/3/ - 3DCG

any tips for achieving this sort of look, specifically about the sorts of lighting temps and set ups used here. how much of this is colour correction in post etc:

https://twitter.com/MoreSoonLtd/status/1040160404763279365

https://twitter.com/MoreSoonLtd/status/1041658283629658113

https://twitter.com/MoreSoonLtd/status/1043100574110167042

https://twitter.com/MoreSoonLtd/status/1042267328627572737

it's a nice change from the usual high-contrast ultra-saturated stuff. still very hyper-real looking tho.

What do you guys do to get yourself to model? Like I want to continue, and I love to do it, but I always get distracted by games.

>>662466
i always start with the drafting of the model. starting from a simple cube or a plane with an ortographic ref image.
when im down laying down the basic silhouette i simply stop until i feel like modeling again.

What do you guys do to break down a reference video frame by frame?

I'm trying to create a walk cycle but repeatedly switching back to adobe premiere for the video and going forward 5 frames is getting annoying.

>>662468
you can make a collage of all the important steps.
the interpolation should take care of the inbetweens

As someone who's never used Maya, what are the limits to python/C++ extensions? I've had a look around and there's a lot of talk about GUI stuff, for example. Is the API only for doing such basic things, or could I, for example, implement a new cloth simulation algorithm and have it run in Maya?

>>662486
If you can write a cloth simulation algorithm then you can probably decipher this to find your answer:

http://docs.autodesk.com/MAYAUL/2014/ENU/Maya-API-Documentation/index.html

>>662486
You can do arbitrary geometry manipulations with MPxDeformer and related classes. Check out this GPU wrap deformer demo for example. (There's a Maya plugin course that goes along with it) https://github.com/chadmv/cvwrap

>>662486
If you are looking into writing your own physics solvers, maybe it would be better to go the Houdini route.

Houdini Development Kit: https://www.sidefx.com/docs/hdk/

Would it ever be possible to simulate/render the shadow of heat?
Like when you open your car window in winter and the heat escapes, it's invisible but casts a fluid/firelike shadow.

How do I make an animation of crystals growing out of the ground?

>>662564
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkoXAQRlwh0
Here's a good example of what I'm talking about trying to do in Blender.

>>662541
The benefit of Houdini is that you don't need to use C++ to write your own custom solvers, you can do it in DOPs or Vex/OpenCL. I've heard the Houdini C++ API is a bit of a pain in the ass compared to Maya.

>>662558
>>662558
You could make a decent approximation by creating a wispy smoke sim, setting it to cast shadows but disabling primary visibility.

You could do it with photon mapped caustics and changing IOR based on heat.

>>662619
vex is based on C and C++
you can't run from it :^)

I have a naked character. I get some clothing from an asset store. Assuming that I want to animate it, how do I merge them? Can you point to any tutorials about it? Doesn't need to be software-specific.

>>662167
Would you guys say it's 'okay' to use Photoshop to do further work on your textures after exporting them from Substance Painter?

I can't help but to feel it's sort of a cop out, since most of the changes I make could be done in SP, I just don't know how.

Pic unrelated.

>>662629
..Why wouldn't it be? They're tools. Use them as you see fit.

If you're just doing it because you don't know how to adjust it, at least try to figure out how to do so. But there's no shame whatsoever in using multiple tools to do your work. A lot of artists use PS instead of SP for texture adjustments simply because photoshop is a lot better for painting.

Heck, on one of my recent projects I used substance designer to make an eye texture, then adjusted it in photoshop, then applied it in substance painter. I did my baking in Marmoset Toolbag. Whatever works.

>>662629
Whatever gets the job done. Though you should always strive to get better with whatever tools you're using, for your own sake.

>>662630
>>662631
I see. Guess I was just feeling guilty for spending money on SP and using only its basic features.

Since we're at it. Is there a proper way to stamp alphas and hard surface normals in SP's 2D texture view? I had the hardest time lining up those and vents edge lines in SP (>>662629). A 'snap to grid' or align feature would be great, but I couldn't find any way to do that.

>>662634
I think you'll have to eyeball it. As far as I'm aware, there's no real way to snap the brush to vertices, but what you can do is try and use the projection/stencil tool to help you align things. It's a better option than trying to just use the regular brush to stamp in alphas and normals.

>>662627
Whose cock's size do I need to lie about to get an answer on these parts, eh?

>>662642
Slow board. Chill. Once it's fit over your character just use auto skinning/weight transfer with the character as reference and clothing as target. All the big DCCs have this functionality, just search it up for yours.

>>662627
Just apply the same armature that you used for your character onto the clothing mesh and then weigh it accordingly. You probably won't even need to merge the meshes, just leave them each as a separate object.

I'm a blendlet though, not sure how much of that will apply to your 3D program of choice, but the basic gist of it is there.

>>662644
>>662646
Sorry for the intransigence. I'll be patient.
Thanks a lot, senpaitachi.

>>662646
If you call yourself a blendlet, you are not one. You are just conscious of the existence of blendets; who knows, maybe even annoyed by it. Just call yourself what you proudly are: a well-adjusted, non-patronizing, safe from Dunning-Kruger, Blender user.

Has anyone tried maya 2019 yet? I've heard they sped up rig evaluation performance as far as twofold... very interested about it

>>662697
What?

3DCoatlet here

Constantly having this weird glitch when applying an edge loop. Is it the software's fault or is it actually mine ?

Welp

Will be creating controls and animating this guy. A run cycle.

After this I need to create two outfits for him, what's the best way to replace the geo and keep the same controls and animations for the other meshes?

desu I would paypal someone 5 bucks for some help with the project

>>662757
>what's the best way to replace the geo and keep the same controls and animations for the other meshes?
install maya

>>662625
Are you slow or just unfunny?

>>662736
I tested it out and yeah it is faster for sure, but always need to wait for plugins to update before making the jump.

>>662761
I have maya, this needs to be on Blendah

Why is the character modeling process:
1. sculpt
2. retopo
3. and so on

Isn't it easier to
1. create low poly base mesh with correct toplogy
2. then sculpt in high poly
3. bake textures from high poly and put it into low poly model

am I missing something?

>>662852
I guess sculpting first gives you more freedom and flexibility to add and modify a character's features without many constraints. It's also easier to keep your poly count in check if you're doing a retopo from a high poly mesh, since you already know what the final model will look like, which allows you to focus on making your low topology clean and efficient.

Though the second workflow is still valid, and if that one works better for you, than so be it. I'd still recommend trying them both though, you never know...

>>662852
>Isn't it easier to
1. create low poly base mesh with correct toplogy
2. then sculpt in high poly
3. bake textures from high poly and put it into low poly model
Yes and no.

it's often easier to sculpt a shape instead of box modelling it, especially organic shapes like people. Base meshes are frequently used though, and i would hazard a guess that they were originally sculpts that got retopoed and kept.

>>662173
>https://twitter.com/MoreSoonLtd/status/1042267328627572737
I'd stay it's still high-contrast, just not saturated. It looks like some kind of HDR effect brought out more detail in the shadows. Similar to pic related.

I need some art for my game. Best way to generate art assets from regular photographs? i.e. To make pics look like they have been painted? I know about rotoscopy, but for static images that is just tracing.

>>662743
samefag here

figured out that the virtual mirror is sometimes by my false input applying the mirrored polys and thus making 'ghost polys'. Means, when to vertexes overlap but coexist one in a mirror and one for real but 'invisible', it tries to connect to the invisible one.

Solution is just turning off the virtual mirror and/or symmetry and select delete the now visible 'invisible polys and evantually turn virtual mirror back on.

