What is the best retopo tool out there?

lildragn · Apr 2015

Hiya, as the title asks, what do you guys find to be the fastest most efficient tool out there currently? I'm opened in trying anything as this is honestly STILL the most tedious and time consuming stage in production

I've used 3DC, currently Maya LT, Topogun and now looking into Retopoflow https://cgcookiemarkets.com/blender/all-products/retopoflow/

Just curious.

WarrenM · Apr 2015

I just use MODO. The tools are solid and I'm already in there anyway.

Count Vertsalot · Apr 2015

They all pretty much do the same thing. Retopoflow looks pretty cool though. I'd expect those features to leak into other solutions fairly soon. Topogun 3 is supposed to be released this year too.

SwdPwnzDggr · Apr 2015

Retopoflows features do look cool. But I currently prefer Maya's tools as of the past couple years.

Matt Fagan · Apr 2015

My opinion, Maya's the most efficient thus far. I've used Max, Topogun, 3d Coat, ZBrush, Silo. Nothing compares to Maya.

Tripl3M · Apr 2015

Zremesher is cool and fast

Count Vertsalot · Apr 2015

Matt Fagan wrote: »

My opinion, Maya's the most efficient thus far. I've used Max, Topogun, 3d Coat, ZBrush, Silo. Nothing compares to Maya.

I think Modo is better than Maya. Maya's solution was integrating a popular plugin called Nex Tools. Modo's solution allows you to use a far wider range of tools because Modo is built in a way that everything works together. You have multiple painting/sculpting and snapping tools at your disposal.

passerby · Apr 2015

Count Vertsalot wrote: »

I think Modo is better than Maya. Maya's solution was integrating a popular plugin called Nex Tools. Modo's solution allows you to use a far wider range of tools because Modo is built in a way that everything works together. You have multiple painting/sculpting and snapping tools at your disposal.

Almost all builtin maya tools respect the live mesh surface snapping, not just the nex ones.

peanut · Apr 2015

Topogun or Zremesher.

Matt Fagan wrote: »

My opinion, Maya's the most efficient thus far. I've used Max, Topogun, 3d Coat, ZBrush, Silo. Nothing compares to Maya.

I haven't tried Maya for retopo, thanks for the suggestion i will take a closer look.

Dataday · Apr 2015

Modo and 3D Coat. Lot of benefits switching to Modo for your primary 3d application, otherwise 3D Coat is an amazing retopo app (includes auto-topo).

Kip McSkipster · Apr 2015

I was retopo-ing in 3D Coat for years, but I've been swayed by Quad Draw in Maya. Doing everything in one tool (inserting loops, relax, extend) with a few different hotkeys is so fast and easy.

WarrenM · Apr 2015

That's MODOs topology pen. I can do pretty much the entire model in one shot without ever dropping the tool.

peanut · Apr 2015

lots of good input in here, thanks for everything.

lildragn · Apr 2015

Thanks peeps, yeah Maya LT Quad draw is pretty good, but the one major annoyance I have with it is when verts go beneath the surface (same with 3DCoat) it's a real pain in the ass to have to jump out of quad draw and manually snap them back to the live surface. This and the fact that there's no offset from the surface itself.

Playing around in Topogun again today, I realized how bloody well it handles this prob with the backface option.

Argh retopo

btw Count Vertsalot what's this about Topogun 3? I thought Cristi stopped working on it, at least it felt like it.

myclay · Apr 2015

retopoflow is quite nice in usage and does many things right and in small areas is even able to surpass Topoguns tube tool. drawback is, retopoflow doesn´t offer all those symmetry functions which Topogun gives you.

at the moment I prefer to use 3dcoat but if Topogun 3 comes out, it might again change my retopo tool.

lildragn
http://www.topogun.com/forum/showthread.php?t=776
thought the same but Christi has written it a couple month ago in the Topogun forum.

