Alex Z
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Posts posted by Alex Z
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Thank you for the info Carlosan!
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From my experience i've needed to unwrap my high poly models too, even if it's just a quick unwrap.
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Hi guys,
This issues has been bugging me for a while, but i've finally found the cause.
When i import a Low Poly Mesh to be used as a Retopo mesh for baking, (3ds Max + multiple smoothing groups) ((FBX file format)) at the time of baking the Lock Normal fuction is checked but my Low Poly Mesh is still baked out with only 1 smoothing group. This causes horrid shading and reflection errors on hard surface models.
The most annoying thing about this is due to the fact i can't re-apply the smoothing groups in 3ds Max, becasue the Normal map orginally baked out by 3d Coat was baked onto a model with only 1 smoothing group. (The Mesh and the Normal map will never match up, causing errors.)
It seems impossible to work around this.
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What is strange, the Locked Normals fuction used in the Paint Room works fine, no issues there at all. (FBX file format)
It seems this error is confined to the Retopo Room import function / baked output (FBX file format)
Thanks for Reading,
Alex.
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Sadly it actually looks like the Locked Normal fuctions doesn't work at all, in any Room, Paint or Retopo. (at least with FBX files)
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Click : Add Texture, then just assign the maps you wish into the RGBA slots using the Drop down arrow beside the slot.
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Yes, this is 100% possible.
This is how i've packed one particular map, the MRSA map, so Red channel = Metalness , Green channel = Roughness (Green channel has the most data so it's recommended to use this for your Roughness map) i've assigned my Blue Channel to Specular Intensity but i'm honestly not sure if 3d Coat is giving me the data i want there. Finally i assigned my Ambient Occlusion into the Alpha Channel.
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Hi guys,
The title speaks for itself really, reproducing the most realistic materials (in my opinion) requires the subtle use of Specular maps. At the moment i create custom Specular Intensity maps in Photoshop and plug it into Unreal 4 for feed back, (i could use Marmoset toolbag or Awesome Bump for feedback also.)
But i was wondering if it's actually possible to create, access and edit Specular Intensity maps directly in 3d Coat using the Roughness / Metalness workflow?
If not, is it possible to have this implemented in a future build?
Thanks for reading,
Alex.
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Phew!
Thanks for the insights and info on this topic, i'm very relieved to know everything is in perfect working order. The tests i've done here also confirm that it makes no difference to my workflow if my textures are sRGB or RGB. I was always worried that i'd lose some data range with textures being RGB, but the end result is exactly the same!
thanks again,
Alex.
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@ Carlosan : Thanks for directing me to more info on the subject!
@ Digman : Thanks again for such a detailed reply...
I completely agree with everything you've typed. My only real concern is not having access visually to the greater range of Greys that sRGB / Gamma 2.2 offers, part of me worries that somewhere in a 3d pipeline (3ds max, Unreal, Maya etc ) i may hit a technical block due to the fact my textures were created in Linear space, and by that i mean : Textures being over corrected or adjusted due to the fact they were too dark or bright when put into a 3d scene that was currently set up for Gamma 2.2.
Personally from experience i've come to learn it's absolutely vital to work in 2.2 space when rendering, mostly noticeably regarding lighting. The sheer range of Grey's results in much much more realistic images.
I did have an idea that could possibly be a work around, an actual hardware hack. If i adjust my monitor's Gamma to off-set the Linear viewport of 3d coat, maybe i could be painting and viewing in Gamma 2.2? It's a crazy idea, but it might just work. Then once i'm happy with the results i'd return my monitor back to normal and use the Gamma Correct Tool. I've not tested this so i can't say if it works.
Cheers,
Alex
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Minor update of a real world application example :
Here we have Unreal 4,
I used the Photoshop file as a base for both 3d coat examples, one saved out at Gamma 1.0 and the other changed to 2.2 using the Gamma correction tool.
The Gamma correction tool in 3d Coat works fine, the difficulty is not being able to see or work in this Gamma range. It's a bit like painting in the dark! haha!