When doing hardsurface modelling is it better to bevel everything manually or rely on something like a bevel modifier?

>>662979
Usually you'd use a bevel modifier, but not just use a "1 size fits all" bevel, you'd have edges marked with different bevel weights. Some bevels might be made manually if they're big and core to the structure. The benefit of doing it with a modifier is that it's non-destructive - if you decide you want to change the size of a bevel later on, you don't have to deal with the headache of removing an already-applied bevel.

>>662953
Use Gimp's oilify feature maybe?

In this image, the areas I've marked, are they a separate "mesh" that was just merged into one object? Is this okay to do for assets when you are trying to save on poly count?

>>663298
that's called "floating" geometry and is perfectly fine if the area where the floating geometry intersects with the main body doesn't need to be deformed (or deformed much, at least) and you don't need the connection to look smooth and natural under all lighting conditions.

Yes they are separate meshes, no they're not merged (as a boolean would), they're just submeshes of the same object.

>>663301
oh and also you don't want to use floating geometry if the intersection between the two parts needs to be filleted or chamfered, because there's no physical edge at the intersection, so you can't create a fillet of chamfer.

>>663301
>>663303
Alright thank you, For a fillet or a chamber, couldn't you just make say an edge loop and slide one section back a bit and chamfer or fillet from there if needed and then go back and delete the extra geometry you created? I appreciate the help. I'm fiddling with this a bit more, though I'm literal ass at this stuff. Trying to get the hang of start with simple blocking and then add more detail.

>>663307
You can technically create a disconnected chamfer/fillet, but it won't look right without some work, especially when lit, because it's not "centered" on the joint.

>>663308
>when lite
didn't think about that, I've noticed some weird light reflections on some pieces I'm fiddling with. I do have another question. In regards to something like this store, would removing the faces on the back be an efficient thing to do now, or is something like this north worth it?

>>663309
if the back is never, ever going to be seen then there's no harm in doing it, but at the same time, polygons are incredibly cheap nowadays, so it's also kind of a waste of time unless you're planning on running your game or whatever on really, really low-tech hardware, like N64-era and before.

Generally speaking, people don't use floating geometry to reduce polycount, they do it because actually merging all of their complex parts into the mesh is
1) incredibly destructive to the mesh's topology, and
2) really fucking annoying to have to do

>>663310
So it's not really shunned for me to do something like making that desk out of all sorts of pieces, instead of just one constant mesh that I extruded out to create?

>>663311
perfectly fine and the industry-standard process for creating static meshes that won't be deformed.

>>663313
Okay, I just don't want to get into a bunch of bad habits. Appreciate it.

If I want to practice and showcase modelling clothing, should I make my own body for it to go on, or would be grabbing a base model from elsewhere be fine?

>>663314
before i go, there are a couple more things to note about floating geo:
>some old game engines COUGH SOURCE COUGH really don't like it and won't render intersecting polys correctly.
>for organic shapes like this where they will be deformed, it is possible to use floating geometry, it's just much trickier, especially in regards to getting lighting working correctly. pic related is the only strategy i've ever seen for getting near-flawless normals/lighting integration, it works by interpolating the normals of the floating geometry with the host mesh in accordance to a painted weight.

>>663315
If you're just practicing or if your portfolio work will only show the clothes and not the mannequin, a MakeHuman model or something to that effect would be fine imo.

>>663316
If I get that right, the creases overlap the base geo close to their edges. Is that so? Do you have any issues with Z-fighting?

>>663318
i'm not the guy who made the setup in the picture, but i do believe that's how it's set up. it's either that, or just really dense geometry.

Z-fighting can be tweaked out by adjusting the shrinkwrap modifier. I didn't see any in the other, lit pics the guy posted.

In maya what would I use to make just one edge in the middle of a face from edge to edge. Like an edge loop but only one section. I'm not seeing anything besides cut tool, but I need it to be exact and not angled.

>>663338
Holding shift locks the Cut tool to intervals of 10%, so if you actually wanted dead-center middle, that'd be your best bet. If it's based off another object, try holding V to snap it to align with a vertex your mouse is near.

>>663339
I've found out that holding shift and ctrl at the same time will let you do a straight line cut. completely by accident. Thanks, I wouldn't have gotten it without your help though.

hello everyone, car retard from the other thread. I did the Unwrapping and imported it to Ps but i still have 2 issues : one is the zoomed texture in the photoshop viewport and the other that i also had on 3ds max is the weird diagonal cut in the quare (circled in red on the image) any ideas how to fix it ?

>>663341
for clarity - with multicut selected:

> just holding shift over an edge will show you the middle
>just holding ctrl over an edge will let you insert an edge loop
>ctrl+shift will let you insert edge loops at 10% intervals

if one day you find you're still having a hard time and want to find the exact middle, you can use the insert edge loop tool (mesh tools > insert edge loops > options) by setting it to insert multiple edge loops, but specifying that you only want one.

>>662167
I had a furry commission me to make a VR chat avatar and he likes this hair. I'm having the hardest god damn time replicating it. Any tips?

>>663400
>take triangulated cylinder
>extrude spikes out of every face
>???
>PROFIT

>>663399
also, i've just discovered that
>ctrl+mmb
with the multicut will always place an edge loop in the middle

polite sage

What is the proper way to model realistic eyes? Most works I see create a cavity where the cornea would be. Somehow they manage to turn that cavity outwards on render time.

>>663488
The cornea bulges outward and the iris/pupil curves inward.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RyRdy

>>663491
Thanks Tom Newbury. Will soon buy your eye tutorial

Trying to create hair for a game character. Is it viable to use 3ds max hair and fur modifier?

Or should i just use planes with transparency?

>>663504
use ornatrix instead

>>663488
basically you have 2 parts, sometimes 3:
the sclera, the white part that makes up most of the eye
the iris, which is the cavity in the middle (also includes the pupil, which is just a hole in the cavity) and
the cornea, which is a clear, shiny membrane covering the entire eye, bulging outwards away from the iris cavity, creating a pocket that's filled with a refractive fluid. You won't actually use fluid in 3D graphics, but your cornea material will be refractive.

>>663504
use hair cards.

trying to figure out substance painter, watched a bunch of videos but they mostly seem to be about procedural textures with no real hard pattern. can anyone point me in the right direction on how i might do something like this?

Preferably for blender. How do I get Eyes to change for animation, Like making the iris larger, Or dilate the pupils. is there any good tutorials? I personally couldnt find any. just the Ik rig stuff.

>>664015
Can't you just have two eye textures (one small iris, one large iris) and use interpolation to animate between the two?

>>664015
Shape keys.

>>664015
pretty much has to be done with geometry if you want a good effect.

>>662757
Literally just bind the deformation bones to your new object/character?
Are you retarded?

>>664038
>>664015
Animated UVs

>>664185
No reason to avoid ZBrush.
>Can I create a basic T-pose shape with meta balls, rig it, then sculpt in the anatomy and details, slap on it the box modeled hard surface elements and equipment, then use the rig and pose it how I want?
Typically you start with a primitive blockout and then you refine it progressively for a pure sculpt.
>Should I box model the low poly base mesh as well?
Not necessary in your situation. Decimation/retopo is necessary for printing though. A lower polycount helps your printer.
>Should I even start with a T-pose or should just sculpt it in the desired pose from the start?
Not necessary once again. If you're doing printed figurines, it's often easier to start with the desired pose from the start. Of course, depends on what you really want to do. If you want to make several copies of the same character in different poses, it might make more sense to have a A-posed doll that's rigged so you can easily make different poses. You then do another sculpting pass to correct any deformation errors.

