baking [Solved] How to bake from a high poly to a low poly.

[yesfull_man]

Ok so I am a user who prefers blender for modeling and 3d coat for texturing, however i want to just make the model in blender and do the rest in 3d coat. so baking, uv mapping, and texturing. for the life of me i cant seem to understand this in 3d coat.. is there a step by step process i would need to do so i can import low poly, uv map it import high poly and bake it onto the model and move on down to the paint room to finish off? i basically have to skip the baking part and do it in blender or do the uvs and bake in blender..  which i really dont want to do.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[Carlosan]

Hi !

Hope this help

 

 

[yesfull_man]

Thanks! When i moved my models over from blender they didnt add into the voxel tree. How do i add them in to the voxel tree?

[Carlosan]

You need to import the model as obj or fbx.

 

[yesfull_man]

aahh i didnt import it in through voxel sculpting... well ill try that when i get a chance. thanks!

[Carlosan]

Try Blender <-> 3DCoat applink, its great timesaver.

 

[yesfull_man]

oh yea i set that up a little while back. its very nice. made my convoluted process much easier. i cant wait till i figure out this baking tonight so i can get my workflow set up they way i was hoping to have it. not much of a molding type of modeler i like the way maya and blender do it more.  but for things like uv mapping and texturing,3d coat is awesome if i can bake as well then i am set. use blenders annoying menu system and over complicated processes as little as possible  lol

[yesfull_man]

ok so i imported a cube from blender into the voxel sculpting room.. i added the cube in the voxel tree.. and i cant see it or add uv sets to it in the uv space? i can see it in the paint room though. i guess the problem with using this as a texture tool is i dont learn all the other beginner stuff lol. anyways did i do something wrong?

[digman]

First, there are several ways to import high polygon models into 3DC. You are using one of the methods.  Also of course you are using a low polygon cube which is fine to learn the program. I generally recommend starting simple moving to complex.

3DC upon importing into the sculpt room does not automatically create a  low polygon retopo mesh for baking. You either import one, autopo or create a low polygon retopo mesh by hand in the retopo room. 

Once you have the retopo mesh completed in the retopo room, you create the uv seams. Then you unwrapped the model to create the uv set islands. 

Next you choose the various baking methods.

Your model will be baked to the paint room for texturing.

Here is a video series, that will help you understand 3DC not only the baking and texturing part. 

For now though start with video number 14...  This is about autopo. The next is manual retopo and he goes all the way through to baking, texturing and exporting.

He does not cover importing of retopo meshes but I give you a tip about it at the bottom of this post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNs3ssJYWQA&list=PL17Z03Lf1lyKZsHLvg27ZP0kzVR_mvLpX

The author here does not import the model but sculpts it in the sculpt room but the rest applies to you. 

Over time you will learn what method of importing your model works for the current model you are working on. 

Example of one Workflow: It is just an example that is all, as I said there are several methods.

I have a  hard surface high polygon model created in Blender and plus have the low polygon model of the same model created in Blender.

I would import the high polygon model into surface mode, not voxel mode. Not explaining here about surface mode or the reason of using it in this example.

Next I would import the low polygon model into the retopo room for my retopo mesh, then create my uv seams and uv set.

Bake to the paint room to create the normal map details from the high polygon model in the sculpt room.

Texture in the paint room and export for Unity 5 or Unreal 4.

TIp: To import a low polygon model into the retopo room to be used as your retopo mesh: Retopo Room---Retopo Menu---- Import. 

You will be asked to snap the retopo mesh to the reference object in the sculpt room. To say yes or no depends upon the your retopo mesh. I generally say no and do any local adjusting by hand if needed.

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by digman

[yesfull_man]

ok thanks for the info. yea i get the retopo process but seeing as i dont really sculpt i feel like its easiest for my workflow to build the low poly in blender then duplicate it and turn the dup into a highpoly. for the most part. its the importing and baking that i seem to be struggling with. however ill watch the video see if maybe it will help and see if i can figure out something based on what you suggested. thanks for the help!

[digman]

38 minutes ago, yesfull_man said:

ok thanks for the info. yea i get the retopo process but seeing as i dont really sculpt i feel like its easiest for my workflow to build the low poly in blender then duplicate it and turn the dup into a highpoly. for the most part. its the importing and baking that i seem to be struggling with. however ill watch the video see if maybe it will help and see if i can figure out something based on what you suggested. thanks for the help!

Correct, that is what I also stated, that you are not sculpting but importing models. The tip about importing a retopo mesh into the retopo room is the most important for you. 

Understanding the basic functions of 3DC helps in knowing what parts you want to use accorrding to your workflow. 

If you still struggle and use skype for screen sharing and voice, I will be happy to show you around 3DC. Pm me if interested. 

Some more videos.  This is importing a low poly model. The second is using a newer feature is flat subdivision. 

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by digman

[yesfull_man]

sweet! thanks again!  tonight i will give it a go. if i cant manage it i will be sure to pm you. thanks for the help! thank you everyone!

[yesfull_man]

ok see i get the retopo stuff( i havnt messed with it too much but i have a little in the past) but i dont get why i need to retopo in order to uv map and bake it.. i already have a low and high poly model why do i need to make another low poly model from my low poly so i can then bake my high poly?? at that point i might as well not use a low poly at all and just retopo my high poly.. or did i miss something completely?

[yesfull_man]

like i did the process... i brought it in.. then lazily autotoped(just testing with a cube) and then uv mapped it and baked it... cool but the retopo seems like a pointless step when i already have the pieces..

[digman]

First I replied to your Pm, so a Skype session is possible depending upon your schedule.

I think you are misunderstanding some of my words and direction.  

If you have the pieces, then yes autopo is pointless.  It was just one of the methods which I had stated.  "import a retopo mesh, autopo or create one by hand in the retopo room".  Import a retopo mesh is your low polygon mesh and it is imported into the retopo room.

My example did not use autopo but used a high polygon model and a low polygon model already created in Blender. 

A Skype session will clear up many things as 3DC is a powerful program with a number of methods for creation of models, refinement of models, texture painting, exporting etc etc. 

The videos are to help you understand 3DC not saying to use that workflow. If you have a high polygon model then you would import that into the sculpt room then import the low polygon model into the retopo room. 

In the retopo room----Create your uv seams, unwrap for the uv set and then bake to the paint room for texturing.

That is what I did in my example, I chose that example because it appeared that you already had a high and low polygon model created in blender.

[yesfull_man]

ok awesome! digman helped me i see where i was confused. thanks so much for the help!