Member Remi Posted March 12, 2019 Member Share Posted March 12, 2019 Hello, I'm using 3D Coat for a couple of months and there is something I can't find on any topic or tutorials : keeping sharp edges on a complex mesh.My workflow is : - sculpting in voxel all the parts of my mesh (let's say several steps from the stairs of an old temple) - merging them in voxel - finishing details in surface mode The issue is : when I'm merging the parts, all the edges are smoothed and lose their sharpness I was thinking about merging the parts once in surface mode, but the merging process is extremely long. I also tried Angulator Tool and Pinch Tool. Pinch Tool is working quite well but it's very time consuming when you have to produce so many assets for a project. Most of tutorials just say "increase dramatically voxel density before merging". Might work for a human size project but not for a whole building. Any idea ? :) Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member animk Posted March 12, 2019 Advanced Member Share Posted March 12, 2019 Try merging in surface mode, it usually works. Or try remeshing to higher resolution in voxel before merging. Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/#findComment-159324 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Remi Posted March 12, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 12, 2019 Hey, 15 minutes ago, animk said: Or try remeshing to higher resolution in voxel before merging Yes that's what I am actually doing. Problem is I have some big elements and the polycount easily explodes. Tried some stuffs all the evening. The best approach I've found is to work at higher resolution + use Angulator once in surface mode. Angulator process can be quite slow with high polycount though. Was actually wondering if it's always necessary to merge elements to get a proper bake on a low poly ? Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/#findComment-159326 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member animk Posted March 12, 2019 Advanced Member Share Posted March 12, 2019 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Remi said: Hey, Yes that's what I am actually doing. Problem is I have some big elements and the polycount easily explodes. Tried some stuffs all the evening. The best approach I've found is to work at higher resolution + use Angulator once in surface mode. Angulator process can be quite slow with high polycount though. Was actually wondering if it's always necessary to merge elements to get a proper bake on a low poly ? Have you tried merging in surface mode? Switching from voxel to surface mode preserves all details. From what I see in your image, it should work. Let two surfaces slightly overlap each other to get rid of the gap between them before merging. Edited March 12, 2019 by animk Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/#findComment-159327 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Remi Posted March 13, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 13, 2019 9 hours ago, animk said: Have you tried merging in surface mode? Yes I tried. Feel like results are quite random. Sometimes one of the surface disappears if I merge them (must be the overlap). Also tried "merge (no booleans)" but I suppose this is not the best way since it preserves polygons inside the mesh after the merge. As I see there are several options for merging. Still I'm surprised there is no proper workflow for such a frequent task. Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/#findComment-159340 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Remi Posted March 13, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 13, 2019 EDIT : Merging voxel meshes with similar density (not necessary similar polycount, but density) seems to work efficiently. Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/#findComment-159343 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlosan Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 When you merge 2 layers, 3DC always use the density of latest selected layer. And up-size or downsize the density automatically at merge process. 1 Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/#findComment-159345 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Remi Posted March 13, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 13, 2019 Thank you for the clarification, it helps a lot ! Quote Link to comment https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23313-best-way-to-keep-sharp-edges/#findComment-159346 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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