Hello I want to get into sculpting figurines for printing.

As my software I think i'm going to go with blender.
I would prefer avoiding ZBrush like plague.

Could somebody give me a quick rundown on the workflow that I should use?

Can I create a basic T-pose shape with meta balls, rig it, then sculpt in the anatomy and details, slap on it the box modeled hard surface elements and equipment, then use the rig and pose it how I want?

Should I box model the low poly base mesh as well?

Should I even start with a T-pose or should just sculpt it in the desired pose from the start?

>>664188
>>664187
As an addendum: there really isn't a specific workflow you should use for something like this. 3D's very much work with what you're most comfortable with. So while I say there's no reason to avoid ZBrush, I'm not going to persuade you to change your mind if Blender's what you're truly comfortable with.
Same thing with a workflow, you'll have to trial-and-error your own pipeline until you find something that you like, is the shortest, and produces the best result.

Additionally, having base meshes do help in the repeat process, i.e. if you have the intent to create more characters a simple base you can easily modify is obviously the best. It can be a pure sculpt, or you can give it some lighter topology if you need to move it around a lot.
Generating a low poly mesh with proper topology from your sculpt is once again something pretty different, unless you have plans to animate or turn it into a game-ready character.
However, that's __also__ different from having a low-poly base mesh from the beginning, in which you subdivide and sculpt on to create your final result. It provides a bit more ground to work with than just primitives, but the end result shouldn't be too different.

Once again, many approaches, all about which one works for you the best.

>>664189
>>664187

Thanks.
For some reason I was intimidated about working without symmetry and having to sculpt/model the charter's equitment and gear for both sides.

But in the same time last time I tried posing the semi finished character it ended up disastrously, then I got confused with Z-Brushe's unique (insane) interface and destroyed all the work.

But now that I think about it when I work in 2d i don't use any symmetry and just eyeball everything well enough .

Perhaps I shouls try an just sculpt everything entirely as an actual sculptor would. The real sculptors never had any smart tools and shit so for a perfectly static model that I'm not going to rig, animate or even texture perhaps i should try and just sculpt it in one piece.

>>664190
Broke Zbrush symmetry and need a hard reset? You just need to delete half your model and then do "mirror and weld." You probably should have been following a better tutorial if it didn't cover the basics like that. Stan Winston School creature sculpting tutorial is a good choice.

>>664191
>Broke Zbrush symmetry and need a hard reset?
I think I unwelded my model into parts and couldn't put it back together or something.
I made piles of piles of mistakes.

>>664192
Nothing a bit of dynameshing can't fix I'm sure, or Auto Groups in polygroup menu to separate the big pieces from the rest, or just loading from a backup copy. Really you should give Zbrush an honest attempt and follow good tutorials instead of trying to figure it out yourself, getting confused, destroying your project and blaming the software for your confusion.

>>663837
Anyone?

Any ideas on how to do a claw scratch effect like this in either blender or after effects?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG_Z3KgxytE
Go to 0:41 to see what I mean.

>>663837
>>664216
Your question doesn't make total sense because you say you don't want to use procedural textures but the example you attached is just a brick procedural applied to that alcove model. I recommend Christophe Desse tutorials for Painter and Designer.

So when it comes to IK rigs.

Is there to make a switch, so you can swap Between IK and FK rigs, And have them Update each other, so that I can swap between them seamless in animations?

Is it possible in z-brush to sculpt a T/A pose for a character, then rig it, pose it and then go back and forth between the original state and the posed state editing stuff?

How do I do that?

>>664342
Your question is a bit messy kid, but when you rig a character in 3ds max you can simply turn off the skin deformer to get the model back the way you got it from Zbrush, or even export back after making changes to re-model or deform it there. That´s how i make my characters facial expressions.

>>663837
if you want to continue using that wood procedural, you can mask off uv islands into individual layers and rotate and scale the texture on each part separately.

i think. i'm fairly new to texturing so someone can correct me if there's a better approach.

>>664324
thanks for the name, will check him out. the distinction i wanted to make with procedural textures is that the orientation of the material doesn't matter where as on my model it is very important i'm trying to get the bricks to flow all in the right direction essentially

>>664366
this might work, cheers

>>664380
>>664379
>>664366
>>664324
Sort of figured it out accidently, remade the uv unwrap to be more computer friendly and use the triplanar mapping option. only thing I noticed is this ghosting texture where the planes overlap

CGPersia forum is down again

>>664409
yup

is sculpting in zbrush then retopologizing with zremesher the way to go for character models even if they aren't really realistic in detail? i wanna learn how to make characters using traditional mesh editing but without image planes.

>>664433
no

>>664395
>>664395

The orientation of the texture is just determined by the orientation of the UV shells. See how the bricks go left to right in the 2d viewport? If you want to line them up, line up the shells to match the way you want the bricks to go.

You can create two layers with the brick texture, rotate one by 90 degrees, and mask off which portions go where. That way you can have shells going vertically or horizontally. They can't be going at other angles like you have currently.

>>664433
Weird question. Yes you can sculpt stylized characters in zbrush. No zremesher is not a great workflow unless you are rendering completely static characters. Zbrush is not traditional mesh editing, it's sculpting. Why do you say you want to use zbrush for that? What do you mean "without image planes?" You mean modeling without reference? That's a terrible way to work especially as a beginner. You should always use reference, no matter what your style.

>>664439
i wasn't sure how to approach modeling using traditional techniques because most of what i've learned revolves around hard surfaces. i'm trying to make a character model and most learning resources revolve around utilizing zbrush then changing the topology, although i'd like to just make the model from the get go with a good topology. it's just, how do i manage this without planes? i ask because most of the time my drawings aren't orthographic or i have to make them from scratch that way, and i'm still not good enough for drawing proportions and anatomical details orthographic while keeping it consistent, but the need for the models is fairly high at the moment. i wasn't sure how to approach it but i thought doing 2 3/4 profile drawings would suffice, 180 from each other to see how things are visually placed, then i'd just sculpt it in. it's just not super detailed nor realistic in design.

>>664452
Give up your preconceived notions and follow the tutorials.

Sculpt -> Retopology is by far the most popular workflow because it's easiest and most effective. Trying to come up with topology before you actually know the shape of the model is too difficult for organics. You can use Zremesher if you aren't going to animate the model.

Orthographic drawings really aren't that important or even necessary. What's more important is getting a nice reference that looks correct. If you want orthos, just draw a front and side view that are decent enough, use them to get started, then sculpt the rest.

>>664463
the model is gonna be animated. what do you suggest for fast retopo?

Anyone knows why it gives me that orange box when I try to do the difference between that fucking cylinder and the shape under it and sometimes it doesn't?
Made a mug earlier and had the same thing happening, I had to restart Blender so it could work but I need to understand why it does that.

>>664467
Retopoflow is pretty good, Quad Draw in Maya does the trick too. Retopo doesn't take much time once you get the hang of it. It's even faster if you have a library of basemesh shapes you can fit into your sculpts.

Also note it's perfectly acceptable to polymodel some parts and then attach them to your zbrush sculpt. You can mix and match geometry easily.

>>664474
i was thinking of doing that since i like to work on individual anatomical parts and corresponding accessories. would the mesh components be merged via some advanced boolean or vertex welding?

>>662167
So...i downloaded a lot of basic and intermediate maya, 3ds, substance, photoshop, after effects, cinema 4d, c, unreal game, picture, animation tutorials from cgpee.
What do?

