Retopo Room - Next Steps

[polynut]

On 3/18/2019 at 8:06 AM, Carlosan said:

Sorry but ... why waste time and dev effort in adding an appendix to the program if blender is free, rocket3f is free and nvil costs 60us ?

If we have to stick strictly to the development of retopo room, my proposal is to pay close attention to unfold3d-rizomlab. If you do not know it, buy it or download a trial, try the workflow and features to have a clear idea of how it works. That software is pure magic and I hope to have the same performance and tools that this software offers within 3Dcoat.

I have to agree with you here since Rizom UV tools are simply amazing! Currently looking at buying once they have a solid blender 2.8 bridge. For hard surface they are a god sent!

[polynut]

Thank for the new bridge tool Alex, this is a must have in retopo! Is it available yet?

[Carlosan]

Yes on latest version.

[tokikake]

On 4/24/2019 at 8:28 PM, Werner_Z said:

Here is one that I think would be awesome!

Please can we have Soft radial falloff on transform and scale in the retopo room.
Here is an example from 3d Coat and Houdini.

 I really hope it too. I  requested it mantis  before. because 3d coat already offer kind of soft selection with transform (scale rotate) for tweak room.

The problem is the pivot only along to gloval axis , and the soft selection weight only colored for face edge (not for vertices I feel) , then the weight decided by brush alpha.

And Ideally hope to use  curve graph for  selection weight . 3d coat offer many curve option (for fall off etc), then I think it can be used to decide  selection weight too.

 

But I get reply , the tweak room will be merged with retopo room (near future). 

So when merge tweak room with retopo room, I hope there will be more easy soft selection and trans form tool  with use curve graph to adjust selection weight (not by brush alpha)

Edited May 1, 2019 by tokikake

[polynut]

Hi Alex,

I just discover a feature that should be basic in retopo room and to my surprise it was not, i mean to be able to hide wireframe on retopo Object and to change retopo Object color.

Would be a very nice and essential addition to retopo room and if you are not sure about what i am talking about here a thread i made about it : https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23639-how-can-i-hide-wireframe-on-retopo-object/

[AbnRanger]

10 hours ago, polynut said:

Hi Alex,

I just discover a feature that should be basic in retopo room and to my surprise it was not, i mean to be able to hide wireframe on retopo Object and to change retopo Object color.

Would be a very nice and essential addition to retopo room and if you are not sure about what i am talking about here a thread i made about it : https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23639-how-can-i-hide-wireframe-on-retopo-object/

I actually thought it was a somewhat strange request, personally, and not something one would expect in a RETOPO toolset. In the Retopo phase you are trying to construct the mesh & tweak the topology > bake. If you want to see what the mesh would look like after doing Retopo work, go to the BAKE Menu > RETOPO PPP (NO BAKING). You can hide the Retopo mesh layer to see the result without having to step into the Paint Room. If you don't like what you see, you can delete it from the PAINT OBJECTS panel (which you can dock in the Retopo Workspace, from the WINDOWS > Popups menu).

So, to streamline that process, just assign a hotkey to that BAKE Menu item. You'll see it in just a few seconds.

[Gorbatovsky]

13 hours ago, polynut said:

Hi Alex,

I just discover a feature that should be basic in retopo room and to my surprise it was not, i mean to be able to hide wireframe on retopo Object and to change retopo Object color.

Would be a very nice and essential addition to retopo room and if you are not sure about what i am talking about here a thread i made about it : https://3dcoat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23639-how-can-i-hide-wireframe-on-retopo-object/

Thank you, we will think about it.
We just discussed this with Andrew.

Now I am working on a new tool Knife.

[Gorbatovsky]

On 4/9/2019 at 6:49 PM, RetopoBro said:

Check out RetopoFlow 2.0 for some ideas how the Retopo Room could be improved

Video TimeStamps

Contours Tool: 3:27

PolyStrips Tool: 6:25

 

 

Thank you, Andrew watched this video.
He is working on it.

[polynut]

8 hours ago, Gorbatovsky said:

Thank you, we will think about it.
We just discussed this with Andrew.

Now I am working on a new tool Knife.

Thank for taking it in consideration since many artists would be happy to have the option of hiding it to properly inspect their topology specially after using autopo. My workaround is not very elegant and require extra step so having it properly implemented would be a very nice addition.

[polynut]

11 hours ago, AbnRanger said:

I actually thought it was a somewhat strange request, personally, and not something one would expect in a RETOPO toolset. In the Retopo phase you are trying to construct the mesh & tweak the topology > bake. If you want to see what the mesh would look like after doing Retopo work, go to the BAKE Menu > RETOPO PPP (NO BAKING). You can hide the Retopo mesh layer to see the result without having to step into the Paint Room. If you don't like what you see, you can delete it from the PAINT OBJECTS panel (which you can dock in the Retopo Workspace, from the WINDOWS > Popups menu).

So, to streamline that process, just assign a hotkey to that BAKE Menu item. You'll see it in just a few seconds.

