[Solved] Retopo room <-> UV Room <-> Paint Room

[wilson66]

I haven't used 3D Coat for quite a while, but coming back to it now with the new 2021 version. Currently, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the relationships between Sculpt Room <-> Retopo Room <-> UV Room <-> Paint Room. As I understand it, those rooms are not really synchronized automatically, which is confusing for me.

I have a sculpt object that I already created a retopology for, I created UVs for it, transfered it to the paint room, created textures for it. So far so good.

The problems arise now that I have created a new, additional sculpt object, a matching retopology, and now need this new retopo object in the Paint Room, alongside the object that is already in there, without losing any of the texture work I have already done.

The process to do this is a complete, incomprehensible mystery to me. The problems start when I want to create a separate UV layout/ UV set for the new object. I can create a new UV set in the Retopo Room, but no matter what I do, 3D Coat puts the UVs into the UV set that is already there (the layout of the first retopology object mentioned above), and re-arranges the UV islands. I don't want that, I need to put the new UVs into a new, separate UV set. The old UV set needs to stay as is. Unable to do it.

There is also no way to transfer the new UVs to a new UV set in the Retopo Room, this can only be done in the UV room. The new retopo object is not there though when I switch to the UV room. I read that the Retopo Room and the UV Room are not synchronized. Why not? Why would I not want those two rooms synchronized? 

I need to send the new retopo object from the Retopo Room to the UV room, create a new UV set/ layout for it while leaving the other UV set thats already there untouched, and then send everything to the Paint Room while preserving all texture work that was done before. I'd be very thankful for a step-by-step guide on how to achieve that.

I feel that the process for this needs work. 

In my opinion, there needs to be a much more guided process for this. There is a certain order that the creation of a paint object with baked normals ect is done, and the UI needs to reflect that in a much more obvious fashion.

Clearly labeled buttons to send objects from one Room to the next. A button in the Retopo Room "SEND TO UV ROOM". In the UV Room, a button "SEND TO PAINT ROOM". There is no need for UV functionality in the Retopo Room, let alone functionality that is not synchronized with the UV Room, and where the process of synchronizing it is far from obvious. This only adds to the confusion for me.

 

 

[Carlosan]

Hi

You can add New UVset 

 

Create a new polygroup layer, and move selected faces to new uvset

 

And turn ON bake selected faces only.

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Sculpt High Poly model on Sculpt Room

Create Low retopology on Retopo Room

Bake from Retopo Room to Paint Room

Modify any previously baked UVlayout on UV Room (if needed), -> Apply UVset and send it to Paint Room

 

UV Room work as Paint Room extension. Paint Room <-> UV Room are synchronized automatically.

Retopo room and UV room are pre process and post process of UV creation/editing. 

 

You can also lock any Paint Object / Surface Material to avoid any changes.

[digman]

Windows version2021.60

I went through your steps with the below method.

Not a tutorial as you have used 3DC in the past.

I created a sculpt cube and cylinder

In the Retopo Room:  

Retopo room.

Renamed default uv set to Cube. Created a new uv set name Cyl

Moved all cylinder retopo polygons to the new uv set.

Created seams for both retopo meshes making sure I was on the correct polygroup if I only have one.  I also make sure that I am on the correct uv set when doing so. Keeps things nice and tidy. Of course if you have more than one polygroup per uv set., really not necessary to have a polygroup selected as long as the polygroups are in the uv set you want to unwrapped and you have selected the correct uv set. I just select one that is in the uv set. Keeps things logical in my mind. 

Unwrap: Make sure your on the correct polygon group if only one and the correct uv set is selected. They will unwrap correctly to the specific uv set. Same applies to what I say above about multiple polygroups.

I just like keeping things nice and orderly in my mind. 

##Rule of thumb# Just make sure you have all the specific polygroups on the correct uv set for unwrapping.  

Baking:

In the Bake panel menu select the correct uv set, if not selected already. 

Bake one model and then bake the other model making sure the correct uv set is shown plus you have switched to the correct uv set.

I name my sculpt model layers and polygroup layers to the same name. No confusion in the paint room which paint layer is to what model. 

Now you can do all your retopo for all sculpts like I did or like you did. Do one model--retopo-bake. Sculpt another model---retopo---bake.

The same process works. Create a new uv set, transfer all those polygons to the new uv set if before hand you have not already created and selected a new uv set. No moving then needed. Create seams then unwrap and bake.

All works correctly on my end.

Side note: You can move uv islands or polygons in the Retopo room to a uv set. Upper menu use the move to function.

Side note : If I was baking objects by your method. Once baked I would create a paint group folder and place all specific paint object layers in that group.

Bake object--- In the paint room create a paint layer group. Move all the paint object layers to that group.

Bake another object. Rinse and repeat.

 

 

 

[digman]

Goes with the above post:

To make it clear.  Make sure when unwrapping you have all the specific polygroups moved to the specific uv set and that uv set is selected before unwrapping. 

I got a little wordy in my above post.