>>664338

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsnYgmU-WfY&list=PLnKw1txyYzRlxh1-BT4CifPXC5TBg2vUd&index=37

>>664481
Learn how to model in maya or 3ds first. You need to be able to create shit before you can do something with it.

Also downloading tutorials on how to use 3ds, maya etc, is rather useless. Go get a tutorial on modeling, sculpting, animation etc. and learn the program while you follow the tutorial.

>>662167
hey guys, i have quite a beginner question
i sculpted a little in zbrush, and currently i'm trying out C4D's sculpting section, and i wonder if there is a similar function to DynaMesh in c4d? I found it really useful to be able to quickly be able to quickly redistribute the polygons when they started to become really distorted

>>664552
don't bother.. if there was it still wouldn't be anything like dynamesh

>>664553
should i just use zbrush for organic stuff then? it seemed kinda comfortable to be able to do everything in one program, but if c4d's sculpting section is clearly inferior, i won't bother getting used to it

im making this in zbrush, the bigest problem i see is that the forms looks undefined and too smooth. am i using the smoothing tool too much?anyone know how to help?

>>664555
> c4d sculpting
Nobody uses this shit. That's what Zbrush is made for. Use GoZ to save yourself the 15 seconds of importing an obj, or just export as fbx.

>>664562
https://anatomy4sculptors.com/ You can find PDFs of these books online or just buy a copy.

Where can I get simple and free(no legal attached) rigs for me to animate? I can rig somewhat myself but I'm lazy af

I'm inexperienced when it comes to rendering - any suggestions on what to do with my sampling to minimize render time and reduce the background noise?

>>664587
here are my current my render settings

>>664573
thanks but i meant more the tools and how i use them, is there sometinhg i should do to get rid of brushmarks than to use the smoothing brush t

>>664571
>GoZ
wow thats a cool feature, thanks

>>664587
https://docs.arnoldrenderer.com/display/A5AFMUG/Removing+Noise

>>664587
>minimize render time and reduce the background noise
better gpu
baking textures
literally only those two. you cant reduce samples and expect good quality with low render times, stop being stupid.

>>664587
stop using blender would be the first step

>>664610
You're trying way too hard, mate
The guy literally posted his Arnold/Maya settings

>>664605
>better gpu
only for progressive/RT rendering
bucket rendering uses good ol CPU core (meaning that you need a kickass processor)

>baking textures
not really proper for PBR, but that can be a solution

>literally only those two
eeeh no

>>664587
you can also minimize render time by managing the following:
>geometry subdivision
>amount of lights in the scene
>glossiness of the materials
>amount of GI calculations (sometimes low settings work well too)
>clamping (if you don't need 32bit output)
>whole scene optimization (including sampling and AA, yes)
>removing heavy duty things like fog, SSS, and caustics

look up this link mate >>664604

>>664604
>>664614
>>664618
Thanks for the help! Much appreciated.

>>664587
>>664588
first set your camera aa to 2 or 3 and evrything else to 1

then go the AOVs and enable:
diffuse direct
diffuse indirect
specular direct
specular indirect

then if you've got tranmissive or SSS materials enable those aovs as well

those will give you separate passes to see where your noise is coming from.

as a rule of thumb:
to reduce noise in X_direct AOVS turn up light samples first (3 is usually fine)

to reduce noise in X_indirect you need to turn up the corresponding X samples in settings - again: these ONLY affect indirect noise

at this point you should have a relatively clean image but if you've still got noise the only option you have to start pushing up camera AA samples.

camera AA is global multiplier (all the other samples get multiplied by this) so if your indirect passes are clear remember to knock them back as you turn camera AA up.

congratulations, you've now got a clean render.

>>664628
edit: pic-related is where your AOVs go.

if you want silky smooth images, check AOV passes in dark regions (shift + drag a region in render view to render only that region). if you clean then out there, they're clean everywhere. sometimes it's not worth doing this because you'll be pushing absurdly high sample counts.


you can look into arnold's noice denoising (you need to enable some more aovs for this to work iirc) or nvidia's optix

further, if you've got motion blur or camera depth of field enabled, the only way to eliminate noise from those is to push up camera AA samples. it's very expensive.

i haven't looked into adaptive sampling, but i believe it's possible to bring down render times with that if you're pushing for extremely clean images.

preferences of 3D painting?
Substance Painter vs. 3D coat vs. Mari

>>664629
final note: if you're doing animations:
settings > sampling > advanced > lock sampling pattern.

this will stop your noise from appearing like animated fuzz.


also, keep your diffuse and spec ray depth at a minimum of two for final renders. this will significantly impact the look of the render so bump this value up as soon as you can. 3 will get you a little bit more light and beyond that you've got very diminishing returns.

transmission ray depth is a different beast and you should look that up separately.

>>664637
>>664629
>>664628
Thank you for all of that!! Very informative, just what I was looking for.

>>664647
yw. i didn't want to make another post but:

i noticed you're not running arnold 5 so my comment about specular and transmissive AOVs doesn't really apply (you'd need glossy and refraction AOVS)

it's worth the upgrade since it simplifies the workflow, gets better results at lower samples and improves render times especially for area lights.

>>664650
aah i'm glad you mentioned that. This is an old project that I'm revisiting so I'm using Maya 2017 for this one. Thanks again :)

Unpaid internship if you don't have your required 5+ years working in a relevant position - yes or no?
Will employers see you worked for free and laugh/underpay you, or is it valuable resume padding?

>have a rather crude Zbrush sculpt
>it says 2M polys (my pc has no problem with 11M poly and more)
>performance with this one sculpt is dead, each brushstroke takes seconds to process
>displays message (subdividing to 2M polys)

What is it?

>>664637
>>664647
Note: this is a personal preference not a rule. Personally I never turn it on. TV grain is far less distracting than the effect of a fixed screen overlaid on top of the camera. It is especially distracting if you have a moving camera.

Ok I'm learning Zbrush and every time I'm trying to give it a tiny little stroke with clay strips it registers it as a maximum pressure stroke and lays down a massive square.

This is really fucking annoying, how do I fix that?

Also it feels like ZBrush doesn't save the settings/preferences that I setup when I exit.

What's that shortut in Maya to switch between the different mode (face mdoe for example).
The ones that shows a number of options just like when you hold the space bar?

Should I learn how to draw before learning how to model?

In Blender cycles, how can I make an object that shades based on the distance to whatever’s behind it?
I don’t need scattering and stuff for my water, just a fade to blue.

>>664684
Employers expect you to have 50% of the requirements they state. Do not work for free, you idiot.

>>664781
No, but you should learn anatomy by looking at a reference and trying to recreate what you see in zbrush.

>the hot lady is bending her torso in this direction causing her skin to fold up like so, the angle of her pelvis is juxtaposed with the angle of her ribcage

>when she extends her arm out to the side this muscle bulges out here and curves inwards here

And so on.

>>664781
not necessarily
observation skills would be more important as a whole

>>664798
How do you shave 50% off something like "Excellent understanding of form, shape, structure and silhouette in regard to modeling"-sort of stuff though?

There is a TA intern position with option to get inside as junior TA in nearby studio, should I go for it? I know my way around unity, rigged couple of things, wrote my own shader and several other C# projects

>>662619
>I've heard the Houdini C++ API is a bit of a pain in the ass compared to Maya
That depends primarily on what you are most comfortable with. If you approach Houdini c++ dev with a Maya dev mindset you deserve the bad time you are going to have.

Wtf did I just press?

>>665046
It's in the bottom left-hand corner, vert slide. You can use the spacebar search to find that it's bound to shift+v.

>>664792
I don't know if this is what you wanted and I don't guarantee that this isn't retarded.

