs. Have a lot of fun 3D Coat opens a lot of doors for opportunity to make some awesome stuff in quick efficient ways.

Looks like in .33 the ability to set custom render size for the 3D Coat Hardware render is still missing.

Yeah it takes awhile to remember when in smart material mode to have normal, color, and glossiness buttons enabled. Other times it may be things like opacity got turned down and then you wonder why your material is only partially applied. Would be cool if there was an option to toggle where whenever you went into smart material mode it auto enables those buttons and sets opacity to 100% then when you exit back to regular paint mode reverts any of the settings you had.

Thank you for confirming I'm not just going crazy. I was certain the custom resolution option was missing and not just moved. The lowest resolution it gives me is 3836 x 1041 which I thought was an odd resolution option but it probably has something to do with the fact I have 3D Coat spread across 2 different monitors and it somehow calculates the resolution options that way. Either way custom resolution settings are missing and hopefully can come back in a future build. Here's a screenshot of the bug:

Has the location for setting a custom render size for the 3D Coat Hardware renderer changed? I noticed in my older version of 3D Coat (4.7.23) there is an option for Render View where you can select whole view or custom view size then input the pixel size. In 4.7.32 the custom view option appears missing (it was originally above the Render Size option). The only option at the top available is the Render Size option that only has preset sizes available, no way to set custom size.

It all comes down to personal preference in the end but I find 3D Coat to be very comfortable compared to programs like Substance painter with workflow/interface. I primary import 3d hardsurface models in a low poly state and then make a high poly version via voxels, unwrap my low poly,.bake and then finally paint it. I pretty much hit all the rooms that 3D Coat focuses on and grown conformable with how to use them. Question you had on things like brushes yes you can make your own and import your own libraries of brushes to use and create sub folders for them even.The same can be done with smart materials as well. Been working on some materials and brushes myself. Substance painter at this point has more resources to find on the web but there are some great guys like Michaelgdrs that releases his materials he makes. I hope to start getting my resources out there soon to expand the options of add-ons for 3D Coat as well. This program has a lot of potential for more created brushes and materials for sure. I'm just under a year on using this application but its already so dramatically overhauled my workflow in such a positive way it is hard to imagine not using it it in the past. I'd say give the trial a run at the very least and see if you like it or see a lot of the YouTube videos showcasing the latest version of it. A lot of good demonstrations of what can really do for sure.

Think I found a new bug in 4.7.29 with the brush/aitrbrush tool in the paint room. If I am using the brush tool in stamp mode and I apply color/normals to my model in the texture editor view (2D view) it seems to level artifacts all over before I let go of the mouse button. Trying to hit the undo key does not remove these artifacts either. I have to manually paint them away.

That is awesome, always wondered if I was just missing something or the circle for the alpha was just a thing. Good to know 4.7.30 will have a way to adjust the alpha brush shape. I have quite a few square brushes I could use now.

I mentioned an issue like this in the beta thread a few days ago here:

3D Coat can only improve from here on forward in time and its already a really awesome program I cannot part with. Sure my file load times can be pretty long but I'm willing to deal with that if it means I can make the type of 3D Models that would have taken far longer to create with less 3D Paint friendly tools than what 3DC has. Optimization is always a welcome thing though, means faster workflow and less wait times between files.

On the topic of large 3DC files I too have noticed the files can get very large. I work with 1k and 2k textures and imported all my normal maps/models into the paint room (did not use any of the other rooms for this particular file). The file size is about 4.5 GB's as of now. I'm not concerned so much about file size as I am the load times. It usually takes anywhere from 5-7 mins right now when I load the file. Sometimes turning layers on and off can be a bit sluggish too. I am just assuming it is a lot for the program to handle to every action will take longer and longer to do.