Thank for another workaround AbnRanger but many artists really like to have these options and some workflow are different from others. We are so used or call it spoiled by these basic options in other 3D app that when we stumble upon one not having it we are surprise.

If these features do not require heavy coding then i think they could make 3D coat even more attractive to newcomers.

[AbnRanger]

12 hours ago, polynut said:

Thank for another workaround AbnRanger but many artists really like to have these options and some workflow are different from others. We are so used or call it spoiled by these basic options in other 3D app that when we stumble upon one not having it we are surprise.

If these features do not require heavy coding then i think they could make 3D coat even more attractive to newcomers.

It's not a workaround. Retopo meshes are in wireframe only for a reason. To differentiate it from underlying Voxel/Surface mode meshes. If you really must see it without wireframe, it's one hotkey away. Your comparison to 3D apps having a toggle on/off is comparing apples to oranges...a standard 3D environment, where the same mesh is animated, textures and rendered...to a RETOPO ONLY environment. 

 

That's also why there are no materials, subdivision levels, etc on the Retopo meshes.

[polynut]

On 7/11/2019 at 4:12 AM, AbnRanger said:

It's not a workaround. Retopo meshes are in wireframe only for a reason. To differentiate it from underlying Voxel/Surface mode meshes. If you really must see it without wireframe, it's one hotkey away. Your comparison to 3D apps having a toggle on/off is comparing apples to oranges...a standard 3D environment, where the same mesh is animated, textures and rendered...to a RETOPO ONLY environment. 

 

That's also why there are no materials, subdivision levels, etc on the Retopo meshes.

Well in 3ds max it's exactly one keyboard shortcut to toggle wireframe in retopo workflow!

[AbnRanger]

1 hour ago, polynut said:

Well in 3ds max it's exactly one keyboard shortcut to toggle wireframe in retopo workflow!

Apples and Oranges. The Retopo Room isn't 3ds Max. It's a raw poly construction workspace specifically for RETOPO Work. Not Material setups, Animation or Rendering. If you want to preview retopo results after baking, you can do that in one hotkey. 

[polynut]

On 7/15/2019 at 5:16 PM, AbnRanger said:

Apples and Oranges. The Retopo Room isn't 3ds Max. It's a raw poly construction workspace specifically for RETOPO Work. Not Material setups, Animation or Rendering. If you want to preview retopo results after baking, you can do that in one hotkey. 

Like i have said before if it is easy to be implemented and i was the developer i would certainly do it after my priorities of course.

[Innovine]

When using the points and faces tool, the blue suggestion flickers wildly and often doesn't show up at all. A lot of my time is spent moving the mouse slowly around to find the magic pixel where it gets the quad I want. I think this can be much improved.

Using the quad tool, the vertex snapping frequently snaps to a vertex under or behind the area I'm working on, creating very warped quad instead of the one I want, and this too could be improved a lot.

[philnolan3d]

Yes, Points and Faces is my favorite tool in Retopo but it can be quite frustrating to work with.

[Innovine]

A suggestion for the strokes tool, when you start and stop your stroke outside the object, and then draw the spline down the middle...

Firstly, I think there's a bug when dealing with long, thin objects. I was working on a model of a building scaffold, which had long, thin pipes. I was able to draw strokes across it, evenly spaced, and then the final stroke and it worked for short lengths, but if I tried adding one more stroke, it'd not generate anything at all. I could generate a mesh wrapping the first 10% of my pipe, sometimes more, but never the full length.

Second, if you try this on a rectangular profile, like a table leg or a plank of wood maybe, and the number of sections is reduced to 4, it'd make perfect sense to me that the wrapping should try and land on the edges of the high poly mesh. I don't know how hard this is to achieve in code, but it would be slick and natural (like so much of the retopo room already is).  If there's a quicker way to retopo long, thin rectangles and tubes please let me know as this was very frustrating and time consuming.

 

[Gorbatovsky]

On 8/5/2019 at 9:24 AM, Innovine said:

When using the points and faces tool, the blue suggestion flickers wildly and often doesn't show up at all. A lot of my time is spent moving the mouse slowly around to find the magic pixel where it gets the quad I want. I think this can be much improved.

Using the quad tool, the vertex snapping frequently snaps to a vertex under or behind the area I'm working on, creating very warped quad instead of the one I want, and this too could be improved a lot.

Thank you.
I saw budgs with the points and faces tool and quad tool.

Task on the list TODO.

[Gorbatovsky]

On 8/5/2019 at 11:55 AM, Innovine said:

A suggestion for the strokes tool, when you start and stop your stroke outside the object, and then draw the spline down the middle...

Firstly, I think there's a bug when dealing with long, thin objects. I was working on a model of a building scaffold, which had long, thin pipes. I was able to draw strokes across it, evenly spaced, and then the final stroke and it worked for short lengths, but if I tried adding one more stroke, it'd not generate anything at all. I could generate a mesh wrapping the first 10% of my pipe, sometimes more, but never the full length.

