Game Character workflow question
Hello everyone, let me thank you in advance for taking the time to look over my post. I realize this must be a newbie question but I can't seem to make up my mind about one particular issue in my workflow.
Here's how I go about creating a character (question at the bottom):
That's my question: when do you create the UVs and paint?
If I UV the first Low-Res Base Mesh, then I could paint it in Mudbox after I sculpt the finer details. But if I do that, will the UV details transfer automatically to the retopo'd model from Topogun? Or will that come with its own UVs? I won't be able to transfer them from one to the other because they're obviously going to be different.
If I create the UVs on the retopo'd model from Topogun, wouldn't I lose the normal/occlusion maps from the High-Res mesh sculpted in Mudbox on the first UV set?
Any help to complete my workflow overview would be appreciated, thanks again. ^^
Here's how I go about creating a character (question at the bottom):
I haven't included creating the UVs and painting the diffuse map because I'm not entirely sure where I would squeeze it in.Maya
* Create Base Mesh
Mudbox
* Sculpt Final Mesh
* Export High-Res mesh
Topogun
* Referencing the High-Res for a Low-Res retopology
* Export Low-Res mesh
* Import Low-Res & High-Res meshes
* Create & Export Normal & Occlusion maps
* Create Animations
That's my question: when do you create the UVs and paint?
If I UV the first Low-Res Base Mesh, then I could paint it in Mudbox after I sculpt the finer details. But if I do that, will the UV details transfer automatically to the retopo'd model from Topogun? Or will that come with its own UVs? I won't be able to transfer them from one to the other because they're obviously going to be different.
If I create the UVs on the retopo'd model from Topogun, wouldn't I lose the normal/occlusion maps from the High-Res mesh sculpted in Mudbox on the first UV set?
Any help to complete my workflow overview would be appreciated, thanks again. ^^
Replies
I've had many questions like this when I first started character creation; dont worry
I'll post a workflow - whether this is "adapted" or slightly changed for different users; it varies but it works fine for me
Maya
* Create Base Mesh
Zbrush
* Sculpt Base Mesh to ensure correct proportions and anatomy
Maya
* Create Base Clothes/Accessories
* UVW Base Clothes/Accessories (Reasoning is to ensure if i use displacement maps etc within the sculpting program i.e. maybe to add a generic cotton effect on a T-shirt it will tile without being stretched etc - more feasible then using alphas sometimes.
Zbrush
* Sculpt Base Clothes/Accessories
* Export High-Res mesh
Topogun
* Retopologise the High Res mesh to have a Low Res mesh that constrains to the silohuette as close as possible.
* UVW the Low Res Mesh
* Export Low-Res mesh
* Import Low-Res & High-Res meshes
* Create & Export Normal & Occlusion maps
* Create Animations
So I paint the Diffuse map on the retopologized mesh from Topogun after I create its UVs. Makes sense, thanks a ton. :]
The detail is transferred or "baked" from the vert and face position in xyz co-ordinates before then being placed onto the low polys UVW map.
Yes, you'd paint the diffuse map on the retopologised mesh once you've UVed it
If you wanted a quick practice to understand this further; read into polypainting - in which you paint the high poly in the sculpting program; this can then be baked onto the low poly in the same manner as a normal or AO map and be automatically placed onto its UVW map.
Well yes and no.
When polypainting within a sculpting program be that mudbox or zbrush; the mesh will need to be on several subdivisons to achieve a smooth effect. - So yes in that respect.
However, when you bake this colour to the lower poly it bakes the colour into "vertexes" so in theory you could polypaint a plane and still have a single quad polypainted; the resolution of the final texture outcome would depend on the UVW map; if you uved it as 256x256 itll place that the colour information onto a small 256x256 texture map.
Hope this helps