How to create a relief

[Sub-Zero]

I want to create a kettle like this:

I can sculpt a basic "teapot" shape, but I'm out of ideas how to make a bas-relief with dragons and ornaments on its side.

Should I use a special brushes/alphas/tools?

Are where any ways to transfer it from the photo to the 3d-model?

[digman]

Now when you said sides, I took that to mean the bas-relief oval designs in the center of the pitcher. Also some of the other smaller single pieces too.

 

My favorite way is Alpha Stamps. I just feel as I have more control over the outcome.

Go and read this thread, I replied to the user.

http://3d-coat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16039

 

Now creating a simple text stamp is easy, only one height information.

127, 127, 127 grey is zero height in 3DC.  Above 127 is height and below is depth.

You just need a greyscale image with different height information in it to create your alpha.

 

There are little tricks to getting better alphas but this will give you the basic understanding of creating your dragon relief.

 

I even use a flat plane with one large uv island to create alpha stamps too. Import the plane for PPP and then use the regular depth brush to get my design.

Export that out as a real displacement map under the Textures menu. The height information is embedded in the image.

Open the file in Photoshop, there is a little tweaking in setting up the 4 layers that 3DC uses for Alphas. Some small clean up as well. 

Edit a default alpha in 3DC by right clicking on it in 3DC, It will open in Photoshop or your 2D editor and you will see the layers so you know how to set them up.

Obj files can be used to create alphas as well.

If you are a handy artist you can just paint your alpha by hand in your 2D paint program.

 

I will let others explain their favorite methods.

Edited February 19, 2015 by digman

[curvedspace]

digman, I have two questions:

 

1. When you say "127,127,127" I take it you are creating your maps in RGB. Can greyscale be used, which have only one channel?

 

2. Is there a way in a alpha to set the zero point at 0,0,0? I am asking because a middle grey as zero reduces the height scale increments to half, which in some cases may look choppy.

[digman]

digman, I have two questions:

 

1. When you say "127,127,127" I take it you are creating your maps in RGB. Can greyscale be used, which have only one channel?

 

2. Is there a way in a alpha to set the zero point at 0,0,0? I am asking because a middle grey as zero reduces the height scale increments to half, which in some cases may look choppy.

3DC uses RGB in creating it's alphas. Open a default alpha in your 2D editor by right clicking on it and choose edit and you will see 3DC uses RGB. I just follow that convention.

127,127,127 is what 3DC uses for zero height... No way around that... I do not know what you mean by choppy...

The picture shows a default alpha and the layer convention that 3DC follows in creating one. I turned off the color layer so you could see the height layer better.

[digman]

I forgot to mention, yes you can use photos... Best used in surface mode where you have dynamic tessellation.

Also you have to prepare the image since a photo is not based on height information but lighting and shadows...

Some photos work better that others. They can be color too but I think greyscale colors helps you know what is going to be height and what is going to be depth.

You can directly sculpt depth using a photo, no need to create an alpha if you so desire.

There is the use of the Stencils too...

 

4.1.17D and the new PBR beta work differently in setting up using a image for depth sculpting...

 

EDIT: I created a legacy material using the latest PBR Beta12 using a image but it did not sculpt depth in the Sculpt Room / surface mode like 4.1.17D. In fact no depth was sculpted, the image being ignored... Since it is a RGB greyscale image, it does work as a stencil.

 

EDIT: Just having a little fun with a wip 2d painting I am working on. Used as a stencil, then built up some from there...

Edited February 20, 2015 by digman

[curvedspace]

Just to clarify what I meant by “choppy”:

When you create a height map, Photoshop uses 256 steps to gradate everything between full black and full white, assuming you are in 8-bit mode and not above.

Height maps, such as the one you show above, can therefore have a maximum of 256 levels (steps) to draw a surface relief to full height. That is, of course, if zero grey value is used as zero height, and 256 (full white) for max height. Think of a lego mountain 256 blocks high, or a Mayan pyramid that rises 256 steps.

If half of these steps are used for subsurface elevations (to create cavities) you have only 128 steps by which to create the relief. If the relief height is extreme, a stepping effect will become visible sooner than with an elevation using 256 steps. In Photoshop this is called banding.

[Carlosan]

0001795: A transfer tool for geometry from one surface to another

 

feature request added, fell free to add a +1

[Sub-Zero]

Thanks for your help.

As I understand it, there are 3 ways to make a relief: 1) Drawing an alpha and extruding it, as described in http://3d-coat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16039 , 2) painting through the Stencil (stencils panel), 3) painting through the Stamp with a depth channel (stamps panel), right? Are there major differences between 2nd and 3rd way?

Edited February 21, 2015 by Sub-Zero

[digman]

1. Correct... Painting your alpha in a 2D program or using PPP mode as stated earlier in this thread.

2. Correct... Using Stencils from the panel which also means creating your stencil externally or using PPP mode.

3. Correct... Stamps for version 4.1.17D.  PBR materials as stated do not appear to be working in the same way as stamps in the 4.1.17D version in the sculpt room.

 

You said depth Channel which I take it to mean the depth setting in the upper menu in the sculpt room. I use the Stamp tool, the one that looks like a cross in the e-panel for stamping the alpha. There are some brushes that work better than others at stamping, just test and you will see...

 

Plus you can sculpt some designs in 3DC, export them out as obj models then load them as alphas... Even though when creating an alpha it only saids open a texture file, it supports obj models as well.

Now these sculpted designs also can be used in the paint room with depth using the depth channel in PPP mode plus you have them for later uses in the Sculpt

room.

 

In this discussion, it was on only single reliefs, I did not talking about using Splines or Strips to help with the relief creation.

Edited February 21, 2015 by digman

[TimmyZDesign]

Also there is the Bas Relief tool...