polygonal model for surface sculpting

[Andrei Samardac]

Hay people,

How to import polygonal model for surface sculpting?

[Carlosan]

http://3d-coat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10137

[Andrei Samardac]

Thanx, understood, but is any analog of increas/decreas subdivision level for surface objects?

Edited July 27, 2013 by samardac

[Carlosan]

like zbrush or mudbox ?

sorry but no

 

 

Workflow suggestion:
0. Use latest beta build. You can download from this forum in the section called New Releases And Betas
1. File-->import-->Import mesh for voxelizing
2. Scale up your model to desired resolution (bigger scale = higher resolution of voxels) Click apply in Tool Options palette, or hit Enter. Your mesh will be voxelized. Also select "Yes" when asked to remember original model position.
3. Switch to a Voxel sculpting tool ("Grow" for example) in order to get out of the Merge Tool and see your model.
4. Pick a shader for your model from the Shader tool palette. I recommend PicMat_Grey_Clay because you can see the effects of your sculpting well.
5. Use voxel tools to sculpt your model (add dents to your car model)
6. When finished sculpting, change to Retopo room and choose Retopo-->Import and choose the same mesh you voxelized earlier. Select "Yes" to snap this model to your voxel mesh.
7. Create UVs (if necessary) with tools in UV section of toolbar.
8. Bake your model to the Paint Room by choosing Retopo-->Merge with NM (per-pixel) or select a different option that suits you better. If you want a displacement map, choose a "microverts" option.
9. Once your model is in the Paint Room you will have your normal map in the Layers palette. Feel free to add layers and paint your model further. You can paint normal map depth, or diffuse color, specular, glow, etc.
10. After painting is complete, choose File-->Export-->Export Model to send your improved model out of 3D-Coat.
Good Luck!

[Andrei Samardac]

But how to work with surfaces without subdividing? I see live clay is it replacement in this case?

[Andrei Samardac]

And another question, 

I have model It's battle tank I want to import it in 3D coat to add some cracks and deformation on it with sculpting tools.

 

is any special workflow for this?

Edited July 27, 2013 by samardac

[digman]

You are correct merge without voxelizing  and if the obj file has subobjects then also select Merge to separate Volumes. Surface mode is true polygons and not voxels. Your tank will import with all the current details. Scale the model up to a working size but the estimated polycount has no bearing when merging to surface mode. Your model will just have the polygons triangulated. A one million tank model will import as a appox 2 million surface mode object. This will not affect the appearance of your model.

 

Do not subdivide the model when merging.

 

Now you can use either surface mode or LiveClay brushes for your work. If you use the surface mode brushes be sure to have remove stretching selected in the top menu.

 

If you are using the newest betas, then under the Windows menu, scroll down the list till you see "Presets" Select this and you will load up Artman's preset brushes. They are very useful. You might have done this already but just in case..

 

If you have a low polygon version of the model, then that can be used as your retopo mesh. In the Retopo room under the retopo menu, choose import.

Snapping to the surface, you are ask this question when importing, is a workflow question depending upon your model. Sometimes it is best not to snap to the surface.

[Carlosan]

Merge without voxelizing and use live clay, yes

When importing OBJs from Zbrush, in 3D-Coat use File-Import-Import Mesh for voxelizing. A dialog will pop up. Click on the checkbox called "Merge without voxelizing". Then use the scale gizmo in the viewport to scale up your model to desired resolution, and finally click on Apply. If you do not click Apply, then nothing will happen.

 

Try Merge to separated volumes ON

 

Which are your system specs ?

 

Basic intro to 3D-Coat :

http://vimeo.com/53730783

 

voxel mode is used for basic shape modeling

sculpt mode for add details

Live clay for fine details

[digman]

@Carlosan, Scaling up an object when merging to Surface mode as no effect on the amount of polygons (resolution)  that are generated in surface mode as stated in my post. Now if you subdivide the model, yes then your polygons will increase. In Samardac's case he would not want to subdivide the tank model.

[Andrei Samardac]

Good but why I get this strange shading looks like broken normal map...

 

Before import

 

 

 

 

After

 

 

or this:

 

And is it any way to select parts on witch I want to sculpt in the viewport?

Edited July 27, 2013 by samardac

[Tony Nemo]

You had "Merge to seperate layers" checked for importing. Did you get seperate layers? And what are those rectangular gun barrels?

Edited July 27, 2013 by Tony Nemo

[digman]

The smoothness of your object after merging is not the fault of 3DCoat but how the smoothing groups are exported from your other 3D package...

 

In the picture you can see hard edges are unaffected on this model after merging to surface mode. There are some flip polygons as this is not my model...

 

You can select auto pick in the top menu. The first click of the mouse or tablet pen will select that layer for you... and then you can keep sculpting...

 

Some tools allow us to work on all voxel or surface mode layers at the same time but not the brushes.

[Andrei Samardac]

Digman I still do not understand how to fix it)

[Tony Nemo]

Digman I still do not understand how to fix it)

 Do you mean, fix the rectangular gun barrels? Digman can't help because the problem originates in the program they were exported from. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Show a screen shot of the model before it was exported from the original app and try to export a better OBJ.

[Andrei Samardac]

yes just compare how it looks when I import it in 3D coat, but not voxilizing yet - first Image and how it looks after voxelizing - image 2 or 3 (different amount polygons, but in modeling software in both cases they are perfectly smooth).

 

On first screen it is perfectly smooth. In my software where I modeled it, it is too perfectly smooth. When I import it in Cinema 4d it is also perfectly smooth.

Edited July 27, 2013 by samardac

[digman]

Yes he means smoothing groups as the model after merging is getting some smooth shading applied in surface mode... I can not help him there because each 3d modelling package handles smoothing groups differently... His client or he will have to create the smoothing groups in a 3D modelling package, the one it was made in would be best if it handles smoothing groups for exporting, most do...

 

I think the tank is in the future, so it fires maybe a laser or something.. 

 

Here is a picture, the model on the left has the smoothing groups turned off in the obj file and the one on the right has the smoothing groups turn on in the obj file...

No subdividing the model as well.

This picture is from the paint room.

 

I did not use the auto smoothing groups setting in the import dialog...

[digman]

I did forget to mention, His model is around a million but once he sets up the smoothing groups then can use subdivide in the merge panel to get enough polygons for each layer to be able to start sculpting with if he needs to.

 

The subdivision then will not round out his edges...