Psmith

It takes me forever to make these things. I'm sorry for those of you who have requested more videos. But now . . . All new, All short, All encompassing - All Version 4 ! ! ! These videos cover things that I am interested in. I don't, necessarily, use all the new tools and functions. I use the tools and methods that help me to do things the fastest and most efficient ways I can. So, let's get started with this: 1) The Foundations of The Face 2) Plain As The Nose On Your Face Greg Smith

I believe the Voxel sculpting environment is still superior and preferable for many sculpting applications. I think what is missing in that regard is a consistent workflow where the user progresses from a low resolution Voxel mesh to a higher resolution mesh. If this workflow is adhered to, Voxel smoothing is quite predictable and controllable. At lower resolutions, Shift Smoothing with the first Alpha from the Panel (far right) can have both a subtle and an extreme effect - which, when used with the Fill tool, can dramatically alter or subtly alter a Voxel sculpt. I've never had any problems with the kind of uneven effects or lack of control associated with using the Surface or LiveClay versions of these functions. As far as performance goes, Voxels are quite practical even on low powered hardware (laptops with no dedicated graphics card - even AMD hardware). Surface and LiveClay brushes are much more a "work in progress" than are the much older and mature Voxel equivalents. Especially since Raul cannot be constantly present in Ukraine with Andrew. These tools need more time and attention to become as mature as the Voxel sculpting tools are. Many users have always tried to adapt 3D-Coat to workflows with which they are more familiar (which may hinder these users when starting with 3D-Coat) - like the Zbrush methodology, for example. Zbrush has always relied on ACTUAL geometry to produce coarse shapes and fine details - whereas 3D-Coat has employed the very different method of producing medium to fine detail by means of displacement (maps). In 3D-Coat it is not necessary to produce fine detail with tools that modify actual geometric density. Zbrush has never had this real-time methodology. Yet, we see and hear a continual stream of questions that demonstrate the mindset of users: Detail must be produced by means of actual geometry - nothing else will do. In Zbrush, for example, detail must be translated into maps before a sculpture can be truly practical. This happens "after the fact" mainly with plug-ins. In 3D-Coat, this same process happens in real time - so that the user can see the effect of these maps while they work. Much more practical - in the long run, than a "less than real time" alternative. 3D-Coat's implementation of, firstly Surface Mode, and later LiveClay - was and is a reaction to the needs of users to reduce dependence on high powered hardware setups which feature dedicated graphics hardware (desktop computers). The design of these new sculpting systems was intended to mimic - to the best of their abilities, the functions already present in Voxel Mode. And, since then, working with Voxels has become increasingly more efficient - giving good performance on similar low powered systems. Surface and LiveClay are still "experimental" systems. Not perfected and subject to flaws and workflow interruptions. I encourage everyone to revisit the Voxel workspace and the paradigm of working from very low to medium high resolutions - and moving to the Paint Room for the production of fine detail. High density meshes - whether they are triangular or quadrangle-based - are not very practical for most of the applications of models produced in either 3D-Coat or applications like Zbrush. Good thing to keep in mind and to put methodologies in proper perspective. Greg Smith

If you have set "View/Show Voxels In Paint Room" checked, you can paint diffuse color directly on your Voxel sculpture (without Merging). If you have produced topology for your Voxel sculpture by means of AUTOPO or manually, using the Retopo Tools, you can modify the resulting mesh in the "Tweak Room", but no polygons can be added or subtracted. The normal workflow for 3D-Coat is either to produce a fairly complete model with UV's in a 3rd party modeling application and import it directly into the Paint Room for texturing - or Merge a model into the Voxel Room or Surface Mode for alteration there (which often requires all new topology and UV's before painting can take place) - or just start in 3D-Coat, from scratch - working from low resolution to higher resolution by means of the Voxel, Surface and LiveClay tools - finally adding the finest detail by means of the Paint Room. The workflow solutions are rather linear, in nature, but fairly straightforward. Greg Smith

When converting from Voxels or Surfaces to polygons, it helps to capture all the crisp detail on hard surface models by using "Res+" or by resampling the Voxel or Surface mesh (to a higher resolution) first. If you haven't tried AUTOPO (automatic topology), give that a try first - setting the resolution of your polygonal mesh as desired, but leaving the other adjustments and dialog settings at their defaults. You may be surprised at how good the topology looks, automatically. Make sure, when you "Merge" your new topology into the Paint Room, that you give your object a texture resolution that is high enough to capture the details you need (I wouldn't go lower than 2,000 by 2,000). If you are painting with "Materials", (like a rust texture), make sure that Material texture is also of high resolution and not enlarged too much for details to start dropping out. Per-pixel painting is usually a good choice for most hard surfaced models. If none of this makes much sense to you, better get a solid background of how 3D-Coat does things from the many videos on our YouTube Channel. Greg Smith

