I used 3D Coat before and it was really good, especially back then, had the best retopo tools (although now I just do retopo in zbrush). If I remember correctly I had some issues with 3d Coat, maybe had something to do with how my UVs were laid out? I had seams unpaintable or misaligned. Maybe it was just a video card viewport display issue? Anyway, since our school had Mudbox, I tried Mudbox and had no problems with it so I've been using Mudbox whenever it is available. Downside of using Mudbox that you should take note of is that you can't paint on the UVs, just the 3d view.
By the way, I think you can paint low poly models in zbrush. You must be referring to polypaint which relies on the mesh density but I remember seeing a method where you can paint to texture, not the polygons...I think it uses Projection master. I'll have to look it up again. I didn't look into it much and found just going to Mudbox/3D coat for painting much easier, especially with the layers.
It is via projection master, so it's not exactly painting in 3D. In my understanding, It flattens your model in your current view and you paint on it on 2d, then when you drop the info, it's applied to your texture. It's a bit inconvenient since you can't just paint in 3D, you have to go in and out of projection master, but on the bright side, it's good for making quick fixes, and you don't need to leave zbrush. If you don't mind the hassle, then you might want to try it out. Make sure your texture button is on. Here's a quick test and the steps I took trying to remember it.
I also Did Ruz's method before, it's much easier and doesn't require going in and out projection master, but your low poly will look really blocky inside zbrush. I'm not aware if you can smoothen the normals/edges in zbrush, but this method does work.
I used 3D Coat before and it was really good, especially back then, had the best retopo tools (although now I just do retopo in zbrush). If I remember correctly I had some issues with 3d Coat, maybe had something to do with how my UVs were laid out? I had seams unpaintable or misaligned. Maybe it was just a video card viewport display issue? Anyway, since our school had Mudbox, I tried Mudbox and had no problems with it so I've been using Mudbox whenever it is available. Downside of using Mudbox that you should take note of is that you can't paint on the UVs, just the 3d view.
By the way, I think you can paint low poly models in zbrush. You must be referring to polypaint which relies on the mesh density but I remember seeing a method where you can paint to texture, not the polygons...I think it uses Projection master. I'll have to look it up again. I didn't look into it much and found just going to Mudbox/3D coat for painting much easier, especially with the layers.
you could use flatten to uv space like cptSwing mentioned...
or import a flat plane with 100% uv space and paint on them...
the mudbox plane does not work cause the uvs are scaled down...
with that plane you could also use the curves for painting...
haha nah it works well for covering up seams, which seams have no excuse for today with ZBrush and BodyPaint and all. I get disapointed to spot seams still on characters in triple-A games like FC3 and Remember Me.
I get disapointed to spot seams still on characters in triple-A games like FC3 and Remember Me.
i don't know these games specifically but seams can sometimes occur not because of flaws in the texturing but because of texture scaling and compression that the artists might not have final control over.
on topic: it appears zbrush polypaint would be a decent solution to texture assets like the one from your folio. just subdivide your uv'ed lowpoly mesh to a density high enough to match the desired texture resolution amd move mirrored/overlapping uv-parts out of the 0-1 uv range and you should be set.
it is a really simplistic paint solution however, best used in collaboration with photoshop or similar.
mudbox would be my choice for a more complete featureset and a stand-alone way of working. looks like overkill for the kind of stuff from your folio however. it has it's own share of problems when working on mirrored uv's and very lowpoly models but they can be overcome.
mari is out of the question for lowpoly IMO. i recently did a project with it and it is suited best to painting assets that have a particular kind of uv layout we don't usually use in games at all. also really expensive and hardware-hungry.
It's still probably worth picking up 3d Coat. It doesnt cost much considering what its capable of. It's great for quickly retopologizing, UVing and then just painting away with a layer system very similar to that of Photoshop. I like being able to easily paint spec and normal detail into the layers as well, which can then be batch exported.
I second polyhertz's recommendation of looking into Substance Painter when its released.
ah i overread the lowpoly part, yeah zbrush would not be my weapon of choice here, sure you can tesselate the model a lot and paint on that, but the lack of layers doesn't give you any advantage over other 3d apps. What zbrush is so powerful in, is painting highpolies, it is so easy to create stylized textures with it, it's almost cheating ^^
Yea ok, but mudbox and zbrush use simple painting, thats no replacement for bodypaint.