>>665003
>excellent understanding of...
>average understanding of...

Recommend me some good zbrush tutorials from cgpeers.

Im competent in 2d and already know anatomy but I need to learn Zbrush tools and workflow.
>Watch youtube tutorial
>Dude inserts two spheres in the sane time as shoulder joints two cylinders symmerically as elbows, copies drags and pastes as forearm
>Try that
>No idea how to make two symmetrical spheres with one action, no idea how to copy either

Each minute of bashing my head on the Zbrush learning wall is intense pain for me.

>>662167
what are some good tutorials on baking different kinds of maps preferably marmoset, and substance painter? preferably on cgpeers.

As i understand 3D printing it builds a model from the ground up, so how would the printer tackle long hair on an animu model?

It can't start from the bottom of the hair because it's not touching the ground and it can't start from the head because it can't go back down?

>>665080
Support structures.

FDM (the hot glue gun type) prints something like a comb/grid structure with atiny air gap that breaks off the main model easily.

SLA/DLP (the resin types) print these toothpic kinds of support that fuse to the main model and have to be clipped off.

>>665074
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzrLOvnkS8c&list=PLkzopwqcFevbxxNfZtq1ae09h1dht4S6M

the free part is good enough to get you sculpting pretty quickly (it also doubles as a good reference if you forget how to work one of the tools).

the gnomon workshop zbrush introduction is another way to go if you don't like pavlovich's somewhat dry approach. that one is a bit loose for the first hour or two of instruction, but you're expected to be sculpting as you're taught.

>>665080
You can flip your model heads down and start printing from the head.

That eliminates many overhangs.

>>665105
Thanks bro

what's a better approach, using subtool primitives to block out a basic shape

or drawing polygons, adding edges, then mirroring to form basic shapes which you'd then bridge together? for things like body parts. i'm new and i'm not sure what's the more efficient approach. my goal is to make a game character.

>>665105
Holy shit zbrush devs are insane.

>>665119
forgot to mention:

zbrush for ideation has a bunch of parts that relate to zmodeller.

if you're only going into zbrush for charcater sculpting, you can safely ignore this stuff until you're comfortable with the other basics.

it can be somewhat useful for doing quick block outs, but if all you care about is organic modelling, you could probably never touch any of the zmodeller stuff and be fine. zbrush's polymodelling has its proponents, but many prefer to not deal with it and just polymodel in their dcc of choice.

>>665165
My characters arent gonna be all naked, they gonna need some inorganic equipment/weapons/powerfists and hard surface objects.

I'm currently watching the zmodeller video and its completely blowing my mind.

>>665166
alright, m80.

i'll just warn that the zmodeller portions expect you to know the fundamentals of subdivision surface modelling and it's more of a 'here's the tools to do what you already know.'

i can't recommend a good sub-d introduction via zbrush - hopefully someone can jump in with another recommendation.

that said, i'm not sure what your goal is, so you could probably work your way to a decent result by sculpting over zmodelled stuff. if you do want to take your sculpts and do more with them you will eventually end up learning why this route isn't ideal.

for now, just continue having fun. do grab the gnomon intro from cgpeers at some point in the future as it'll show you some more stuff not covered in pav's intro. (i haven't seen the rest of the zbrush for ideation course, but that's also available on cgpeeres. i'm sure it's quite comprehensive. pav's been a staple of zbrush education for many years)

>>665168
My endgoal is to model figurines.
I want to sculpt something cool, buy an anycubic photon, print it, prime it sand and paint it to look cool.

>>665174
carry on then. i don't have much experience with printing but i think you probably don't have to worry too much about topology.

a few people in q threads have made posts about optimising sculpts for prints though, so probably better to ask about that sooner rather than later.

good luck.

how do i merge mesh parts together?

why are the uvs in this model packed like this?

Only just got into blender this month, was using it to make sprites. Thought I would give 2.8 a go, in order to learn the new hotkeys before I got too accustomed to 2.79b (like I say, only been using it a month).

But to my horror it seems that blender now renders with this antialias everywhere which really fucks up what I was using blender for (more work in cutting out sprites).

Is there a way to stop this, or should I just keep an old copy of blender for this part of my work?

>>665192
cause you fucked them up?

>>665192
you have to select just 1 uv channel

>>665196
alti-alias does not exist in offline rendering.
its probably that your render resolution is too small and you zoom in.

Should you even respond to one of those "I think your models would sell better if they were cheaper" messages, or not? I think it lowers my response rating on CGTrader, but I really don't even know what to say.

>>665292
Have you never seen a statement made by literally any company?

Here's what you do:
>thank them for their feedback
>make general statements about perhaps in future you'll reduce prices given blahblah (note: do not commit to any timelines)
>go on to explain the TIME and EFFORT and DETAIL you put into your models
>thank them for their time

Be as vague and polite as possible. Copy it somewhere and simply re-word it every time the question comes up.

>>665299
I fucking hate businessspik ._.

>>665374
Then call him a scrub and tell him to jog on

>>665374
The good thing about it is that it's so generic you only have to do a few templates, then it's just cruise control to business hell.

>>665387
>>665389
I mean it feels so lifeless and dishonest and both parties know they are but if you say truth you are instantly fucked

>>665390
I think of it as a way of keeping it cold and non-personal on purpose; hygienic could be another way of putting it. Let business just be business.

is therre a method of using physics simulation or collision detection to simulate impacts on a character model? by that i mean a fist hitting a face or torso and the flesh impact causes jiggling. is it a matter of face selection and converting those polys to a dynamics group? i use both maya and houdini but im mostly learning in maya for animation. i'm also interested in stretching when an object hits the skin.

When will AI be able to make 3D Models out of photographs/drawings?

>>665446
Tomorrow

>>665460
Dang.

>>665443
look up
>maya make a skin a soft body

>>662564
U could try using the particle system on the hair mode and just have it spawn the crystal model with a scale animation.

>>665196
Like in the view port? This bugs me to no end as well and rn it there is not a way to turn it off in 2.8

>>662167
I tried setting up a magma like shader in arnold using the aiNoise texture, set in pref coord space. I believe that the diffuse is calculated upon the displaced geometry, (when they're using the same noise) , so I can't actually displace specific colors. Does anyone know a workaround to this? I can't really use UV coords (which wouldn't have this problem) because the sphere would have a bunch of seams. Unless I can make the noise tileable?

Thanks in advance.

>>665567
can you post your shader graph?

3ds max problem here, i'm in vertex selection but i can't see them, i can move them but the dots do not appear, i checked the "show vertices as dots" in the customize menu but nothing happened

>>665612
FIXED
idk how

>>665607
Sure.

>decide to become big boy
>install zbrush
>camera controls are completely different from any other 3d THING (inc. games) that exist
what in the absolute FUCK
Learning aside, how the hell do you even get used to the muscle memory if you switch between programs often?
And here I was thinking switching between other programs and Blender would be difficult since the latter has a fucked up 3d nav scheme.
More than a rant than a question, but holy shit ZBrush's UI is something else. @ any veterans, please give some tips before I kill myself.

>>665617

Anybody know any good ways to make a heart through polymodelling, especially with what kind of topology I should be aiming for when building? Is it a good idea to shape it from a cube? I found this origami heart printout online and wanted to try mimic the final product's topology, but the netting revealed that it was made of a couple of triangles instead of pure quads.
The rounded nubs make this shape the bane of my existence right now, and weird creases tend to happen when I'm using the subdivision surface thing in Blender with meshes made from scratch.

