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Retopology, how it flows and how to start it

goekbenjamin
polycounter lvl 6
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goekbenjamin polycounter lvl 6
Hey folks!
I was wondering:
When you have to retopo something like that:


would you start with the borders(?):


Or would you just begin with the obvious part where you know there is no curvature and build the rest based on that:


I find it somehow hard toget a good looking retopo-mesh with that simple mesh....
it is the curves that kills me :/
i just dont know how to combine staright part with that curved one, it always looks like shit (>.<):


is that even ok?
it is part of a clothmesh which will get "transfer attribute" to "wrap around the simulated mesh from Marvelous designer"
(like in that tutorial: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/zZOOL)
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  • musashidan
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    musashidan high dynamic range
    If you look at his topology it's all grid topology where possible. Also, this workflow is for a film/cinematic production topology. If you are just creating a high-res for sculpt/retop in Zbrush or a game topology mesh then the export from MD should be good enough.

    What is your final output/purpose of the mesh?
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  • goekbenjamin
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    goekbenjamin polycounter lvl 6
    actually a game! is that common to use quadded or even "remesh(beta)"??
    i mean isnt that common to get better retopoed mesh for riggers too??
    Also isnt it better to retopo for zbrush to avoid artifacts when subdividing?
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  • musashidan
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    musashidan high dynamic range
    Not for a game mesh. Optimising the topology and silhouette is the primary concern. Geometry is a lot cheaper these days, but a dense quaded topology would be for more high-end characters(like in the tutorial you linked)

    Yes, that's the reason the guy in the tutorial you posted goes through this workflow - because he's creating a production mesh that will be rigged/animated. But, as I said, it's for a cinematic/vfx/film rig.
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  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    I do the loop flow first, then just connect the inbetweens, then lastly stitch off unnecessaries.
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  • goekbenjamin
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    goekbenjamin polycounter lvl 6
    damn, now i am super unsure, i read everywhere that retopoing that stuff is a must (also for later additional sculpting, rigging)?? if that is not common in industry standard than i would be super fast without that retoöoing clothes...
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  • musashidan
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    musashidan high dynamic range
    @BIGTIMEMASTER @goekbenjamin you're both confusing the workflow posted in the tutorial linked and retopologising in general.

    Also, retopoing a real-time character and a film/vfx character are completely different goals: one is to support optimisation and normal map baking with a triangular output; the other is a very dense quad-based topology that supports displacement mapping, render time subdivision, and a complex rig/muscle system.
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  • goekbenjamin
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    goekbenjamin polycounter lvl 6
    musashidan said:
    @BIGTIMEMASTER @goekbenjamin you're both confusing the workflow posted in the tutorial linked and retopologising in general.

    Also, retopoing a real-time character and a film/vfx character are completely different goals: one is to support optimisation and normal map baking with a triangular output; the other is a very dense quad-based topology that supports displacement mapping, render time subdivision, and a complex rig/muscle system.
    i am actually aiming for a realtime character and i thought i could use that flow with lesser density.  so that the first subdivision is than later my realtime mesh, the higher one would be for  baking only oc
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  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    i was speaking about my general principle. I only do realtime characters.


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  • musashidan
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    musashidan high dynamic range
    @goekbenjamin it is certainly doable, but it isn't really necessary for a game character. The best thing to do is to experiment with both auto-topo export from MD and the manual retopo approach(that is shown in the tutorial) That way you're gaining real-world production experience and learning by figuring out which workflow works better.

    Personally, for a game character, I would export MD topology for Zbrush cleanup/polish/detailing and manually retop the final character myself for full control.
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  • goekbenjamin
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    goekbenjamin polycounter lvl 6
    musashidan said:
    @goekbenjamin it is certainly doable, but it isn't really necessary for a game character. The best thing to do is to experiment with both auto-topo export from MD and the manual retopo approach(that is shown in the tutorial) That way you're gaining real-world production experience and learning by figuring out which workflow works better.

    Personally, for a game character, I would export MD topology for Zbrush cleanup/polish/detailing and manually retop the final character myself for full control.
    Also is it possible to:
    MD -> Maya retopo (with for example 3 subdivisions) -> Zbrush redefine

    So i can use the highpoly (3rd subdivision from zbrush) and rhe lowpoly would be the maya retopoed one (1. subdivision)

    or ist that totaly nonnsense? what would be there the pro or cons?
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