High-Poly to Low-Poly Tools
I've recently started to try my hand at high poly modelling after learning how to model in 3DS Max. I've watched some of the 'Old Damaged Pillar' tutorial from eat3D and it seems that the instructor uses ProOptimizer (Pilycruncher).
From what I've seen myself it doesn't create the cleanest meshes (unless I'm using it wrong, which is a distinct possibility
) so how do other people go from a model with millions of polys to a low poly version?
Is there a lot of manual work in producing high quality low poly versions of meshes or are there decent tools to do it mostly automatic?
From what I've seen myself it doesn't create the cleanest meshes (unless I'm using it wrong, which is a distinct possibility
) so how do other people go from a model with millions of polys to a low poly version?Is there a lot of manual work in producing high quality low poly versions of meshes or are there decent tools to do it mostly automatic?
Replies
If you want to get a 15million polygon model down to a lower number for the sake of importing it into a baking app, that's when things like ProOptimizer and Decimation Master come in handy (clean topology shouldn't be too important, just the surface detail).
If you're looking for a low-poly mesh you can use in a game, you might be better off re-toplogizing it.
Export the lowest sub-division and clean it up.
Depending on how it was built Zbrush might be a good option. 3DCoat has some cool retopo tools.
Build a new low poly from scratch using tools like WrapIt or MaxRetopo or Topogun. I personally really really like WrapIt, amazing little script. It has a one button "build quad mesh" feature. The branch painting and extrude edge/snap to surface is great, saves a ton of time. MaxRetopo is free, doesn't have any feature other than conform but works pretty well too.
Thanks for the replies and links, I'll take a look at some of the software suggested.
All low poly is, is a low res cage that wraps around the high poly mesh. Learning how to make one properly is hard. But worth the time.
At the moment, it's will be for environments, so buildings, rocks, trees etc.
Is there any tutorials around that specifically deal with this? I've watched a couple of other tutorials aswell but they didn't really go into depth about creating the 'cage'.
Yea, I get that. The problem is, I'm not sure about how best to create the low-poly model. Obviously it will differ for each object but how low can you go to keep the details of the high version? That's why some tutorials or something specifically about this would be good.
I guess it can be a case of trial and improvement though?
This also depends on a lot of factors.
The type of game.
The hardware it will run on.
What kind of shaders and maps can be used.
How close the player will get to the object.
The angle at which it will be viewed.
The objects importance and scale in the scene.
There aren't set numbers across the board for these things, sometimes ranges for specific scenarios can be given but often even in a production environment its a bit of trail and error and optimizing at a later date.
Another thing to keep in mind is that most engines/hardware can push a lot of triangles but where it bottle necks is in the shaders and textures. If there's any place you need to be wise about its usage its the texture space.
A good rule of thumb is to use as little as you can without needlessly taking up too much time optimizing or making your workflow hell just save a few tris.
Yep. It's all about context, trial and error. When you post an object for critique people will want to know the context otherwise they can't offer any solid advice about the technical side of things. It's probably best to set some limits for yourself before you start. Pick some hardware, find out how many tris it can push, decide how many of those would be reasonable for your object and go from there.
"the only way to get it right, is to get it wrong!" -Ed, Edd, and Eddy
In Zbrush I like to take my hi-poly mesh and actually paint my low-poly mesh onto it like a texture. Then, starting with a zsphere, make a new mesh based on the grid I just laid out onto the hi-poly
Here's a good run down off the splash damage forums-
http://www.splashdamage.com/forums/showthread.php?p=213472
Agree with Cheese on toast- Topogun and 3dcoat work wonders for retopology. I dont use max graphite modeling tools anymore.