How to connect C4D - 3DC - C4D

[Pavel (pzdm) Zoch]

hello everyone

here is a little videotutorial how to connect C4D with 3D-Coat.

there are next steps:

1) C4D model preparation - UV correction, model correction, export

2) 3DC model import - comparation with C4D structure

3) 3DC - SPD export

4) C4D SPDs import, deleting "suporting" polygons

5) C4D rendering, voila - amazing sculpt in C4D!

Cheers Pavel

A link

http://download.digitalmedia.cz/tutorials/.../en/C4D-3DC.zip

Camtasia codec needed! You can find it on www.techsmith.com

[MrBraun]

Tnx Pavel for the tutorial!

[sgiff]

Pavel, could you tell me what settings you use to get a textured model into 3d Coat from C4D. My objects never show up with textures. I am assuming you are using Riptide plugin for export.

s.g.

[Christopher Lutz]

Pavel, thanks for the video!

In addition to Pavel's tips, I would like to share my way of connecting 3DC v2.10 and C4D. I'm very new to this progrm, so maybe there are some other ways, but I found the following to be working:

1. I create my character as a low-poly mesh within a HyperNurbs. I am also doing my UV layout within C4D. I set the HN subdivision to a value of 2 for editor view and rendering. As Subdivision type I choose 'Catmull-Clark' and set 'Subdivide UVs' to 'Edge'. (I'm not completely sure about the last step, but this seems to eliminate any UV distortion).

2. I copy my low-poly mesh (without the HN) to a new scene. (This step is done so that in the enxt step only the low-poly mesh is exported).

3. I now use the the Riptide plugin to export the mesh. In the 'General' section of Riptide I check all options except for 'Export Ngons', 'Flip UV Horizontally' and 'Flip UV Vertically'. I set 'Scale Factor' to 100.

4. In 3DC, I select 'Import model' and load my character. In the 'Loading object...' dialog, I leave 'Smooth object' checked. As mapping type I choose 'Keep UV' and vor UV sub-patches smoothing I choose 'Smooth but keep edges' (Again, I am not completely sure about this, but it seems to work).

4. Now I paint my displacement. I want to blend multiple layers of displacement within C4D, so I have also multple layers within 3DC.

5. Now I export my displacement layers. I select my lowest layer (Layer 1, as I don't paint on Layer 0) In the main menu, I choose 'Layers' / 'Import/Export' / 'Export depth...'. In the 'Export vector displacement' dialog I choose 'Grey-based, not normalized' and save the file out to a an EXR file. When asked whether the empty parts of the texture should be filled in, I say 'Yes'

6. I now export my other layers (Layer2, 3 etc.). Again I choose 'Grey-based, not normalized', but this time the empty parts of the texture should not be filled.

7. Back in C4D, I apply an material to my mesh (the mesh that is inside the HN). I activate 'Displacement'. In the displacement channel, I set the texture to 'Layer'. Within the layer texture, I load the texture that I saved out first from 3DC and set the blending to 'Normal' and 100%. Then I load the other textures as well, but with 'Overlay' blending mode and also a value of 100%. IMPORTANT: Set the 'HDR Gamma' value to 1.0 (the default is 2.2), otherwise there will be strange results.

8. In the diplacement channel of the material, set the following attributes:

- Strength: 100%

- Height: 50 meters (if you had chosen another scale factor back in step 3 above, divide that value by 2)

- Type: 'Intensity (Centered)'

- Activate 'Sub-Polygon Displacement'

- Set the Sub-Polygon divisions to 3 (I found that a good value, so together with the HN subdivisions the mesh will be divided 5 times)

- Check 'Round Geometry' and all other options (I am not completely sure about 'Map resulting geometry', you can experiment whether this is needed to make the color textures work nicely with the displaced geometry)

9. Now you can render the scene and see the displacement! One advantage of having multiple layers of displacement is that you can blend them in and out by setting the blending strength, so you can e.g. animate wrinkles.

I hope these instructions will help others.

[Paint Guy]

Hi, I downloaded the codec for mac from techsmith and the video still won't play. Anyone know why?

http://www.3d-coat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2592

Christopher, do you think you could tell me what I am doingwrong? (see link above) I am creating my UV map in 3DCoat but I can't seem to get the steps correct. If you could possibly help I would appreciate it!

Thanks

[lc8b105]

Hi, I downloaded the codec for mac from techsmith and the video still won't play. Anyone know why?

Hey, download VLC player. I can play this video with VLC.

[Paint Guy]

Hi, Pavel, thanks for the 3DC > C4D Tutorial. I do not have the advanced render with Cinema 4D, but only the C4D Core R10. Someone on CGtalk said I could just use a HyperNurb Object if I don't have the additional Displacement settings like in your video.

I tried using the HyperNurb and my modell is bloated and looks nothing like my sculpt in 3DCoat. Do you or anyone know how to achieve correct displacement using the C4D Core only and the HyperNurb?

Thanks

[rsquires]

I think I have been doing things wrong, but I'd like to know if it's possible to use the normal map baked out from a voxel sculpt and convert it to a useable depth map for SPD in Cinema 4D. I know I am doing something wrong as every time I export a displacement map from 3d coat I just get a 50% gray texture. There is no depth because I haven't painted any but I'd like to use the voxels depth to do this. How do you convert the normal map to a displacement grayscale that cinema 4d can use. If I use the normal map it's ok but I get rounded edges and it inflates the geometry.

any help would be greatly appreciated

[Pavel (pzdm) Zoch]

Hi, Pavel, thanks for the 3DC > C4D Tutorial. I do not have the advanced render with Cinema 4D, but only the C4D Core R10. Someone on CGtalk said I could just use a HyperNurb Object if I don't have the additional Displacement settings like in your video.

I tried using the HyperNurb and my modell is bloated and looks nothing like my sculpt in 3DCoat. Do you or anyone know how to achieve correct displacement using the C4D Core only and the HyperNurb?

Thanks

hello, use suitable UV subdivision in HyperNURBS object.

P

[Pavel (pzdm) Zoch]

I think I have been doing things wrong, but I'd like to know if it's possible to use the normal map baked out from a voxel sculpt and convert it to a useable depth map for SPD in Cinema 4D. I know I am doing something wrong as every time I export a displacement map from 3d coat I just get a 50% gray texture. There is no depth because I haven't painted any but I'd like to use the voxels depth to do this. How do you convert the normal map to a displacement grayscale that cinema 4d can use. If I use the normal map it's ok but I get rounded edges and it inflates the geometry.

any help would be greatly appreciated

Hello

maybe I don't understand what you exactly mean...

But, you have voxel model and you do a retopo for base mesh. There is a function for baking voxel shape to base model and all these information you can bake by standard way. There is no diference...

Yeah, I will do simple tutoral for that.

P