3DCoat 2024 development thread

[Silas Merlin]

Personally, the reason I wished for the ability to subdivide a surface before baking the textures to vertex painting was for storing colour data of a small 3d-scan on the high poly. there was then a workaround with projection tool to transfer the depth data to sculpt layers, so that you could use clone tool to repair bad areas.
(you need only 12 million vertices to store the pixels from a 4k texture with 70% coverage).
However, I have never managed to convince anyone of the usefulness of vertex colour for repairing scans, let alone voxelization of a copy for repairs. (I think people are horrified at the loss of detail). (an improvement to the tool "bake color from visible volumes" could be to also bake depth but reprojection tool can already do that).

Now if your scan has a normal map, and even if not you can use albedo as depth, then when you do this ppp>sculpt, the depth is already on sculpt layers. (the reason to have depth on sculpt layers is so that you can use clone to repair bad areas)

However, I think that the most important use case for this new tool is 3d printing !
People can now buy a lowpoly and print it with all the normal map detail !
I think this is the use case that should be advertised for this feature.

one small issue is that you have to adjust the depth after subdivision. first iteration of the tool was too weak, now I think it is too strong, but maybe it will always depend on several factors (original files, and level of subdivision?), so maybe a preview and a slider would be possible ?
If all the normal map data is on the normal map itself, you only need to adjust that layer, but in the case you are using a .3b file in which you have painted on many layers, adjusting depth may become a bit complicated (paint layers do not show what type of information they are storing).

As a matter of fact there is a similar issue with the "bake light with reflection" tool, it is not "what you see is what you get".
On the subject of "bake light with reflection", in order for the tool to match and surpass what Substance Painter can do, it would be necessary to bake reflections from light sources (including emissive). Emissive could be used to compensate for the lack of point lights and spot lights in the render room (unless they are there and I have not found them?).

[Silas Merlin]

wait, I'm not sure depth from normal map itself bakes at all ? need to test tomorrow.
depth on regular painted layers does bake.

[Silas Merlin]

7 hours ago, Silas Merlin said:

wait, I'm not sure depth from normal map itself bakes at all ? need to test tomorrow.
depth on regular painted layers does bake.

 

 

test file :
Start_001.3b (I unlocked normal map to see if it would help, but it did not)

[TomasAceytuno]

My huion tablet has not worked well for a long time. With the latest updates the brush strokes work perfect. (thanks!)
Now floating menus partially work.
You can move them and some dropdowns, sliders works. but click boxes don´t work. Sculpttree menu too - eye icon and circle.
On the other hand, if I use the mouse, they work perfectly.

Video only with tablet. no mouse

2021.61 Mac version

Edited October 22, 2021 by TomasAceytuno
update data

[Andrew Shpagin]

A little announcement: At least, after years I found a better and more stable way to solve equations for the auto-retopology, so I am making next turn. It should not take long time, probably no more than week, but what I already got:

- much better quality, especially for the hardsurface auto-retopo.

- good stability, it works predictably for all kinds of "not too ill" meshes.

- it handles edges correctly.

 

 

What I do now:

- Direct using in the retopo/modeling room to remesh objects, not only sculpt meshes.

- Multithreading, rather for quality than for speed (use several approaches, one per thread, then select best one).

-  Refactoring, because now it is big garbage of experimental code.

 

Of course I do bugfixes in parallel. So some bug-fixing builds may appear during the week, but there is no guarantee.

[Carlosan]

[geo_n]

Is it me or is 3dcoat 2021 slower than 3dcoat 4 light baking?

[Barrel]

Hi, I don’t know how to say this correctly, and what it’s called in 3d, but I saw such an opportunity in blender, when there is a brush, there is a texture (alpha or black and white with a gradient) - and I hold the brush over the right place, hold down LMB, I take it to the side, and according to the b & w texture, the 3D version of my texture grows at this place (as the mouse is pulled to the side). Tell me please.

[Silas Merlin]

6 hours ago, Andrew Shpagin said:

A little announcement: At least, after years I found a better and more stable way to solve equations for the auto-retopology, so I am making next turn. It should not take long time, probably no more than week, but what I already got:

 

 

[Barrel]

4 hours ago, Barrel said:

Hi, I don’t know how to say this correctly, and what it’s called in 3d, but I saw such an opportunity in blender, when there is a brush, there is a texture (alpha or black and white with a gradient) - and I hold the brush over the right place, hold down LMB, I take it to the side, and according to the b & w texture, the 3D version of my texture grows at this place (as the mouse is pulled to the side). Tell me please.

 Like this video ( 2.43 min)

[Silas Merlin]

I have this old scarecrow I made a few years ago but can't find the original .3b file.
so, I wanted to use the new PPP>sculpt feature.
Problems arose :

-2021.64 : File>import model for PPP> select Collada file >> Crash

import in 4.9.74  > ok
import normal map > ok

save file. open in 2021.64 > ok
Bake > take subdivided mesh to the sculpt room > Normal map is not taken into account

delete normal map.
create new smart material > set to uv mapping > drag normal map into depth channel > 3d-Coat coverts to height map.
Fill layer > got this horrible result (I also added the displacement to albedo for better visualization)

 

Next, I deleted this layer and went to the textures menu > import displacement map as a last resort (using the normal map without conversion)
got this :

 

Better than nothing...
anyway, if only the conversion to height map in the smart material editor had worked, it would have been fine, I think.

next I did the "Bake > take subdivided mesh to sculpt room" and got this, which is more or less what I wanted. so as to rework it.