The "Fill" Tool works best when your Voxel mesh is still at a relatively low resolution. If you've started in Voxels, from scratch, you would naturally be working from low resolution to high - adding more detail (resolution) only as you need it. Somewhere in the range from very low to medium resolution, the "Fill" Tool remains effective - after this it acts more like "Smooth". In fact, the influence or "strength" of many tools begins to diminish as the Voxel resolution increases. Trying to work from the beginning with very high resolution Voxel or Surface shapes turns out not to be very practical, in the long run. Greg Smith

Make sure you are exporting from Rhino as an ordinary .obj file. Try adjusting the scale of the object in Rhino before exporting to 3D-Coat. Greg Smith

Firstly, we need to know whether you are importing your Rhino model into the Voxel Room or to another room for retopo or painting. If you are importing your model for further sculpting using Voxels - your model may be so small it does not show up beneath the Transform Gizmo. Try scaling the whole thing up with the middle scaling cube on the Gizmo - and it may appear after adequate scaling. Once it is, perhaps, 1/2 the size of the Viewport, press the "Enter" key to commit it to Voxel space. Greg Smith

Have you tried applying a "gold" (or other) matcap shader to your voxel sculpt and just rendering in 3D-Coat? With the right lighting setup - the renders can be quite nice. AUTOPO likes and makes use of very high res voxel data. So, the higher the resolution the voxel sculpt - the better the automatic topology becomes. Try "Res+" a few times (or twice) before applying AUTOPO. This may cause a huge slowdown - but might be worth the wait. Also, if Rhino can make use of a displacement map - you might want to "Merge for micro-vertex" Painting - select a rather large "Carcass resolution" - then, export at a mid to high poly setting (.obj export parameters). Probably the best way to either add positive or negative filigree to the outer surface of a "ring primitive" (or other circular object) would be to construct a repeating voxel model (with vine and leaf detail, for example) - use the "Cutoff" tool to cut it at just the right place, on both ends of the "vine" - so that it can repeat seamlessly - and turn the object into a "Spline" (hover mouse pointer over Voxel layer until you see the small icon in the title area - on the far right - and drag the Layer name by clicking and dragging this icon and dropping it into the "Splines Panel"). Be aware that you would need an extreme level of detail for your "Spline" object to translate into an appropriately scaled voxel model - which, in turn will then be the basis for AUTOPO to work well. You will need a very powerful machine with lots of RAM for this to be practical. I think, using "Surface Mode" for such a Curve situation might be problematic with the current builds - so I'd stick to voxels for all construction tasks. Now, you can use this Spline as a kind of repeating pattern extrusion while constructing an intersecting and curving "chain" by means of the "Curves" tool. To make your "Spline" cut out a relief from the ring, hold the "Ctrl" key down while you press the "Enter" key to commit the Curve. This is a lot of information for a new user, and really could use a detailed tutorial. I guess that's one more thing I've got to add to my list of things to do. Greg Smith

Once you "Merge" the file into the Paint Room - everything should "stick". Greg Smith

Could you please upload an image of the voxel model you are trying to convert? We need to see the model to advise which approach to take - creating topology. Greg Smith

Yes, I couldn't agree more. The experience is far more important than even function. These days, the more complicated the app - the less likely I am to use it. And, I think those being raised in the phone and tablet worlds are even lazier than I - wanting a pleasurable experience - not a master's program. Guys in the industry are no different. They are tired of jumping through hoops to get things done. Greg

Just to prove that sculpting can be simple, powerful - and not required to enlist a vast number of hardware and software resources to work: http://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/ Greg Smith

It's because of the apostrophe. You can just copy and paste the entire line into your browser to avoid the error. Edit: Now the link works. Greg

Here, I found it - for those who prefer this version: http://pilgway.com/~greg/HappyBakingGuide.pdf Greg Smith

Don: Yes, I did this many months ago and sent the copy to Andrew. I guess he decided not to use it. Greg

The term "Carcass resolution" has been objected to the most - because of its strangeness. We had full confidence that this term would be replaced by "Viewport resolution" in version 4. In fact, I believe it did appear in some of the beta releases. Somehow, this change did not make it into the final release - but was anticipated in the Manual. My apologies. Also, it was unclear which UI changes would make it into the MV and PP painting dialogs - and we are still waiting to see the final final verdict. But, I'm not going to change or modify anything, at the moment - until a little more time goes by . . . for obvious reasons. Greg Smith

Those of us who have been with 3D-Coat for a number of years have faced these issues you so accurately describe in your post. Many of us have suggested changing the language and the consistency of these dialogs - possibly offering fewer choices and more basic and familiar terminology throughout the application. The effectiveness of our suggestions and criticisms you can see in the app as it stands today. Perhaps, however, the Manual could be updated to reflect the synonymous relationship between "Viewport resolution" and "Carcass resolution", for the time being. The differences in Per-Pixel painting and Micro-Vertex painting are becoming fewer - as time goes on - and some of the options in each dialog most certainly need refining. So, your observations, at this moment in time, really do fall into the category of "feature requests" and you are welcome to post these and +1 existing requests on Mantis. Thanks for your input, Greg Smith

