3D Coat low poly retopology newbie question

bitinn

UPDATE: my problem boil down to THIS, you can disregard this thread...

If I have a low poly hard surface model from another program, such as SketchUp, and I want to clean up its messy topology (polygons) manually:

- Which mode should I be in when importing the model?
- I have seen some retopo tutorial import them in paint mode, and some in sculpt mode, but I haven't seen the explanation for choosing them over retopo mode. Why?

I got 2 side questions also:

- My model is too low poly to do a proper auto-retopo (less than 1000 polygons), should I ever try to convert it to "high poly model" in sculpt mode?
- When adding geometry in retopo mode, I find the points and edges I add are never quite as straight as my models, does it matter?

Thx in advance

fuzzzzzz

hi bitinn
1. import as surface model
2. from Retopo room > check the top menu retopo > import
3. do not use auto-retopo; or target a more higher mesh than you need, and  you can remove the edgeloop  and use slide on edge to equalize the poly density depending on the the surface area.
4. yes its a problem i also have, there is no option to snap on any vertices from the high mesh.

bitinn

Many thx fuz for your answers, but I am still confused about these:

• How does each mode in 3D Coat affect my obj import?
• Why should I import as surface model when I am trying to retopo? Why do some tutorials import obj as pixel paint model when they are trying to retopo?
• Your 2nd answer talks about HOW TO "import as retopo model", thankfully I do know that. What I don't know is WHY and WHEN should I do that?
• Your 4th answer is similar to my issue, though I am asking, do I need to have straight 90 deg corners when retopo a building model? If so, how can I do that?

I am sorry for asking many questions. I was told 3D Coat isn't great for hard surface low poly modeling, but they also told me it's great for retopo. So I am confused whether I am using the right tool?

bitinn

Another 2 questions (sorry!):

• If what I have is a less than ideal low-poly hard-surface model (very uneven quad size), should I retopo from it?
• Every retopo tutorial I find deals with a relative high poly model, if not they often sub-divide/voxelize it to add poly counts. Does it mean I should try a different approach?