When is the best time for me to start on my UVs?

Cuboids! 64

I've had a bunch of trouble trying to make them work and come out right in a way that makes sense, even if not completely presentable. I've mostly been using UV Master in zbrush for it after i've sculpted everything from a zsphere adaptive skin and polypainted it. However i've begun to start using the retopology tools and at this point i'm unsure where in my workflow would be the point of least resistance.

I'm also unsure if during retopology I should retopo all my subtools seperately or together, and how I can get my details and polypaint onto that new model(s). I should mention that this is all for a final animation.

DeepSpaceBanana

As far as i know the workflow should be ..sculpt detailed mesh-> retopo(project detail mesh onto the retopo mesh)->UV/polypaint.

Also im assuming ur going for a game-ready model?

Cuboids! 64

Alrighty! What exactly is projecting though, i'm not sure i've heard of that before. And this is gonna be for a 2-3 minute animation.

stevston89

Ok just to clear up something retopologizing is not projecting or baking. Retopologizing is when you create a low res mesh over top of a high res mesh. After you retopo you want to unwrap so you can project or bake your normal, AO, Caivty, etc. maps. Basically projection is taking specific types of information and projecting it into a map based on the uvs and geometry of the low poly mesh. I recommend looking through the polycount wiki for more detailed information about the process.

Cuboids! 64

Ah that clears things up, thanks! Still curious though if I should retopo each of my subtools seperately or make one big mesh of them together.

stevston89

It depends on you poly budget, but generally you want to break it up how it makes to most sense or for the easiest bake. If you can spare some extra polys and it makes the bake easier then separate the mesh.