>>665617
Z-brush is an absolute alien anon. It's interface and handling is widely criticized by it's user-base and a frequent point of polarized contention between fanboi defenders and vocal detractors.

It's a really powerful piece of software but expect the first year of use feeling like you are constantly being pissed in the face while using it if you are familiar with any other 3D softwares conventions.

Just grit your teeth and know that you're not alone. After several years of use I still have a hate-love relationship with it.

>>665617
>how the hell do you even get used to the muscle memory if you switch between programs often?

Basically you don't. But when you use it often enough you can kinda switch to speaking german instead of english every time you fire it up, and over time it becomes less and less of a issue.

>>665620
>>665622

>INB4 herpaderp youareallmentallyhandicappedinyourhead if you can't drive a car that steers with the shifter
>and shifts with the wheel and has the brakes and accelerator swapped around and placed in the roof instead of the floor
>FOR NO GOOD REASON AT ALL CEPT BEING GERMAN, pixologic4lifemotherfuckers

>>665614
personally, i'd approach this a little differently:

one noise drives overall shape
a different noise for mid-frequency displacement
one more noise for high frequency details

then an additional noise for creating the fissures caused by lava flow

you then route all these noises in to a layerrgba node and use the blending modes

i wouldn't bother with trying to colour the lava flow in this aistandardsurface at all either - just do the base rock shading here.

then create a second aistandardsurface just for lava

create a mix shader, send both std surface shaders in there and then use the same noise you used to create the lava flow displacements as the mask for that mix shader.

this is just on paper. i can do a mock up of what this would look like later on if you need help with it.

>>665617
Zbrush navigation makes sense when you think about holding a tablet pen and having one free hand. You only need left click and your thumb on the alt-key to do all navigation.

Also don't forget to try out right-click. You may find it more ergonomic than moving your pen off to the side of the screen.

>>665624
That's an idea worth trying, I'll try it once I get home from work. I'm afraid it might have the same XYZ de sync problem, though..

>>665645
i might have misunderstood what you're going for

here's a quick (and not very good) attempt at displacement via layered noises + separate shader.

this set up also allows independent displacement control over lava areas via another masked layer rgba. you could, in theory, get as granular as you want with different layers per colour. i can upload the project if you think it'll help. the shader graph is a mess and a screencap might not be too helpful.


btw this might be helpful:
https://lesterbanks.com/2018/10/seamless-looping-noise-maya/

>>665665
>separate shader

>>665666
>>separate emissive shader for lava*

>>665618
>>665620
>>665622
>>665634
Thanks for the responses. Guess I'll just have to power through and hope my muscle memory can cope.
Also, I'm currently following the Gnomon Introduction to ZBrush 4R8 (+ 2018 update), it seems good so far but I'm curious as to what others think of it.

>>665666
I'd actually like to take a look at that setup, if you don't mind. Also I'm sorry, English isn't my native language, so I think I need to rephrase the problem:

When using the same XYZ noise map (using remapcolor for diffuse) the diffuse doesn't match with the displacement anymore, since the geometry is displaced in the 3D space, and makes the diffuse different. How did you fix that problem in your version? Is it in UV space?

This might be a dumb question but how do you do scaling, ideally realistic, for game engines?
Sometimes my models are too big or too small, resizing is very snappy too. How does one make an enviro and know the consistant height and size of every object when modelling and placing them in unreal.
Mind you if you make a door with a door knob on x size and make it bigger so will the door knob.

>>665751
Also how do i generate a ground map for the enviro, just using the sculpting brush makes very basic shape and a flat ground enviro is boring.
And how do you know it's a good map based on scale, eg: roads/mountains can be too huge or slanted.

>>665751
Reference. Constantly. Get a basic human mesh (180cm/6' is a good height) and use your eyes to scale whatever you need according to references.
Find design measurements for things like doors and all off the internet and loosely model according to those and your reference human mesh.

>>665751
You make sure you build your stuff at the correct scale from the get go, you decide what a generic unit represent and stick to that scale for the entire project.

many engines have built-in physics that assume one generic unit is a defined length like one meter.

You can some times see example of fucked up scale in games where some team clearly didn't get the memo.
Resident Evil 6 for example starts out with the protagonists looking like they're from 'tiny land' walking around
amongst chest-height tables and oldschool landline phones with moutpieces the length of their forearms.

You can of course scale things but it can go south in so many ways that the best way to save yourself a headaches
is to never touch it unless you are abs-o-fucking-lutly sure of what you are doing and why.
Because as soon as you scale anything at all a countdown has began til the day you will try to rotate something in a hirearchy or script
and shit starts to stretch in mysterious ways that will make you go "whaaaaaat?".

>>665751
Use something as a ruler, preferably a character model. Measure everything against the ruler. So the door is taller than the character, benches should come up past the waist depending on how tall they are etc.

>>665755
>>665759
Alright i see. I thought there was some site that'd have info on the scale of mundane things or something autistic but i guess not.
I will change the unit of measurement in the software and get an average sized character model to model the enviro.
Thank you.

>>665735
your english is perfectly fine, i'm just a bit of a brainlet.

there were a few problems with my old graph (ShaderBall_lava.mb) so i've reworked it (ShaderBall_lava_2.mb). the old one has scalar zero set at 0.0 + unnecessary masking so i'd avoid using it.

i think since i'm using a separate mask to split the displacements and shaders i end up working around the OOP problem.

all noise in the new one is in pref space and i deleted the UVs just to be sure.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b4nikm9640ntfwo/Shaderball.zip?dl=0

hope it helps.

ps. the original shader ball set up is from here:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/wKveZ

>>665754
Oh yes the reference too! Thank you.

>>665752
First wide open areas require a lot of trickery. As you move past a certain point from your origin you'll run out of unit decimals and weirdness in the precision
of your vertices will start to occur due to 'float errors'.

If you have something detailed on a human scale where a unit is a meter you wanna have your gameworld set up so that
you 'blink back' to origin by moving everything instantaneous back to position zero once you travel say a kilometer in any direction.

This is how giant maps like say GTA's work behind the scenes, you can't just build a space like that straight up as one would naivly imagine.

Secondly, get the idea out of your head you will be able to quickly generate any kind of landscape that feels like a natural place.
Especieally if you want something that doesn't just look nice from afar but actually works as you walk around with a 'fps camera'
you will need to spend a lot of time and effort to build, tweak and detail something like that.

>>665764
>>665764
I dont understand what you are trying to say.
But i think i'll just try to make a small scale enviro that's atleast accurate in the scaling first. I just wanted to ask how they do height maps so wonderfully especially for mountains or something rocky nothing grand scale like gta or triple aaa games.

>>665763
>(180cm/6' is a good height)
Correcting myself, what I meant by this is that if the mesh doesn't have a height indicated (usually the case) just take it as 180cm/6'.
>>665752
>>665765
The thing about creating "realistic" terrain is that there's a lot of geology behind it that you have to somewhat grasp. Use procedurals if possible, noise algorithms help to break things up quite a bit. (or cheat a little and use something like World Creator)

I hope it's ok for me to ask here
I don't have any experience in 3d art, but I really admire some of the 3d work I see on sites like artstation, would it be alright for me to post some 3d work I admire and get some estimates on how achievable it is for a hobbyist, how many programs I need to learn, how many hours it takes to make something like this for a pro, etc.?

>>665765
Some games that have highly realistic environments use satellite data of real world locations, for example ARMA II use a stretch of land that actually exists in in the Czech Republic.
Other use programs like world machine for the basics and then modify them by hand using various tools and methods.