Does Renderman come built into 3D Coat or is there a specific plugin I need to obtain to get it working? I'm on build:4.7.29

Oh man that weapons pack is definitely for me, I'll have to pick it up this weekend. If I buy the 3rd link (the all one) that comes with both 3d coat packs right? I primarily use 3D Coat to make scratch built weapons for games and nothing is more fun than when I get to the painting section. I use a combination of my own custom materials and your weather effects and the results are always great. Adding layers of chipped metal, scratches, and a little dust really makes a model look worn and used. Best part is it is very easy to make multiple variations quickly and natural looking. This new era of 3d painting tools like substance painter and 3D coat is better than I could have imagined really with how easy and well it is to get the exact results I would expect if I had to do the traditional 2d painting with UV's in photoshop like the old days. Except nowadays I don't even have to manually unwrap my models and 3D Coat does the boring job for me too lol Oh yeah if you are still looking for ideas on future material packs I'm definitely still interested in any type of rubber texture packs for sure. Anything that would have that cool normal mapping for handles,, grips, flooring, rubber patterns, etc (I can provide examples if need be). I'd buy that pack in a heartbeat for sure. I've made my own rubber materials and they do look great but I am always open to expanding my 3D Coat material library with your stuff, its quality content.

Nope, in this case I had two named 'red dot' and one of my red dot UV's sets overwrote the other red dot UV set normals/occlusion when exporting. Even if I tried to export a single map one would still overwrite the other it appeared. I had to rename the set or delete that object with the same set name to fix it.

Found a possible bug in 4.7.29, it might have been in the program for awhile or a new one. When I export a normal map layer if I have two UV sets named the exact same thing it overwrites one of them. It is an east fix to go to the UV tab and rename one of the sets but a user may not realize what is wrong and get the wrong exported maps. EDIT: This actually appears to happen when exporting any texture map, tried it with ambient occlusion map too. Repro Steps: 1) Create 2 UV sets named the exact same thing on a model (can be 2 separate models) in UV room 2) In paint room add normal detail to both of the UV sets (make the normal detail distinct enough to tell the difference between the two 3) Export both normal maps 4) Observe the normal map detail is overwritten on one of the files

I too have noticed this when painting depth detail for awhile. If I make a mistake and try to undo it won't work so I have to resort to the eraser tool to get rid of the normal map detail instead.

I have several 3b files that are hundreds of mb's and some over a gigabyte large. 3D Coat will sit at 'not responding' for awhile sometimes. You may have to wait a bit to see if the project loads up, I think a percentage in the top left corner of the title bar shows its loading progress.

I would love native support for dual monitors in 3D Coat so I can undock panels and move them too. For now though this is a workaround way for those of us with multiple monitors:

I think there is a mod called bodyslide for Fallout/Skyrim that has a nif exporter built in. You can just drag and drop your obj file that you exported from 3D Coat and then save it as a nif in that program. I think there are some YouTube videos that go over how to do this.

I've been currently creating a scratch made weapon in 3d coat for Fallout 4 (uses the NIF model type too). I just export my file from 3D Coat as a OBJ file and then using 3DS Max NIf plugin convert it there. I don't think a NIF plugin for 3D Coat could be made unless it was created by someone in the Skyrim/Fallout community similar to how the 3ds max and Maya ones were.

New user here but I've using 3D coat for a few months now. This program is truly awesome. Its completely revamped the way I make models (mostly do hard surface modeling). I love how it has normal baking, UV unwrapping, and I can even convert my low poly models to voxels to make a high resolution version. Of course the pairing section is my favorite part. The biggest problem is its too much fun to keep painting and adding more details its hard to stop. Definitely looking forward to future updates this program gets for sure, the features are really great. Here is one of the models I made the normals and did painting with in 3D Coat (its a mod for a video game):

These are really awesome materials. Already grabbed a few and I'll be getting great use out of them for many of my models. Do you take any ideas for future materials? I'd love to see like rubber with different tiling patterns (for like grips and such) and maybe some digital camo materials with urban colors (desert, jungle, urban, fall, winter etc).