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Optimize Mesh and Generate UV


AnD4D
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Hi there!

I've created a model within 3D Coat, and have been trying to find ways to export it to Substance Painter for about 3-4 weeks on and off.

 

It's hard surface, so the AUTOPO tool has been little use (when it doesn't crash the program), and I'm purely using it for a still image, not a game model, so the number of polys isn't all that important. When I export it using 3D Coat, it doesn't have a UV already associated with it, so the program won't accept it.

Therefore, I need to export it as a model, open it in Blender (which I really don't get along with), and then run a smart UV on it, and finally export that into Substance Painter.

I was wondering if there was a way in which I could skip out Blender, and just have my ship export from 3D Coat into Substance Painter without a lot of extra steps. For example, I do not really want to spend the time having to retopo my model, seeing as I already know I can skip this stage with Blender in the equation.

Also, I assume it has a UV associated with it already, seeing as when I move it into the Paint Room, I can paint directly onto the surface.

 

In addition, ideally I'd like to export a Quad Mesh, but it doesn't have a poly reduction tool with that, meaning I have to export a triangle mesh, which is a nightmare to work with.

Any advice?

Oh, I should point out that I will be using the Steam version, but it's very buggy at the moment, so I have to use this month demo from this site :(

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"Also, I assume it has a UV associated with it already, seeing as when I move it into the Paint Room, I can paint directly onto the surface."

This above might not be true depending upon your workflow... When you switch from the sculpt room to the paint room (bypassing the retopoing / uv set creation and baking process) and start painting, you are vertex painting or in other words poly-painting. No uv set necessary.

 

Blender supports vertex colors through the attribute node. Sometimes I just bring in a high polygon model into Blender which has been vertex painted for still images. I am not saying this is what you want to do but but giving you a heads up.

--------------------------------

Manual retopo your model, then mark the seams and unwrap. Now the model has a uv set associated with it.

Bake to the paint room for your normal map. or just export the model out of the retopo room if that is what you want without baking.

 

A few other ways, they may or may not work for your needs, no promises here.

Export from the sculpt room Dense Quads show in picture or you could test projected quads as well. This might not give you a quality mesh, Test it.

Now import that model into the Paint Room for Per Pixel painting and a uv map will automatically be created. It will not be the most well layed out uv set but it could work... You would have to test. Per Pixel painting will support higher polygon count models, I had up to 3 million in the paintroom, not officially supported but worked. If you can go higher I have not tested

Export out of the paint room and the you will have your uv set.

 

Check out this WIP thread by Garagarape for manual hard surface retopo type of work... He does very clean manual retopo, Inspiring or you go,good god! that would take me forever... :wacko:

In the end manual retopoing gives the best results as you have complete control over the process just as you would if you modelled the hard surface object in  modelling software.

 

http://3d-coat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6720&page=45

post-518-0-72057500-1422041836_thumb.png

Edited by digman
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Thanks for your post! I really appreciate the help.

Unfortunately my model is extremely complex, and an export mesh is around 9 million polys. I also can't afford the time to retopo myself. Maybe one day, but that thread you posted to showed people wowing over a tiny object. Concerns me that my model is about 5 times that size.

My own fault, I suppose.

 

I followed this video as an almost tutorial. 



See how complex that model is? I'd like to know how long it would take someone to produce a UV map for that model.

Once I get my model into Substance Painter, everything's really fast. It's just this in between bit of getting things from 3D Coat to Substance. ZBrush was a lot easier in that respect.

I'm trying to get my object down to about 500k polys. At the moment, it looks like I will need to use Blender... but man, I hate that program.
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When i paint in Substance Painter , this method (depending on the model of course) -->

 

Export from the sculpt room Dense Quads show in picture or you could test projected quads as well. This might not give you a quality mesh, Test it.

Now import that model into the Paint Room for Per Pixel painting and a uv map will automatically be created (as Digman just said) works.

 

You can always merge everything into a piece , autoretopo (do make some trials to find the correct settings) then create auto seams or manual uv , bake  and export.

 

Its a lot easier than it sounds.

 

Do a test with a simple shape / voxel or hardsurface model to get the feeling.

Edited by Michaelgdrs
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Thanks, Michael!

I've tried that before, and 3D Coat usually just crashes after 5 minutes. Sent in many bug reports, but never heard back. Also spent literal days working with AUTOPO, changing settings ever so slightly. When that wasn't crashing, it produced very poor results. Doesn't work all that well on Hard Surface models. I've looked at a lot of tutorials, too.

I'll try the dense quads trick again, but the model I'm working on now is a lot more complex that the one I was trying that trick out with a few months ago!

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Greetings AnD4D , 

 

I see , if you are allowed , kindly upload the 3d model so we can see at least why it crashes.

 

I hardly have crashes with 3c coat honestly speaking.

 

You can also download the latest stable and run it with the steam key.

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Thanks Michael, please find the file here:

https://copy.com/KwDjo4FaKopYP2mY

 

I haven't had nearly as many crashes since I moved over to the demo version. Thanks for the heads up about using the Steam key! That's a weight off my mind.

When I do manage to get AUTOPO working, it results in a very low resolution version, missing out the intricacies of the smaller details.

I tried importing a 3D Coat export into the Paint room, but that generated a very very bad looking UV. Sometimes single shapes were added as separate UVs. My Blender workflow seems to work well at the moment... but I feel I shouldn't need to use another program just to generate a UV map.

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