Any thoughts on Topogun for retopology tools?
polycounter lvl 12
My teacher was talking about Topogun and how easy it is to retopo any mesh. However I was wondering with Zbrush 4R4's new topo tools is the program worth it? Does it do anything better than Zbrush?
I am starting to explore retopology in my next project and just wanted some input.
I am starting to explore retopology in my next project and just wanted some input.
Replies
You'll find that they appeal to different people's workflow/pipeline, and in some cases, can even just depend on your own temperament (funnily enough).
What have you got access to at the moment? If you've got time to use them both, give them both a try (search youtube for "Zbrush/topogun how to's" to get started).
I *think* if you're comfortable using Maya or 3DSMax, topogun has a more familiar interface than ZBrush, but it can be useful re-meshing pieces of geo mid-zbrushing...
They all have so many uses!!
Personaly topogun is quite good at retopology. The developer is romanian... a lil bit of indirect pride for me... but not enough to not see some aspects of the program that still disappoint(extruding surface, sometimes makes a huge mess, and symmetry just stops to work at some points, from what I could see from the trial) The program offers lots of tools and common commands that operate on subobject components like you would find in max or maya. What I truely like about it is the performance. Smooth navigating while doing a retopo on a failry heavy object is so nice.
Performance is mostly the reason why I don't really retopo in 3ds max(2011 here). It becomes a pain when you have a rather dense object in wireframe mode and you want to retopologize it and the fps just goes down the drain, slugish orbiting sometimes and the fact that the program might crash on you. Topogun is fairly stable and it does have a recovery option.
3d coat... ohh well most people really do like to retopos inside it... I had a go a few times and do have to say that it is quick and easy(same as Topogun). The autoretopo is a wonderful feature giving you a rather good start for the retopo.
With the last update of zbrush I have to say that they have improved the retopology tools a fair deal. It's all about painting/drawing your loops now and it does the job quite good in my opinion. But when you will retopo a mesh for games and have to reduce the poly count to a certain numebr you will need the option to collapse edges and move verts where you want to and split edges and connect and create triangles, all sort of operation that might work faster in topogun or 3ds max. Give some a try and go with the one that is fast and gives you freedom and performance to work as you want.
Well I had a liltle text diarrhea and wrote too much. Just some thoughts Cheers!
I really have to mess around with Zbrushes topo tools but I couldn't be bothered until i get some free time to get the hang of it & I tried but wasted time and was like let me just do what I always do, topogunit.
You have to find out what works for you and for me right now it's topogun, mind you it does have it's flaws but I get around them (you do what you got to do).
I didn't know 3D Coat had retopo tools, but I have been wanting to check that program out for texturing. Does anybody have any opinions on Topogun vs 3D Coat for retopology? One better than the other?
That said, I love Topogun. We use it in our studio, and I use it at home too. It's affordable, and it gets its one job done very efficiently. The new 2.0 (which isn't out yet, but you can download and use just the same) has tons of tools for all sorts of retopology situations. So once you assimilate all the tools, you can get through stuff incredibly fast.
Here's what I observed:
ZBrush pros:
-Integrated topology tools - no need to use an external app and import/export the mesh
-High-res mesh does indeed look hi-res, as you would expect
-The ability to change the materials
-The ability to hide parts of the mesh
Cons:
-Not as intuitive to control the topology. No ability to merge/collapse verts, bridge edges, etc.
-No relax function, everything is done manually (how you put it on is what you will get).
-Unstable (tends to crash when doing long retopo sessions)
-If you have overlapping verts or edges, they have to be deleted and topology redrawn again.
Topogun pros:
-Behaves like your average 3D app (Maya, Max, etc.)
-A huge range of options to control your mesh (select loop, bridge, merge, connect, etc.)
-Easy to change topology - the way you drew it is not necessarily your final look
-Stable
-Relax tool for better edge flow
-Much faster to put topology on your mesh (and different ways of doing so)
-Tube options for quickly laying in topo on cylindrical forms (arms, legs, etc.)
Cons:
-Hi-res mesh doesn't look hi-res like in ZBrush (same issue with 3dcoat) no matter how dense the mesh is. The smoothing algorithm these two use is not very good.
-No ability to choose a different material - there's only 1 you're stuck with.
-No merge threshold control. If your model is symmetrical, the vertices in the middle have to be manually merged one by one.
-Unable to hide parts of the mesh to get to "hard to reach" areas.
There's more cons and pros to both programs, but those listed are, what I think, the most essential tools for any retopology task at hand.
I found this on youtube for 3D Coat and it looks pretty bad ass. [ame="
From my quick research on the net this process will give you your basic starting mesh and then you tweak where needed. That video was from a year and half ago so it might even be better at this point.
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/scripts-plugins/modeling/c/ninja-topo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=drQsYROMgrU
So yeah max for me is a great solution , gotta love 'extend' on the graphite ribbon
3dcoat: i love retopoing in 3dcoat mostly because of its tools, but what i really love is that i can use zbrush navigation!
topogun: recently saw a digital tutors video on topogun 2.0, and i am impressed with the features. think it'll make my workflow faster. might switch to this next.
Dynamesh --> QRemesheh = Bam! Bonus time.
P.S. I might've gone 3D Coat bc I've heard good things but it was much more expensive than topo for things I didn't really need.
^ This is true and I have to wrap my head around doing that step now.
I just usually lay down a fair amount of detail and then recreate the topology with the low in mind and have a good base to start chipping away to create the final.
Doing the QRemesher (for speed reasons) would give the hi an extra boost and save time.
[ramble]
We always have to upgrade our techniques/processes never get comfortable would be the idea here (you will fall behind) a little heads up to the new comers, lurking, change is not always good but necessary.[/ramble end]