SOLVED: Quixel results / beginner question uvs
Hello everyone! Really excited to some day hopefully get as incredible as some of you in the Quixel suite. I've seen such inspiring results it has really motivated me to make some major changes to my workflow.
The problem with the current project is that the resolution of the texture looks blocky resolution 400/4k map/2048 texel.
Because of my inexperience I am not sure where the fault is. Initially I was not modeling with polygon count as a concern and after learning of the importance for UVs in texturing had to make alot of changes. I suspect it may have something to do with my UVs as I wasn't sure if any changes were necessary. I used zbrush tools such a zremesher, dynamesh and decimation to lower the count to unwrap all the tools and xnormal to generate the maps. I am not sure if topogun would be the answer at this point as through those tools already have a low poly version. Through my research I couldn't quite figure out the necessity of topogun if I have used the zbrush tools to lower teh count.
Would anyone be able to make recommendations as to what I can do to clean this up? I have watched quite a few tutorials but still feel a bit lost. I do my best to avoid asking for help as I definitely wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone on my account but after awhile now have felt to be at a dead end.
So to sum up my cry for help:
1. is doing retopo with togogun necessary if reduced the polycount with zbrush tools? or is this why i am potentially seeing issues
2. what would you recommended my next steps be for me to clean up my mess - where should I focus my efforts
I have included my project input files for anyone that maybe able to shed some light.
DDO.rar
The problem with the current project is that the resolution of the texture looks blocky resolution 400/4k map/2048 texel.
Because of my inexperience I am not sure where the fault is. Initially I was not modeling with polygon count as a concern and after learning of the importance for UVs in texturing had to make alot of changes. I suspect it may have something to do with my UVs as I wasn't sure if any changes were necessary. I used zbrush tools such a zremesher, dynamesh and decimation to lower the count to unwrap all the tools and xnormal to generate the maps. I am not sure if topogun would be the answer at this point as through those tools already have a low poly version. Through my research I couldn't quite figure out the necessity of topogun if I have used the zbrush tools to lower teh count.
Would anyone be able to make recommendations as to what I can do to clean this up? I have watched quite a few tutorials but still feel a bit lost. I do my best to avoid asking for help as I definitely wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone on my account but after awhile now have felt to be at a dead end.
So to sum up my cry for help:
1. is doing retopo with togogun necessary if reduced the polycount with zbrush tools? or is this why i am potentially seeing issues
2. what would you recommended my next steps be for me to clean up my mess - where should I focus my efforts
I have included my project input files for anyone that maybe able to shed some light.
DDO.rar
Replies
If you are having problems around the island seams:
This could be due to the decimation master plugin. It is a pretty nice tool, but I have had trouble with it randomly screwing up UVs on the the boarder of an island. You can test this by loading up a 4k uv testgrid/colorgrid texture and inspect your model at the island seams to look for very bad stretching artifacts.
If the issue you see is just a general texel density that is too low for what you like then you either need to use larger maps or work on the UV efficiency of your model to make the texels work better for you. UV Master will also let you paint in weights to help with your texel distribution, but there are other workflow ways to improve this too.
Since these issues are not really a Quixel specific thing you may also have luck looking at zbrush workflow ideas in other spots too.
If you want some instant fun digging into DDO you could try this technique:
"DDO look dev"
http://quixel.se/usermanual/quixelsuite/doku.php?id=ddo_lookdev
This will let you play with ddo and not worry about topo / uvs just yet since you are just dealing with the images. I have used this for prototyping before and it can be handy.
Really appreciate you responding - am pretty much just experimenting to isolate the issue. Here is the higher resolution image:
tried a zip file instead
ao.zip
So from what I believe you are saying is it is applying the amount of texels I selected and need to look into the efficiency of that setup. I saw a post that mentioned there were actually issues with the program causing blurry/pixelated textures and being a n00b didn't know whether that is the case with the program or what I supplied it.
I am currently refining my uv maps and will be sure to look at painting in weights while I am working on that. I really should have started with a simpler model for my first go.
I never noticed DDO look dev - sounds really cool! I'll be taking a look at that right away.
Thanks for your guidance - its a relief to get some input!
on a quick side note
You don't have to use 3DO for lookdev. You could just export the maps and display them on a single quad in whatever engine you want. Since you wouldn't be loading a model when using look dev it may be less likely to crash 3DO for you.
Anyhow. It shows how most of tank's visual spots are using only a very small amount of the texture space. I also highlighted with a red line a hidden area that uses a fair amount of texture space. Also the shape of it is causing packing issues where this is a lot of unused texture.
In zbrush if you weight the main visual areas of your tank with UVMaster they will get a much larger share of the texture area. That said there are tons of different workflows out there so it would be good to poke around and see what works for you.
PS gotta love a tank with dolphins on it
I suppose it was wishful thinking that zbrush would just somehow read my mind and emphasize detail in the necessary areas.
A huge thanks for taking the time to provide the image!! You have saved me a lot of guess work.
--
PS gotta love a tank with dolphins on it
Lol- Yes the dolphins will make a bit more sense in the composition when I add the sea creature type head and possibly the gun shooting water particles done in houdini.
One last thing, I would recommend going through the "UV_Master_Documentation.pdf" that comes with zbrush. Check out the section on density painting.
Also the body of your tank could benefit by having better seams so it unwraps in a less distorted way. It may help to paint some areas to attract seams and turn off "Use existing seams" if that is checked. It has been awhile since I have used UVMaster though.
Cheers!