Quixel mixer?

gnoop

I am so glad to see painting with a brush in Mixer  .  still it lacking few things I need badly

1. non square textures. We don't use square textures  mostly 1024x2048 or 512x2048 and such

2. scaling bitmaps with non integer values   i.e.   1,54  etc   tiling or not   it's useless for me now.  let the tiling be a separate layer/effect or something

3 abiliti to modify depth of specific layer only, not through the whole stack . Please make depth painting with clipping group to certain layer or something.

4. I still have no idea how to import my own color+depth images

5. I need kind of a decal thing with ability to place certain detail in certain place with certan scale

6. I need an ability to link mask image scale/transform to main texture scale ( the scale is always gray btw?) pretty much liike chain links in Photoshop.

it's minimum I need to start working with Mixer . But here is a few extra suggestions:

6. I can say I hardly understand layer system with all that "from Bellow"  etc.  Wouldn't it be easier with just standard  MAx(lighter)  multiply add  and other traditional blending Photoshop style.  Plus transform links, clipping groups  etc.  

7.  I'd love a kind of vector brushes  with editable vectors and  kind of bitmap multichannel atlas of alternating pieces going along the vector curve , staying vector and editable.    Same kind of  brush  scattering details from atlas around vector curve. 

I used this approach decades ago in Creative House expression and Xara , Always wondered why texture editors couldn't be vector soft.   Vould love also kind of vector  smart objects with bitmap multichannel fill and feathered edges   ie. decals  from point 5

8. in fact I would love even a brush scattering particles and growing actual 3d details from them.   Maybe with true colliding  physics.  Plus a built in renderer to bake some of them back into textures  with ray traycing vector editing. I actually bought Clarisse license only to make textures in such a  way  because of its true real time visual feedback and super cool object painting abilities.   

9. ability to preview and save macro textures done with UV scaling  

10. Kind of patch tool from Photoshop or better Affinity Photo allowing to rotate and flip source . Working intelligently on depth channel., fusing things on edges .  

 

ps.   it took me a while to figure out how to paint depth modifications with all that up, down and flat buttons.  Would love to see just color/ value choice same as with everything.

And please add a gradient tool,  both usual gradient for depth modification and   gradient from gray remapping

CupMcCakers

Hi Gnoop. 

1. You can import a non square mesh with non-square uv's and work that way I believe.
3. Wrap to base and remove base details are really import here, along with opacity based masking instead of from above/below, but you can achieve this
4. Create a new paint layer, import textures for each channel
6. You can use an opacity mask with position/normal/curvature, and tell it to sample from the layer itself

That's all I can help with atm

gnoop

CupMcCakers said:

Hi Gnoop. 

1. You can import a non square mesh with non-square uv's and work that way I believe.
3. Wrap to base and remove base details are really import here, along with opacity based masking instead of from above/below, but you can achieve this
4. Create a new paint layer, import textures for each channel
6. You can use an opacity mask with position/normal/curvature, and tell it to sample from the layer itself

That's all I can help with atm

Thanks for the reply  CupMcCakers    

a few extra questions

1.  How can  I import my own mesh?  Found no ways to do so.

4. Found how to import textures   but seems only square ones could be imported too?  Too bad we don't make square shaped textures for environment art usually. 

6. Could you share an example  please

Decordova360

Probably getting confused with Mixer 2020, wait for its official release to use 3D Painting and importing
https://youtu.be/wd_sdFaYdIk?t=172

gnoop

Looking forward for this very enthusiastically  especially after all that Alchemist disappointment  but sadly have to say the current Mixer is not of much help yet.     Few things makes it unusable for me.    Main is inability to scale texture gradually . not by integers only .  Seams or not seams  I need it to scale up and down subtly to match details with certain chosen texel size.    Not one forced over me.      Some AI seams removal would be still nice but AFTER  I would find a perfect detail scale.

Decordova360

For scaling gradually, what are you trying to do with the texture and or what engine are you using?

gnoop

I am trying just to make texture details like pebbles,crack etc  being correctly sized in a scene  while taking as less pixels as possible to be not too obviously repeating in every 2 meters like many Quixel materials.   With a texel size around 0,5 cm per texel .    Engine is a custom one for a racing game, still kind of Unreal like.   Texel size is subtly varying  since many textures are clamped by some object height or width like wall height  or curb stone width and I need to adjust scale of details gradually  , not just /2 or x2

Decordova360

Perhaps a screen shot from what is not working could better help. In your custom engine, can you scale in float rather in integers/increments?

zachagreg

Just tile it normally and then paint out a mask to decrease obvious tiling, layer multiple variations with different rotations and paint again. Or utilize some of the procedural stack to mask things out with various noises. You can also layer in specific decals and it will tile automatically. You can also generate a small stack of pebbles that looks nice in your opinion and then scatter those repeatedly using the scatter stack and then just blend in a material for the pebbles using a layer link and copying the mask.

Same can be done with the cracks as well. I would definitely take a look at how Chris Evans does some of his work. There are a lot of good ideas and processes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psYSC6kUchg

gnoop

Decordova360 said:

Perhaps a screen shot from what is not working could better help. In your custom engine, can you scale in float rather in integers/increments?

I meant Repetition X and Repetition Y in layers properties.    Still need a shot?

   And yes, in engine I could scale anything in floats  but it doesn't solve the issue really.   I need a texture matching certain physical scale .   A wall 2 meters height for example  with texture  repeating  along the wall  U axis    and not repeating in V   axis being clamped to the wall height .   From a bottom to top of the wall.      I couldn't change the wall height to match certain texture detail scale, I couldn't float  Y/U or whatever  texels size there since it's supposed to be not repeating .    

It's just one pretty frequent example where  Repetition in integers only wouldn't work and there are more actually

It's why I continue to use Substance Designer  which I hate  profoundly to be honest.      Mixer seems a rare example of being truly "soft for artists"  but few small omissions  still make it off    

zachagreg

Thankks for the video.    But I couldn't find a workaround there. Yes, scatter tool  works nicely   but what if I already have a perfect piece of photogrammetry  scanned surface 10x20 meters,  and want just crop and subtly scale it up or down for chosen texel size  . Why integers only .

My  guess it's for being seamless but I couldn't care less about those seams . they are fixable in no time usually.  Anyway why wouldn't make it for an artist to decide

Same weird omission in Alchemist

zachagreg

I would imagine its because floats don't tile my man, at least not easily they would require work to remask them and retile everytime you changed the float value. I was more answering your issue with the pebbles and "proceduralness" of some of the effects. Also if its that subtle of a change I don't see why you couldn't just scale it up or down in whatever scan processing soft you're using. I imagine you've captured a larger area than you needed when you took your scan.

gnoop

Yeah, it's totally possible to scale  the source outside. in Photoshop for example.  But it's inconvenient.  Big part is ability to scale up to certain pixel per detail ratio with real time feedback.   Ability to quickly reconsider etc.   Pixel per detail ratio is so basic thing.     Like 2Dtransform node in SD.   Something in the beginning you still need to reconsider sometimes.

 I understand  concrete tiles or roof tiles.  They should be integers by its nature . But why gravel texture , or sand or grainy asphalt    where integer scaling often doesn't  fit well.  Why not some simple SD "make it tile" mechanism to kill seams AFTER you scale the layer . On and off by request .

In SD it's also a pain in the ... since you have to remake from scratch  those "make it tile photo" nodes  if you need to tile only X or only Y and  proper height equalizing .  

   in fact I am expecting some AI doing it Artomatix style  in any new modern soft