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Hard Surface Model Workflow from 3DC to C4D for Animation


Rgr2005
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Go to solution Solved by Tony Nemo,

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Hi !

I'm learning 3dcoat & have a problem understanding how to retopo a hard surface humanoid model for exporting & animating in C4D.

 

I'm confused because it seems I lose all the fine details that i've been able to sculpt in 3dc. All those sharp edges precisely.

I'd like to export it to Obj for rigging & animating in C4D.

 

So, i understand i should make a low poly export with uvs, normal map etc...but if my model lose sharpness, should i edit edges in C4D again ? (which would be kind of annoying). Or should i make a not-so-low-poly model and in this case what's a good poly count ?

 

If anyone has suggestions or ideas, tutorials about this topic, thanks !

 

Here's an example of a model i'd like to rig :

 

758604Sanstitre1.jpg

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If you intend to animate the figure, I recommend manual topology to achieve fewer polygons (think of C4D's lousy viewport response). The normal map will carry all the surface detail and in your case there wont be any obvious edge facets that would only disappear with displacement. If character animation is your thing, practice manual topology.

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Yeah like Tony said, manual retopo of that model is probably your best bet. It should go pretty easy/fast. When you are doing it, just be sure to put your polygon edges along the places you want to keep sharp. Then bake a normal map to capture the other smaller details.

In C4D you could probably get away with just using your new low poly manual retopo model (with the normal map applied) and it will look good enough. If you still think subdivision is necessary, then remember to crease your sharp edges before subdividing.

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I know the C4D viewport is not that good with a lot of geometry (though i have a few tricks to optimize it)...

 

But wouldn't this solution be the same in other software like 3dsmax or Maya ?

 

Low Poly + Normal Map > Subdivision > Rigging & animation

 

The idea is that even for a simple model like this, Manual Retopo still is a bit of work,  even more with the edge loops to add to keep sharp edges before animating...

 

If i wanted to animate a character like this one (i'm not talking about the cloth though), would a high res normal map be a good solution over higher res mesh ?

 

tumblr_o0hkg5cwzX1s30io0o2_1280.jpg

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The mesh you create in Retopo can give as much definition as you want but the only place a 'normal' illusion will break down is when the polygon is viewed edge on. If the figure's outline must show detail, a displacement or height map will be called for (like SubPolygonDisplacement on C4D) which you can export from 3D-Coat.

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Now the problem i have (btw should i create a new post for it ?) is the following :

 

-I unwrapped my UVs fine

-I then baked my normals (with the default shader & name correspondance for baking unchecked as it seemed to cause problem)

-Normals are fine in the paint room

 

I tried exporting the object from the retopo room (Export Retopo Object) & from the paint room (Export Object & Textures), and in those 2 cases, i get a weird UVW mapping in C4D :

 

466014Sanstitre1.jpg

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I see the same features in the normal map as in the C4D render. So explain further the "weird" aspect as it appears to be what one would expect from the normal map. When you try to 'move' meshes in Retopo, are they selected in your UV editor? 

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