Instancing can take place when you import for Voxel sculpting or Surface sculpting. You have the most options for altering your instances when using the "Merge" tool. While in the Voxel Room, choose "Merge" and navigate to the portion of the parameters panel that allows you to select your mesh for importing. You can also adjust the subdivision level and choose to place instances in the scene by means of the Transform gizmo or "On pen" (which allows you to "paint" your instances one at a time or as a kind of spray). Greg Smith

When you import your model into the Paint Room for texturing, the opening dialog offers you the option to "Paint over model with deep displacement". In actuality, this is the Micro-Vertex mode of texturing and has those options for which you are looking. This method offers an adjustable "Viewport Resolution" by means of the control "Carcass resolution". This is a temporary resolution which is independent of that resolution in which you choose to export your final textured model - although you could certainly choose to export your model at the same resolution as the "Carcass resolution" setting. Try importing using this option and experiment with different "Carcass resolution" settings, until you get the desired result. Greg Smith

Another quick way to make an eyelid is by placing a sphere for the eyeball (on the layer of your choice) and using the "Vox Layer" tool: Using one of the spline based tools from the "E" panel, from an Orthographic View (Left), cut a wedge shape out of the newly created layer to make the opening of the eyelid. Fatten the edge of the eyelid using the "Grow" tool. (more control using the new spline "Curve tool". Use "Vox Layer" to add thicker, overlapping lid folds by applying this tool over the eyelid layer, possibly merging these folds with the eyelid layer, in order to smooth everything as one group. Greg Smith

It's about time that the old pirate be revisited. So many new gizmos and gadgets and techniques to show. I'll see what I can do. Greg Smith

There are some other ways to skin this kind of cat: When making anything with a "knife edge", there are at least 2 tools which let you automatically apply this kind of profile to an entire edge - the "Grow Tool" and the "2D Paint" Tool - used in conjunction with one of the spline based drawing tools from the "E" panel. It's true - the knife edge profile will go around the whole edge - but it is a nice bevel that pretty accurately simulates the edge of a blade - without much muss or fuss. In the case of the "Grow Tool", choose the "Sharp border" option - and you can even adjust the depth of the bevel. The thickness of the object is determined by the depth of the brush. I do realize we are talking about the edges of a cube primitive - but you can get these kinds of sharp edges simply by thinking ahead and giving the object enough resolution for a sharp edge. The "Cutoff" tool also makes very nice, sharp, crisp edges - and can be any shape. Now, I have noticed that it is still difficult to "paint" or "draw" a sharp edge - relying on the Brush Alpha shape, alone. Even using a Spacing of 1, I still get the residue of multiple copies being placed, one after another. Seems to me, Andrew almost had this fixed, at one point. Greg Smith

. . . old shader preview pics . . . This is the reason nobody ever has written a book about 3D-Coat. Things just keep changing - and, at a pace that nobody can keep up with. Especially not me. Those shader pics weren't changed until the week of the release. Greg Smith

In the case of this ice ax, and knowing that you will need some parts of it to have crisp edges - I'd recommend starting with primitive shapes that already have the necessary resolution to make crisp edges. After the primitives are assembled into what could minimally be considered the ice ax shape, use the "Cutoff" tool to taper edges (knife edges), and to produce oblique angled flat edges. You can always apply smoothing in a controlled fashion to an object that has edges that are unbelievably sharp or crisp. (Use the "Open Spline" tool from the "E" panel in conjunction with the "Smooth" tool, to get controlled smoothing). The ice ax handle is composed of what looks to be a curved wooden handle section and a sculpted metal ferule with a rivet - to hold the metal ax portion. The ferule could be constructed with the "Vox Layer" tool at the desired thickness, with its edges defined by the "Closed Spline" tool from the "E" panel. Up to this point, everything would appear fairly crisp along the edges. Use controlled smoothing to make the handle more organic, (if constructed from a rectangular primitive) - or construct the handle from scratch using the Voxel "Curve" tool and an appropriate profile shape. Greg Smith

Start with a Primitive Cube shape that is 3/4 the size of the 3D Viewport - and press "Enter". This creates a cube of very high resolution and sharp edges. If it is too much for your system to handle - just place a lower res cube in 3D space and turn on the 2D Grid. Using one of the Orthographic Projections, Scale the cube so that it is only slightly larger than a set of the major grid lines (grid lines to serve as guides). Press the "E" key and choose the rectangular tool. Use the Voxel "Cutoff" tool to precisely trim the cube to the grid lines from a "Front" and a "Top" view. Greg Smith