 

I just wanted to point out the struggle and the things that did not work.

[Carlosan]

@Barrel  You can also use the stamp mode (in the E panel, hit the E key or look in the upper left hand corner, above the tool bar) to single click + drag and interactively scale the brush alpha or mask.

Load the alpha as a pen and use the stamp mode. Works exactly as I've seen in Blender vid.

[philnolan3d]

Here's something I've been asking about for a while. I don't know if there's a tool that could be made for it but I've wondered how people sculpt a regular pattern around the model, for example the hexagon pattern on Spider-Man's costume. With a texture you can just do it with a UV but in sculpting there is no UV. Cube mapping would have obvious seams.

[Silas Merlin]

2 hours ago, philnolan3d said:

 but in sculpting there is no UV.

Now there is a workaround :
-create a temporary lowpoly in paint room
-do whatever you need a uv for
-do : Bake>take subdivided mesh to sculpt room
-reproject your pattern to the original sculpt.


EDIT :
BASICALLY, NOW, FOR EVERYTHING PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WANTING UV IN SCULPT ROOM, WE CAN DO IT NOW AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Silas Merlin

[Barrel]

The program (.61) crashes when I try to apply a fur coat using a curve.

[Silas Merlin]

8 minutes ago, Barrel said:

The program (.61) crashes when I try to apply a fur coat using a curve.

you need to use synthetic fur.

EDIT:Sorry, couldn't resist. Won't happen again.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Silas Merlin

[Carlosan]

You mean Coat tool ? using 2021.64 tool works as expected. No crash

[Grimmy]

I feel that building base meshes with 3dcoat using the low poly modelling tools is completely broken so I decided to build my base mesh elsewhere and import it, but when I import it I get this... How do I solve it? 2021.61

Thanks

[sprayer]

2 hours ago, Grimmy said:

I feel that building base meshes with 3dcoat using the low poly modelling tools is completely broken so I decided to build my base mesh elsewhere and import it, but when I import it I get this... How do I solve it? 2021.61

Thanks

 

try lock normals in import dialog

[Barrel]

On difficult models, the profile along the curve does not work. For example, I'm trying to make a seam using the Seams brush and a texture from the ribbon tab. As a result, with a curvilinear trajectory, the seam is smeared over the entire model.

I try to sew a seam on the belt (in an open circle) and results is bed.

[philnolan3d]

On 10/23/2021 at 3:51 AM, Silas Merlin said:

Now there is a workaround :
-create a temporary lowpoly in paint room
-do whatever you need a uv for
-do : Bake>take subdivided mesh to sculpt room
-reproject your pattern to the original sculpt.


EDIT :
BASICALLY, NOW, FOR EVERYTHING PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WANTING UV IN SCULPT ROOM, WE CAN DO IT NOW AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.

 

Thanks I'll try it.

[Carlosan]

Profile along curve is a tool that let to array any mesh selected from Sculpt model Panels

Try Brush along Curve command

[kt2]

On 10/23/2021 at 6:15 AM, philnolan3d said:

Here's something I've been asking about for a while. I don't know if there's a tool that could be made for it but I've wondered how people sculpt a regular pattern around the model, for example the hexagon pattern on Spider-Man's costume. With a texture you can just do it with a UV but in sculpting there is no UV. Cube mapping would have obvious seams.

I'd recommend investigating Tissue Tools for Blender by Alessandro Zomparelli and using them in conjunction with 3D Coat boolean capabilities.

The surface pattern on the piece below was created using this workflow.

[poeboi]

2021.66

I have discovered a destructive bug with pose tool, but it's very hard to reproduce and had it happen only seldom a few times lately. Tried to deliberately reproduce it just now but gave up, just want to describe it if anything.

I've experienced it since 2021.55, but it might be completely coincidental because after that build I have used pose tool much much more than ever before.

In Sculpt room,
1) use pose tool on vox or surface object,
2) mask area as pose area
3) rapidly use gizmoless scale transforms (Shift+R + X/Y/Z) in succession
4) sometimes, it is as though pose tool momentarily "forgets" it has masked area, and scales entire model during a gizmoless transform operation instead
5) So scale of entire object can happen, but after that you can still see area is masked for pose, more scale operations will only be on that area again like before
6) It will have scaled entire object, but completely forgotten it in history! so it will not undo the scale of entire model, only undo scales of pose area relative to transformed object
7) Since entire object was inadvertently scaled but it cannot be undo'ed, only solution is to try and manually re-scale object, reload object/reload file/load autosave.

Again, hard to reproduce and rarely happens but might be worth to be aware of

[Silas Merlin]

Render room still reverts to default on my end after going to paint room and back to render room in .66

[Carlosan]

confirmed...

[Barrel]

7 hours ago, Carlosan said:

Profile along curve is a tool that let to array any mesh selected from Sculpt model Panels

Try Brush along Curve command

This is exactly what I did and the result in the screenshot.

[Barrel]

When trying to bind a curve to a surface, it turns out that some points of the curve are not perpendicular to the surface, manually editing every second or third point is tedious.

[Barrel]

Another bug. https://recordit.co/kSYFvwt8ps 

Stitches brush.

[Carlosan]

Looks like a mesh too thin, IgnoreBackFaces is active ?