If you try to do it oldschool or create imaginary fantastic places layering several displacements ontop of one another is a good method to start shaping interesting geological formations.
I do recommend taking a geology course if you wanna head down that route as having a foundation in reality and knowledge of the processes that forms the landscape helps
a lot to sell your pieces and figure out how to connect disjointed imaginations into a whole that ties together well.

Took a 'The Teaching Company' course in geology few years back for that very reason, as a bonus it also makes you appreciate vistas you see in reality more as you start noticing things you've just glanced over.

>>665769
Go ahead and post, compile them in a collage so you don't spam too much. Fair note that everyone learns at different paces, and depending on your artistic/technical background you can learn at drastically different rates too.

>>665769
ofc anon but anything posted on artstation I've ever seen is very achievable for a dedicated hobbyist.
Key thing to understand is professionals are just hobbyists that happen to get paid for what they do.

You can be a professional without being an expert (nepotism makes this very much a reality), and you can be an expert without being a professional (few lucky people with economic independence).
Just most people need to put food on the table so you're kinda forced to do this for a living if you wanna spend the time you need to reach artstation front page level.

Broadly speaking you need to learn three pieces of software for most content you see on artstation.
A 3D content creation suite (max,maya,blender etc), a 2D editor (photoshop), a sculpting software (zBrush, mudbox).

You will need to spend at least several years worth of effort before you'll be someone, millage depends on your innate talent and grit.
With psychotic dedication and gifted genes you'll be someone within a year or two, with only one of those it might take you 4-5 years.
With none of it perhaps a decade or two, it's hard to tell and varies from person to person.

Hey maya users, how do i give a curve 16 equally distributed cv points?

>>665774
>Go ahead and post, compile them in a collage so you don't spam too much.
Thanks! Here's a quick crop of two artists I like, I probably have bad taste due to my lack of experience (it's kinda like that for 2d art) but I personally find these amazing. I tried to not make the pic massive in file size, but this is the best I can do without compromising quality too much
Can work on this level truly take many weeks to make? Some friends with minimal 3d knowledge told me something like these very detailed models can take even a month of work to make, but the artist at the bottom has a few process vids for the full workflow and sure they are highly sped up but it seems it took a much shorter amount of time, and often used only Zbrush and a rendering program for the full figure. Obviously I realize this is a professional at work with experience on the process and all. I can link it later if anyone's curious
>Fair note that everyone learns at different paces, and depending on your artistic/technical background you can learn at drastically different rates too.
Oh don't worry, I know
Truth be told I am asking because I'm thinking of trying 3d art (I already have some experience with drawing), but I feel pretty intimidated by the amount of programs and technical knowledge of them that seems to be required in 3d work. In drawing, things are relatively straightforward and intuitive, of course knowing the program you're using is a big help but all you really need to get going is the brushes and the rest is all about how well you know the fundies. 3d seems to require both great knowledge of the program and at least a few of the fundies from 2d art

>>665775
Thank you for this insight as well. I heard a few times 3d is easier than 2d art - I don't know if that is true, but I'd say both take several years of dedicated practice before reaching a high level.

>>665784
i can tell you that no one in /3/ can model/render like that and neither will you. so dont feel bad.

>>665785
Chill, dear lowercase poster. We're just trying to help others, you should too.

>>665784
First anon that replied to you, I'd give that maybe a solid 3-4-ish years of straight dedication. You'd need:
>ZBrush (no one does characters without sculpting, ignore muh polymodelling fags [they have merit, that's just me shitposting, but this is an argument for another day])
>one of the major DCCs (Maya, Max, Blender, etc.)
>a nice renderer
(popular choices are Marmoset, Unity & UE4 for real-time, jump into things like Redshift, Octane, Cycles for ray-tracing/offline)
>a good texturing suite
(right now Substance is in limbo, Quixel Mixer might be the way forward)
And little auxiliary programs like Marvelous Designer for clothing and all.

Besides software, you'd have to learn:
>anatomy (duh) inc. form & proportion, etc.
>sculpting
>hardsurface modelling (for props like armour and all)
>texturing
>topology
>basic rendering & shading (for nice model presentation)
Rigging & animation is a maybe, depending on the level you want to take your work to.

>Can work on this level truly take many weeks to make?
Depends. Some of these are people's personal projects that they work on their off-time. Some of these are what I personally call "iterative projects", where you don't have a concept and you just refine as you go, those take much longer depending on how you feel too.
In a purely production environment, you might be required to turn out one of the bottom two models in maybe about a week and more, but most likely in a team where others will help you with things like texturing and shading.
Monster/creature stuff like the top two are pretty common because they're very free-flowing in a sense that you can toss most classical knowledge to the wind and just fuck around, so someone experienced can knock those out in less than a week at most, maybe 3-4 days at least.**

1/2

>>665788
stop trying to give advice you dont even follow.

>>665785
Don't be so sure anon, I've had discussions about this place with big name studio artists who admit to have been trolling /3/ at some point in time.
Can confirm there has been at least a few legit ones that make drool-worthy content amidst our ranks.

Thing is you go to places like polycount, cgtalk, artstation etc with your serious work when you perform on that level and come here for your daily dose of Ratboy Genious.

>>665784
>>665788
** - Let's take a small detour and talk about what we on /3/ like to call "sculptmonkeys".
They're basically "3D" artists that only know how to use ZBrush, and is what you describe in:
>often used only Zbrush and a rendering program for the full figure
Don't get me wrong, they do have places as character artists and everything and they are very skilled. It's just that they usually stop there and don't do more like texturing and topology so the model can be carried over for rigging and ultimately animation.

Back to it:
Yes, 3D is incredibly intimidating given the host of knowledge you need to have in order to create something. It's a lot less "free", unlike 2D illustration. The only real 3D medium where you get to freely express yourself is in sculpting, which is why we often see so many of these "sculptmonkeys" around.
But that doesn't mean that the knowledge isn't straightforward and intuitive, most of the time it's just very simple but tedious stuff. Topology is mostly about recognising patterns, for an example.
>I heard a few times 3d is easier than 2d art
I'd say this comes from the fact that 3D, like I said, is a lot less "free". Everything is systematic in a way, and you can easily correct errors by moving numbers back into position. There's a lot of "mechanical" elements to it too, you wouldn't have to think about how light bounces in a scene and everything if you were 3D rendering, compared to if you were painting it. It's sort of like flying a plane, on the surface it looks complex as hell but all you're really doing is guiding a computer that's crunching everything for you (loose analogy, do not trust so well).

>without compromising quality too much
Just a small FYI, 4chan has a 4mb limit.

>>665788
>(right now Substance is in limbo, Quixel Mixer might be the way forward
Don't do this to the poor boy.
Substance will be absolutely fine for the next few years, even in the most dire of scenarios.

>>665795
That's what we all hope. Who knows what Daddy Adobe has in store though.

>>665791
I think the thing that worries me the most about sculpting is polycounts. It seems great for finetuning things and all in ways that polygon manipulation alone can't do as easily, but I haven't got enough knowledge of it to know how not to fuck a model up by accidentally making the topology super complex while you're creating something.

>>665798
That's why you don't care about it. Seriously.
Why I say sculpting is perhaps the most free 3D medium there is is because you pretty much don't have to care about anything while doing it. The only limits are your creativity and your CPU.
Sculpting adds an additional layer of work to the pipeline, retopology. It's a process where you rebuild the model with correct topology shrinkwrapped on top of your sculpt, creating a low(er)-poly duplicate you can then use for all other purposes.
This is where all the shitflinging starts, since people argue that you should just skip sculpting all together and build something with the right topology from the start, but that's a major shitstorm for another day.

