Cloth folds topology help

pipapopapa

Just wanna know how bad whatever im doing is, how i should approach creases like that and whether i should have sculpted folds closer to each other to get rid of deep parts. I dont really have much experience with cloth topo, hence the question. 

zetheros

you have the right idea. If the cavities are too deep, I'd rework the highpoly so it bakes better. If you're working with subdivision levels it'll make reducing cavities even easier while preserving folds and wrinkles.



I would add more polys here, or rework the highpoly so you can retopo it flatter

pipapopapa

zetheros said:

you have the right idea. If the cavities are too deep, I'd rework the highpoly so it bakes better. If you're working with subdivision levels it'll make reducing cavities even easier while preserving folds and wrinkles.



I would add more polys here, or rework the highpoly so you can retopo it flatter

Yeah I havent gotten to that part yet, wanted to make sure that im going in the right direction before continuing, thanks for the advice

Eric Chadwick

I'm curious what an auto-retopo would do with this kind of shape. Did a quick test with "RealityScan - Cloth" (https://skfb.ly/oMvPD) by orbis, using the Retopology modifier in 3ds Max 2025.

zetheros

yea don't forget about auto retopo tools that are out there, especially for less edge/silhouette critical pieces. I forget these exist sometimes as well, they can be a good starting point to fine tune

Noren

On a practical note, you'll want to check in with the rigger or art lead for stuff like this. I'd probably follow the folds pretty closely, but some prefer more evenly flowing topology even at higher poly counts as it's also a question of time/effort needed on their end, so there's a spectrum of viable solutions, there.

Fabi_G

What's the distance to camera going to be? Obviously the further away you get, the more you can simplify.

I would make sure the silhouette looks good. Folds located in an area and will not contrast against the background can probably be solved with less geometry.

Being lazy, I often start retopo with some primitives/ tubes shrink-wrapped to the highpoly, then cut in edges, with the goal to make the projected result closer match the highpoly.