Bodypaint has a good bunch of photoshops arsenal, including the stamp tool (!) which is insane to just paint over seams (although its rather sluggish and didnt have an update for a while, but many people think the next R16 update will bring huge improvements, but nobody knows)
As far as i know is there a bodypaint only license , atleast thats what it suggests when installing
But Substance painter is coming out now, and that looks like it would be the new top for your painting needs
+1 3D Coat for low poly. Direct pixel painting allows you to paint directly onto a LOW polygon mesh without the need for many levels of subdivision. And most importantly photoshop projection!
...it is so easy to create stylized textures with it, it's almost cheating ^^
Tell me more! I only ever really use Polypaint for testing out base colours and a light bit of paint tests, which I would then redo in Photosop as I found the feature set a bit lacking for my workflow. Share your secrets of this stylised painting workflow!!!
Yea ok, but mudbox and zbrush use simple painting, thats no replacement for bodypaint.
I respectfully disagree in terms of Mudbox. Mudbox is a great alternative for Bodypaint. True 3D painting and it has many of the Photoshop style brushes you mention, including the Stamp tool. You can even paint (and sculpt) in tiles.
^ 'tis true. I feel Mudbox's fairly advanced 3d painting tools as well as the standardized UI are the two main points that are keeping it in the market at all (what with Zbrush dominating in the sculpting area).
Yea ok, but mudbox and zbrush use simple painting, thats no replacement for bodypaint.
Bodypaint has a good bunch of photoshops arsenal, including the stamp tool (!) which is insane to just paint over seams (although its rather sluggish and didnt have an update for a while, but many people think the next R16 update will bring huge improvements, but nobody knows)
This is wrong. Mudbox has big set of tools, including stamp tool, dodge, burn, stencils etc. It is very powerful in fact.
The main problem I have with painting textures in mudbox is the difficulty the brushstrokes have with tracking the mesh. I think the issues might be related to scale from some digging around online, but everytime I try, I get really inconsistent results with the brushstrokes not following the surface. I have had occasions when it does work, and it is really really nice. But the problem pops up enough for me to put me off using the program altogether as I use zbrush for sculpting.
Last time i looked at Mudbox about two years ago, there was no painting in screenspace. Maybe i missed it, i didnt dig deep, but i think its a shame, since even Mayas 3D Paint Tool could do this (before this feature was broken in Maya 2012)
mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari mari
you can just doodle this shape using the paint brush (or various other ways) and it will respect the UVs, yes.
solar: might be a problem with the format of your meshes. mudbox likes FBX over OBJ in my experience. perhaps the FBX version also makes a difference (i used it in conjunction with whatever max 2011 shipped with). if for some reason you cannot subdivide meshes in mudbox after import, i found it best to triangulate them before export - before starting to paint.
for some reason this seemed less necessary in version 2012 than 2013, mind. i've never adjusted my mesh scale prior to export either. you can do this inside mudbox however to see if it makes a difference.
^ 'tis true. I feel Mudbox's fairly advanced 3d painting tools as well as the standardized UI are the two main points that are keeping it in the market at all (what with Zbrush dominating in the sculpting area).
Z Brush's interface is so unorthodox and unique that I think it scares some people and Mudbox's standardized UI, as you said, is the real only alternative. I hope it does stay on the market.
Replies
but zbrush became a very valuable tool to me recently when its about stylized textures, nothing is faster
By the way, I think you can paint low poly models in zbrush. You must be referring to polypaint which relies on the mesh density but I remember seeing a method where you can paint to texture, not the polygons...I think it uses Projection master. I'll have to look it up again. I didn't look into it much and found just going to Mudbox/3D coat for painting much easier, especially with the layers.
paololazatin - If there is a paint to texture that would be pretty much perfect for me if I can go back and forth from photoshop to zbrush.