Second, if you try this on a rectangular profile, like a table leg or a plank of wood maybe, and the number of sections is reduced to 4, it'd make perfect sense to me that the wrapping should try and land on the edges of the high poly mesh. I don't know how hard this is to achieve in code, but it would be slick and natural (like so much of the retopo room already is).  If there's a quicker way to retopo long, thin rectangles and tubes please let me know as this was very frustrating and time consuming.

 

We recently spoke with Andrew.
He is working on this topic.

Thank you.

[Carlosan]

 

[AbnRanger]

4 hours ago, Carlosan said:

 

What does that 2nd video show? An improved algorithm for sharp edges?

 

Also, can we PLEASE change the Points and Faces tool from SPHERES to smaller blue circle shapes...same with the ADD/SPLIT tool. Make it a small circular shape, like you see in Maya's Quad Draw Retopo tools. The spheres are often times too bulky and it looks outdated.

 

[Innovine]

On 8/14/2019 at 5:30 PM, Gorbatovsky said:

Thank you.
I saw budgs with the points and faces tool and quad tool.

Task on the list TODO.

Still broken in 4.9.46

When will this be worked on?

Have any major changes been added to retopo room since this thread began, I haven't noticed any improvements.

[Carlosan]

Yes, i asked again about this fix. Thx for point it up.

@GorbatovskyAs reference please check how this plugin work, is at beta state but will be very useful to have some similar tool on retopo room. 

This plugin for Maya called ziRail creates patch polygons along your strokes that are drawn directly on a mesh.

Basically, the tool makes creating polygons more intuitive becoming an essential companion tool for retopology tasks.

 

 

[Gorbatovsky]

1 hour ago, Carlosan said:

Yes, i asked again about this fix. Thx for point it up.

@GorbatovskyAs reference please check how this plugin work, is at beta state but will be very useful to have some similar tool on retopo room. 

This plugin for Maya called ziRail creates patch polygons along your strokes that are drawn directly on a mesh.

Basically, the tool makes creating polygons more intuitive becoming an essential companion tool for retopology tasks.

 

 

Thank you Carlosan for the video.
Competitors are not asleep.
Now I will prepare a little video.
Surprise.

[Gorbatovsky]

Before I preparing new demo, see last.

 

[Innovine]

Instead of adding new tools, how about fixing the broken ones?

[Gorbatovsky]

2 hours ago, Innovine said:

Instead of adding new tools, how about fixing the broken ones?

I could not fix the bug. I told Andrew.
I'm sorry.

[Rygaard]

3 hours ago, Gorbatovsky said:

Before I preparing new demo, see last.

 

@Gorbatovsky My congratulations for the excellent work developing fantastic tools.
I am impressed with what you are demonstrating in the videos.
I would like to ask you 2 questions.

1) Could you tell us, the videos you shared about KnifeAndProfile, AutoRetopo, SmartRetopo tools will be available when in 3D-Coat?

2) Could I suggest a new tool in relation to Curves?
- Bevel Curves Tool:
After the user creates a new curve on the mesh surface, the "Bevel Curves Tool" through the curve created in the geometry, a temporary Preview would appear and allow the realization of custom bevels similar to the Coat Tool / Edge Shape = CostomShape and EdgeWidth properties (save / load Curves).

So, after customizing the bevel in the Preview and the user would press the Apply button and the desired Bevel would happen DIRECTLY in the geometry.
And at the same time this bevel would be created in a new Sculpt Layer (If the user checked the option create a new sculpt layer with this bevel). Making the process less destructive.

This suggested tool (Bevel Curves Tool) would be to directly deform the geometry and not create another geometry on top as is the case with the Coat tool.

 

Thank you

[Innovine]

12 hours ago, Gorbatovsky said:

I could not fix the bug. I told Andrew.
I'm sorry.

Ok, thanks for taking a look at it!

[Gorbatovsky]

11 hours ago, Rygaard said:

@Gorbatovsky My congratulations for the excellent work developing fantastic tools.
I am impressed with what you are demonstrating in the videos.
I would like to ask you 2 questions.

1) Could you tell us, the videos you shared about KnifeAndProfile, AutoRetopo, SmartRetopo tools will be available when in 3D-Coat?

2) Could I suggest a new tool in relation to Curves?
- Bevel Curves Tool:
After the user creates a new curve on the mesh surface, the "Bevel Curves Tool" through the curve created in the geometry, a temporary Preview would appear and allow the realization of custom bevels similar to the Coat Tool / Edge Shape = CostomShape and EdgeWidth properties (save / load Curves).

So, after customizing the bevel in the Preview and the user would press the Apply button and the desired Bevel would happen DIRECTLY in the geometry.
And at the same time this bevel would be created in a new Sculpt Layer (If the user checked the option create a new sculpt layer with this bevel). Making the process less destructive.

This suggested tool (Bevel Curves Tool) would be to directly deform the geometry and not create another geometry on top as is the case with the Coat tool.

 

Thank you

Rygaard, Thanks for the feedback.

1. Knife, Profile,  SmartRetopo tools will be available in 3D-Coat-2020. Before will be alfa for testing, probably June.

 

2. I didn't quite catch what you write. On the picture used Fill curve with mesh Layer

 

In Curves Operations -> Remove sharp corners