What programs are best for texturing low-poly models?

lymiller

I've heard of several programs where you can texture directly onto the model, like ZBrush, Sculptris, 3D Coat, etc. I'd always just used Photoshop in the past but it's such a pain.

What programs are there to choose from in this regard, and which are best?

I'm looking to do low-poly modeling for fun, but I'm curious in learning some beneficial software to make it easier.

Ben Apuna

How low poly are you looking to go? There's P-XCEL:

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80468

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=14495.0

EDIT:

There's also Blender

http://www.blender.org/development/release-logs/blender-256-beta/brushes/

Mudbox and Bodypaint, though I'd go with 3dCoat over those two.

EDIT2:

lol! how could I of all people forget! Modo also has 3d painting capabilities though it's a bit cumbersome and buggy.

lymiller

I'm probably looking at 200-500 tris and 256x256 or 512x512 -- something around that. I haven't tried out 3D Coat yet. Would that be the best? I've seen some good things come out of that.

Ben Apuna

I've also heard good things about 3D Coat though I've never tried it.

I have used Mudbox 2009 but I hate the way it handles UVs. UVs outside of 0-1 space are treated as new textures rather than tiling.

Bodypaint is kind of cool but very expensive, IIRC I didn't like the camera navigation.

I think newer versions of Max have something called "viewport canvas" which could also be used to paint directly onto models.

There are also projection painting based techniques:

http://vimeo.com/5820395

http://vimeo.com/5821890

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNd54jgesgk

Psyk0

lymiller wrote: »

I'm probably looking at 200-500 tris and 256x256 or 512x512 -- something around that. I haven't tried out 3D Coat yet. Would that be the best? I've seen some good things come out of that.

The sotftware, polycount budget or texture size shouldnt have anything to do with how good it comes out, photoshop and the likes are just tools, it's the artist behind it that makes the end result look good or not so good

I've started with photoshop and got into bodypaint, i prefer it over photoshop for organic stuff, altho i wish some of photoshop's tools would be included. So in the end, use what feels right to you.

lymiller

I once tried using Photoshop's 3D capabilities to texture a low-poly model, but I was having a lot of issues with a seam. >: ( I mostly want to be able to paint DIRECTLY onto the model, and I know ZBrush tends to "smooth" the mesh, or display it oddly. (I prefer seeing a low-poly model like you would see in Maya or Max, with simple lines and non-imposing base color.)

Well, yeah, what I meant by "good things coming out of it" was the notion of painting directly on the mesh. I noticed people have a lot more control over, say, painting edges of armor and having it be in the EXACT right place (which was always an issue texturing in Photoshop.) Of course how a model comes out depends on the artist's own skills. I just know there are tons of programs that have the capability, but they are definitely not created equal in their tool-set.

I've heard very good things about BodyPaint, but I'd probably only be able to get a demo. I suppose I can test out both BodyPaint and 3D Coat and see how they compare. I suppose I could try Blender, too, because I didn't know you could texture in that program.

gray

3dcoat has a nice 3d paint setup. and its probably the cheapest. try it out. zb znd mb are a step up but more expensive. but they can handle just about any model at any res.

Ben Apuna

If you're going to try Blender maybe these links will help:

http://cgcookie.com/blender/2011/04/11/texture-painting-in-glsl-shading-mode/

http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?214007-Layers-for-texture-paint-new-addon

If you need to learn Blender in general the Blender - What to read up on... thread is a good place to start.

Ace-Angel

I vouch personally for Mudbox and Blender in this regard.

Photoshop is a nightmare.
ZBrush is based upon Vertex painting.
3DC has some amazing ideas and killer tech behind it which isn't polished.

Also, if you want something free, P-Cel that Ben linked to works wonders, and Blender is free too, but if you something JUST to paint a nice low poly diffuse, may I suggest Sculptris?

Psyk0

Another one:

Deep Paint 3D
http://www.righthemisphere.com/products/client-products/deep-paint-3d-deep-uv

Now part of their "entertainment bundle", not sure there's a demo for this.

Ace-Angel

I didnt know DP3D was still active, how has it come along?

bugo

3dcoat, no other.

gray

Ace-Angel wrote: »

I vouch personally for Mudbox and Blender in this regard.

Photoshop is a nightmare.
ZBrush is based upon Vertex painting.
3DC has some amazing ideas and killer tech behind it which isn't polished.

I think this about sums it up imo. at this point mudbox has all the stuff I want and nothing I don't want. which makes it very clean. built by production artists for production artists.

3dc can get the job done but its in a wild state of dev. and I think more focused on pushing new untested tools and workflow. a little hard to use in production.