[SOLVED] Going from Voxels to paint room

[ManFriday]

Hi,

Im still pretty new to 3dcoat. I watched the videos, and learned some basic stuff, but I'm still having some issues here..

I have a sculpt I did in the voxel room. I re-topologized it, then subdivided it once in the retopo room.

Im trying to pull it into the paint room to play around a bit..

If I right-click on my voxel object and choose quadrangulate for per-pixel painting, I can get it imported ok.

However, the object looks sorta "low poly-ish", which isnt what I want..

I try doing either of the other two import options (quadrangulate for paint, or quad for ptex) and I can either get the machine to hang forever, or I can get it to open the paint room with just a single square..

My model never seems to make it into the paint room... or if it is it's being converted into what looks like a single plane.

any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

[artman]

Hi,

Im still pretty new to 3dcoat. I watched the videos, and learned some basic stuff, but I'm still having some issues here..

I have a sculpt I did in the voxel room. I re-topologized it, then subdivided it once in the retopo room.

Im trying to pull it into the paint room to play around a bit..

If I right-click on my voxel object and choose quadrangulate for per-pixel painting, I can get it imported ok.

However, the object looks sorta "low poly-ish", which isnt what I want..

I try doing either of the other two import options (quadrangulate for paint, or quad for ptex) and I can either get the machine to hang forever, or I can get it to open the paint room with just a single square..

My model never seems to make it into the paint room... or if it is it's being converted into what looks like a single plane.

any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

Ok,dont use perpixel its always gonna look lowpolish...it works best for lowpoly gamemodels.

I have the same problem as you I think...

when you use Qudrangulate and paint or Quadangulate for Ptex voxel layer instantly disappear,is that it? )

So here is what you do instead:

-Use Quadrangulate Object from voxtree rmb menu.

Now switch to retopo room and

use from retopo menu "merge into scene (microverts)"

(--be sure automapping is on when choosing settings)

or "merge model into scene with Ptex".

Should work fine.

[Ghostdog]

Artman, you know a lot more about many of 3DCoat's inner workings than I, but I do think it's not true to say that perpixel is best used for low-poly only.

I just don't want someone new giving up on quadrangulate->perpixel so soon.

Attached is an example of mine, voxel->quadrangulate per pixel, all hand-painted. (nb some sneaky tricks like mesh replication used in renderer to fill the screen with one fairly small object)

[Ghostdog]

forgot attachment. As I always do.

[artman]

Artman, you know a lot more about many of 3DCoat's inner workings than I, but I do think it's not true to say that perpixel is best used for low-poly only.

I just don't want someone new giving up on quadrangulate->perpixel so soon.

Attached is an example of mine, voxel->quadrangulate per pixel, all hand-painted. (nb some sneaky tricks like mesh replication used in renderer to fill the screen with one fairly small object)

Of course,you can go up to 1 mil in perpixelpainting but....

Thats about the craziest one can reach.

Ptex and microvertex can reach up to 20 mil...

Also since there is only normal map in perpixel and the mesh is not actually displaced

you will always see the lowpoly underneath.Of course if the lowpoly is a few hundred thousand polys or even 1 mil its still gonna look smooth...like your beautiful piece there. (pretty cool btw)

[ManFriday]

when I do the "quadrangulate Object" how many millions of polys should I set it to?

I tried something like 8 and my machine hung at 75%.

[artman]

when I do the "quadrangulate Object" how many millions of polys should I set it to?

I tried something like 8 and my machine hung at 75%.

Its normal...8 mil is outofspace high.

the quadrangulated mesh doesnt need to be hires.

You will have possibilities to set hires Carcass and Hires displaced mesh if you use

Microverts or Ptex later on when merging to scene from retopo menu.

When quadrangulating

Best is default setting.

and Symmetry OFF.

When choosing settings for microvertex:

-You set carcass resolution mesh....carcass mesh should the size of the lowpoly you are gonna use.

(If you need a lowpoly version)

The lower is the size of your quadrangulated mesh the other iterations are subdivided versions up to a few hundred thousands usually.

-Then you set "millions of polygons" parameter you should choose something near

your voxel sculpt polycount..its there that you set your 8 millions.

-After that you set texture size...texture size is important because its the texture

that holds your displacement.Polycounts supported equals Width multiplied by Heigth.

so a 2048x2048 texture can hold approx 4 million polys.

and a 4096x4096 = 17 millions polys.

So for 8 million polys you'll still have to pick 4096x4096....

Ptex is about the same thing but much much simplier(less settings).

Have fun merging.

[ManFriday]

I think I got it.

My problem was that I was retopologizing then going back to the voxel room to quadrangulate for ptex or per pixel painting.

Once I did the "merge" from the retopo room it worked fine.

If I do my painting in PTEX is it easy enough to convert it to a more 'traditional' format so that I can export it to an app that doesn't support PTEX?

Or am I stuck in the PTEX format?

[Tony Nemo]

I think I got it.

My problem was that I was retopologizing then going back to the voxel room to quadrangulate for ptex or per pixel painting.

Once I did the "merge" from the retopo room it worked fine.

If I do my painting in PTEX is it easy enough to convert it to a more 'traditional' format so that I can export it to an app that doesn't support PTEX?

Or am I stuck in the PTEX format?

Without actually having done it, I believe you can export the usual textures from the menu.

[digman]

In the paint room export the plex model as a obj. 3Dcoat will save an uv map for it. Load the obj and then your textures in you favorite rendering/3d application. Andrew made the exporting of the plex format into an obj file so you can use it in any rendering/3d application.

[ManFriday]

OK, maybe it's not fine...

I'm using the latest version, and when I try to go from the retopo room to paint room either via PTEX or per-pixel painting, I get different errors.

If I got via PTEX, it just crashes out on me.

If I try per-pixel painting I get weird texture errors..

If anyone is interested in look at the model I am trying to use it is here:

My Goblin

[artman]

OK, maybe it's not fine...

I'm using the latest version, and when I try to go from the retopo room to paint room either via PTEX or per-pixel painting, I get different errors.

If I got via PTEX, it just crashes out on me.

If I try per-pixel painting I get weird texture errors..

If anyone is interested in look at the model I am trying to use it is here:

My Goblin

Merging in latest build has problems.

Install 3.2.02.(to download copy/paste download link url and replace 5 with 2.)

(Andrew apparently fixed the issue but new update is not uploaded yet...maybe tommorow )

I tried it and merging to Ptex works fine with your file in 3.2.02,and very fast too.(45sec for 8mil Ptex)

But you will need to redo retopo of Toes,you get artifacts there when merging.

To help doing this you'll have first to go back to voxels

and use the lasso cutter to give some space between toes.

Then Switch to surface mode to smooth the cuts (Surface Smooth wont make your toes merge together like voxel smooth)

Or alternatively you can do the opposite and bring all toes closer together and do a "toeless feet" retopo.

EDIT: Andrew wrote that new update with Ptex merging issues fixed should be uploaded today

So dont install 3.2.02 afterall...snapping is not good in that build.

[ManFriday]

Thanks once again Artman!

Yeah I installed .06 and I was able to merge into ptex with no problem.

And yeah, I know I need to fix the toes and fingers.

Im not "really" ready to paint the guy yet, I just got to a point where I figured I should learn how to move the model thru the various stages of the 'pipeline' and work out what the best way is going to be to get the model to Messiah and/or Modo.

I havent got things showing up and looking "correct" in Messiah or Modo yet, but I am getting there.

[Ascensi]

-

Edited August 5, 2020 by Ascensi