SuperFranky · Apr 2015

I just use Graphite Tools in 3ds Max. Can't beat the functionality of a proper modeling software.

lildragn · Apr 2015

myclay wrote: »

lildragn
http://www.topogun.com/forum/showthread.php?t=776
thought the same but Christi has written it a couple month ago in the Topogun forum.

Ok that got me excited! Cheers

SuperFranky the Graphite Tools are decent but I don't have access to Max these days, and Autodesk seem opposed to making an LT version like Maya, so it's Maya's toolset for now (which btw is beginning to surpass Max)

Count Vertsalot · Apr 2015

I don't know when Topogun 3 will drop. Originally it was said there would be a beta released last year and that never happened.

jfitch · Apr 2015

Rich Diamant's tools have some lovely retopo options. It's similar to Maya's quad draw stuff but it's much more versatile, and the added modeling tools, UV tools, and E-Smooth make it a damn good deal if you grab the indie license. Rich is also a super cool dude.

There's a free demo on his site. If you download it, read through the documentation! It's really helpful and easy to read through.

http://rd3d.com/dtools/

CreativeSheep · Apr 2015

The only software I've never ReTopped in was, 3D Coat, zBrush & Modo. The rest I use, including one or two Maya scripts that do Retopping.

TopOGun 3.0 ? I thought it's dead.

CreativeSheep · Apr 2015

No support for Maya 2015+.

jfitch wrote: »

Rich Diamant's tools have some lovely retopo options. It's similar to Maya's quad draw stuff but it's much more versatile, and the added modeling tools, UV tools, and E-Smooth make it a damn good deal if you grab the indie license. Rich is also a super cool dude.

There's a free demo on his site. If you download it, read through the documentation! It's really helpful and easy to read through.

http://rd3d.com/dtools/

jhoythottle · Apr 2015

Topogun is a great manual method. The baking tools are pretty solid too. No need to line up your high and low poly models since the mesh is perfectly overlapped.

oskarkeo · Apr 2015

maya's live mesh modelling toolkit is really really good. I bought Topogun a few years ago, but since maya upped its game i've not gone back to TG, and they haven't upgraded it in years from what I can tell, though would be happy to be corrected.

Zbrush is pretty sweet too, even faster than maya, but not as controllabe IMO (probably due to lack of skilz), i find myself fighting with Zbrush on all retopo be it dynamesh, zremesher and the awkward to draw guide curves. would appreciate being proven wrong esp with video tutorial examples.

tried blender this year for the first time properly, and they also have a 'live surface' thats as good as mayas, but i find the navigation is still a bit clunky (adding/selecting multiple edge loops is impossible). as always, i'll happily be proven wrong as it would suit me fine to be able to work faster better and more enjoyably.

aint tried silo/max/mudbox/3dcoat or t'others.

jfitch · Apr 2015

CreativeSheep wrote: »

No support for Maya 2015+.

I'm using it on 2015 right now, though it's probably not best for 2016 yet.

goekbenjamin · Aug 2018

The last post is about 3 years old, mayve some of you have discovered new softwares/experience?

I have to say i never used any other tools myselfe but watched alot of videos showing the programs.

In addition the Blender-Addon RetopoFlow 2.0 is what i can say actually good. It now also has a symmetry.

You can even try it for free, and buy it afterwards.

But as i mentioned, i have not that much experience to say what is really good/bad/missing.

goekbenjamin · Nov 2018

since i have asked that question i used maya's quad draw, but it still feels like a "burden" -.–
Now i try to make a switch to Blender + RetopoFlow
i will let you know what "feels" better in my opinion

kittinzaa · Nov 2018

I use ZRemesher or Retopoflow if need to do manually.

goekbenjamin · Nov 2018

@kittinzaa
do you use zremesher also for orgnic stuff like an character?

goekbenjamin · Nov 2018

okay sadly "Blender + RetopoFlow" seems/feels like this is still in alpha,
mayas "quad draw" feels 1000x times better

What is the best retopo tool out there?

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