I also Did Ruz's method before, it's much easier and doesn't require going in and out projection master, but your low poly will look really blocky inside zbrush. I'm not aware if you can smoothen the normals/edges in zbrush, but this method does work.
Oh wow! Awesome tip! Thanks so much for this, it was one of my frustrations before.
you could use flatten to uv space like cptSwing mentioned...
or import a flat plane with 100% uv space and paint on them...
the mudbox plane does not work cause the uvs are scaled down...
with that plane you could also use the curves for painting...
[ame="
Sweet! The plane tip looks really useful!
@nightFlarer
Sorry for hijacking your thread, seems I picked up more tips than I gave.
haha nah it works well for covering up seams, which seams have no excuse for today with ZBrush and BodyPaint and all. I get disapointed to spot seams still on characters in triple-A games like FC3 and Remember Me.
i don't know these games specifically but seams can sometimes occur not because of flaws in the texturing but because of texture scaling and compression that the artists might not have final control over.
on topic: it appears zbrush polypaint would be a decent solution to texture assets like the one from your folio. just subdivide your uv'ed lowpoly mesh to a density high enough to match the desired texture resolution amd move mirrored/overlapping uv-parts out of the 0-1 uv range and you should be set.
it is a really simplistic paint solution however, best used in collaboration with photoshop or similar.
mudbox would be my choice for a more complete featureset and a stand-alone way of working. looks like overkill for the kind of stuff from your folio however. it has it's own share of problems when working on mirrored uv's and very lowpoly models but they can be overcome.
mari is out of the question for lowpoly IMO. i recently did a project with it and it is suited best to painting assets that have a particular kind of uv layout we don't usually use in games at all. also really expensive and hardware-hungry.
thomasp - Thanks, it looks like staying with zbrush would be best then, which would be ideal for me as I won't have to use so many programs.
PolyHertz - Substance Painter actually looks pretty good, I'll keep an eye on it.
I second polyhertz's recommendation of looking into Substance Painter when its released.
Bodypaint has a good bunch of photoshops arsenal, including the stamp tool (!) which is insane to just paint over seams (although its rather sluggish and didnt have an update for a while, but many people think the next R16 update will bring huge improvements, but nobody knows)
As far as i know is there a bodypaint only license , atleast thats what it suggests when installing
But Substance painter is coming out now, and that looks like it would be the new top for your painting needs
And maybe soon Substance Painter, but I'll need some alone time with that to decide.
Tell me more! I only ever really use Polypaint for testing out base colours and a light bit of paint tests, which I would then redo in Photosop as I found the feature set a bit lacking for my workflow. Share your secrets of this stylised painting workflow!!!
I respectfully disagree in terms of Mudbox. Mudbox is a great alternative for Bodypaint. True 3D painting and it has many of the Photoshop style brushes you mention, including the Stamp tool. You can even paint (and sculpt) in tiles.
This is wrong. Mudbox has big set of tools, including stamp tool, dodge, burn, stencils etc. It is very powerful in fact.
I think he called the tool in a wrong way (or that's me that I could not find the stamp tool in BP)
His description matches the Projection Painting tool, which let you do this:
with the UV looking like this:
Can Mudbox do this? (it's a real question!)
antweiler: you mean projection painting, or you talking about Mari style of paint buffer then bake onto mesh? Mudbox has both methods since 2012.
In this case, I don't see any advantage in using an outdated tool like BodyPaint considering that's not even available as a standalone software.
you can just doodle this shape using the paint brush (or various other ways) and it will respect the UVs, yes.
solar: might be a problem with the format of your meshes. mudbox likes FBX over OBJ in my experience. perhaps the FBX version also makes a difference (i used it in conjunction with whatever max 2011 shipped with). if for some reason you cannot subdivide meshes in mudbox after import, i found it best to triangulate them before export - before starting to paint.
for some reason this seemed less necessary in version 2012 than 2013, mind. i've never adjusted my mesh scale prior to export either. you can do this inside mudbox however to see if it makes a difference.
Oh, I really dont remember them from my mudbox testing phase, my bad
Z Brush's interface is so unorthodox and unique that I think it scares some people and Mudbox's standardized UI, as you said, is the real only alternative. I hope it does stay on the market.