I'm not sure how much work would be needed to change the viewport / color picker in 3d Coat to allow sRGB, but it would be fantastic if possible!
Thanks for reading!
Alex.
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Hi guys,
I've read through many posts already made on this topic, but i'm struggling to find a definitive answer.
Is it possible to paint and view in true sRGB space?
Maybe there is a button i've not checked to make this happen?
I've read about and tested : Textures > Adjust > Gamma correction - but sadly this is only a clever hack that crushes down the 1.0 Gamma, it doesn't allow me to work in Real-Time true sRGB / 2.2 Gamma space.
For Gloss / Roughness / Specular textures true working sRGB space is very important to create an accurate read.
Any info on this would most welcome, i'm a big fan of 3d coat, loved it from the first moment i started using it. Personally i don't want to move to the likes of Mari or Substance painter.
Thanks for reading!
Alex
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Thanks Digman, your help and input has been much appreciated!
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Thank you for a detailed reply Digman!
Sadly, these are the exact steps i made when i originally ran into the problem. Even in your example you can see artifacts and loss of clarity via the Normal map being plugged into the Smart Material, but all is good knowing Greyscale maps are the perfect solution. I found they are extremely versatile when altering via the Levels Curve within the Smart Material, so many high quality variations can be made with just 1 Greyscale map.
I could never achieve such results so easily with a Normal map!
I'll attach the texture i created in Photoshop incase you are interested, also for anyone else interested in the results.
File Format : 16-bit .tif Greyscale
Thanks again,
Alex.
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Hi Digman,
Thanks for looking into this problem i had.
You mention you solved my original issue regarding using ONLY normal maps, can i ask how you did this? For the life of me i couldn't figure out how to keep the quality once the map was applied to the Smart Material.
I'm a perfectionist by nature so i was looking for an exact 1:1 quality ratio. Small details and fine edges are important to me, allowing a high standard of work.
I thought the loss of quality was due to compression?
Cheers, Alex.
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Alright, I'm very happy to say I managed to solve this problem.
I Converted the Normal Map i was using into a Full Greyscale image via Photoshop ( Image > Mode > Greyscale ). This type of map has a very high quality read. Once plugged it into the Smart Material's Depth slot I was immediately impressed.
I'm guessing when Black and White maps / Height maps are plugged into the Depth slot, they are on-the-fly converted into Normals. Much like most stand alone Normal map generator programs, ( Crazy bump, Awesome bump, etc )
From now on i won't be using Normal maps in the Depth slot, as Greyscale maps ( from Photoshop at least ) are far far superior in Quality and Clarity!
I hope this infomation helps anyone else who was struggling to push the quality of their Textures and Smart materials to the maximum!
Alex.
PS : i save my Texture maps as .TGA
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Hi Digman,
I attached the texture and model used at the bottom of the original post, hopefully this works?
If not, reply here and i'll source another way!
Cheers!
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Hi guys!
I have 12mb 2k Normal map, when i apply it directly to a mesh (via import texture file) it reads fine, the quality is 100%.
When i plug this same texture into a Smart Material (using the same exact scale) and apply it to the same mesh the result is very undesirable. I can only assume the Smart Material compresses the life out of the Normal Map for the sake of speed and hence the quality being very poor.
Is there a way to potentially solve this?
Below are examples :
Direct Normal -
Smart Material Normal -
Lastly i'll add a .Rar file with the texture used and the mesh (simple UV unwrap). Hopefully this will provide Hands-on understanding.
Cheers,
Alex.
3d Coat White Screen Hang
in SOS! If you need urgent help for 3DCoat
Posted
Hi Guys,
I'm not sure if anyone has had the same issue i was recently suffering from, which was 3d Coat Failing to load after being executed more than once. White screen program hang.
After 48 hrs of investigation into the problem it turns out the program got stuck in a Wait Chain, something with the Network I/O. Disabling my LAN by passed the problem and 3d Coat loads everytime without fail.
Hopefully this will help others with this potential problem, and a future fix!
(I'm using Windows 7 x64)
Cheers,
Alex