>>665788
>>665791
Thanks a lot for taking the time to write all this
>I'd give that maybe a solid 3-4-ish years of straight dedication
For someone starting from 0? That seems fair, honestly it's about the same for 2d art, you can get pretty damn good even concept artist tier if you work your ass off. I'm a lazy fag but whatever, I'm a hobbyist in 2d as well, at least for now

>>665799
>The only limits are your creativity and your CPU.
This reminds me, how strong does my CPU need to be for something like that? I've a somewhat cheap rig (500€, built to run games at decent settings while staying low on price), and the CPU is definitely not it's crown jewel, but I was thinking of upgrading anyway

>>665780
someone pls

>>665816
have you tried the rebuild curve options?

how do i merge two models with uneven number of vertices? such as a foot with an ankle

>>665762
Thanks a lot! I'll take a look at it.

Which version of Maya are you using? It doesn't open on mine (2017).

Is there any software to build movable mechanical structures? I'm basically looking for something like a virtual Lego Technic construction kit. Not something like full-blown engineering software for pros. I just want to design and test robot arms with multiple joints and levers.

>>665833
2018.3 with an arnold update (can't remb which one - they added sheen and roundcorners in that one iirc).

easiest to just update to 2019. i've been running that on a secondary machine and it's stable. i'll probably just upgrade on my primary one as well.

>>665837
Alright, off to a new student version I go.

>>665834
Fusion 360 is certainly not a toy program, but it's very easy to use for mechanical rigging. It doesn't have a steep learning curve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nngmNos6VI4

>>665788
>>665795
>>665797

Nobody is worried about Substance becoming less important. We're worried about Substance becoming even more important but vastly more expensive, like Mari. Quixel Suite is and always has been a meme.

>>665830
You might need to slide around the vertices on the loops towards the edge of the model with the higher vert count in order to merge them. There's another thread on the board that had an image of four rectangular faces eventually merging into two with the help of semi-trapezoid polygons, but I forgot which one it was.

In Substance Designer, is there any way to apply some sort of anti-aliasing to jagged edges? I don't want to blur these cracks, I want them to be as sharp as this, but with anti-aliasing for lack of a better word. The blur nodes give them a really washed out look.

What should I be doing to make this pelvis not weird? I know that the torso loops probably shouldn't be flat, but at the moment I just want to focus on the pelvic topology.
The loop around the start of the leg is eight vertices, and I'm considering doing splitting it into ten somewhere along the line to help with the stretches I've created with the vertices closest to the inner middle points. Not really sure where to start the merger considering the torso loops, though.

>>662167
Umm... Like I'm new to this 3D shit but I'd love to learn it tho. Can someone tell me where to start?

>>665963
by reading the answers to this >>665769 anon's posts

>>662167
best substance painter tutorial? either yt or cgpeers?

>>665976
ask adobe support :3

>>665976
Look up Michael Pavlovic.

Why I can't manage to move that edge loop when I create it, ai automaticallyu set it to the center of the cube. I'm having troubles creating edgle loops on the X axis. I can't create as many as I want on the Z and Y axis but I just can't on the X one.

>>665998
>Why I can't manage to move that edge loop when I create it

change maintain position to relative distance or equal distance

if you use 'insert multiple' and set it to insert 1 it'll drop it in the middle.


btw, you can single insert edge loops with the multi-cut tool by holding ctrl. this behaves exactly like insert edge loop tool set to relative distance.

multi-cut shortcuts:
ctrl + lmb = insert edge loop
ctrl + alt + lmb = 10% snapping
ctrl + mmb = insert edgeloop in the middle

b/w the multi cut and connect tools, the insert-edge loop tool is sort of deprecated.

>>665937
I got this image. I can't really vouch for anything but maybe it will help.

>>666026
Thanks, anon.

>>665998

Although >>666007 is right about using the multi-cut tool being a better alternative, you can also fix an edge like that by using "slide edge." You can find it under Edit Mesh, or the shift+right click marking menu when in edge selection mode.

>>666007
>>666039
Ctrl + shift + lmb is the 10 percent snap.

>>662167
hey guys, i'm trying a workflow in c4d, which includes binding objects to a rig's joints and then editing it, but when i edit the object and then move the object, the newly created geometry stays in place, and only the parts that were there in the beginning move with the rig
is there a way around this problem?

>>666080
sorry i mean, edit the object and then move the rig*

>>666080
bind the new geometry again to the joint.

Currently going through the nightmare of attempting to model a level in Maya. This is so absurdly ass-backwards compared to modeling in C4D, especially when it comes to using splines, but I think I can manage.

How can I get the camera in Maya to orient based on the surface that my cursor is hitting? The wacky orientation that is always pivoting too close is driving me nuts.

>>662167
is there a way to pirate fusion 360? its not on cg*eers

>>666086
A little followup - What the hell is up with Maya's wonky grid snapping? All these corners were very strictly snapped to the same grid point, yet Maya has misplaced them all. Why?

>>666086
pic-related

>>666101
user error prob

just fix it by holding x and mmb snapping with the move tool and try not to make the same mistake in the future

: - )

>>666102
Thanks, that menu escaped me. As far as the snapping goes, that is what I'm doing, but somehow it still won't snap accurately. It's only to a certain degree that it snaps to the grid somehow, not to a tee. I get it, this may be my OCD eating away my productivity, but I always expect such things to be a problem later down the line.

>>666103
it might be a viewport drawing issue t b h.
if it's X-snapped to the grid the math should work out though.

there's a way to lock verts into place as well if you want to do some testing to be sure:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/Maya/files/GUID-329348B4-EDF4-4F61-B201-3E7EDDFF587C-htm.html

>>666099
Unless you are making serious cash, Fusion 360 is free to use, even commercially. Check out the Startup/Hobbyist (or whatever it's called now) license on Autodesk's site.

>>662167
Whats the best beginners tutorial for learning Rhinoceros?
I am familiar with Maya and mostly using curves for modeling, but lately I got hit by an idea to model jewlelry and from what I read Rhino is the best precise software for this thing (plus it has Gemvision Matrix). I downloaded couple of Matrix tuts on jewelry from CGpeers, really impressed by it, but they are mostly for users that already know the workflow with Rhino, and I dont want to be that guy who just brainlessly copy-clicks throghout the tutorial.

>>666107
cool thanks

>>666105
Maybe. Alternatively, after you're done blocking a model, could there be a way to snap everything to straight lines and grid points? I'm pretty thorough, but it would be nice if there is such a tool, like checking for overlapping vertices and having them disappear.

>>666112
>after you're done blocking a model, could there be a way to snap everything to straight lines and grid points?

i'm not sure how this would work; depending on grid scale, you could quite as easily end up sending verts places you don't want them to go. correct me if i'm wrong. that said, i'm sure if you google around there's probably a script out there for this sort of thing or if you're feeling brave, you could write it yourself.

>if there is such a tool, like checking for overlapping vertices

mesh > cleanup options:
>select matching polygons
>edges with zero length
>ctrl+right click > to vertices

scipts-wise i don't know if there's a better option, but this checks for overlapping verts:
https://www.turbosquid.com/CheckMateTools/

you need to register an account to get the download.

>and having them disappear
the above script, i believe will select the overlapping verts so you can just use the merge tool.

alternatively, you can just blindly select the whole object, use the merge tool (which by default merges verts) and set the threshold extremely low. if the minimum threshold of 0.001 is causing issues for whatever reason, you can just scale the whole model up, merge and scale down again or use selection via the above methods.

>>666007
>>666044
This is my problem right here. I can create as many edge loops as I want but if I do, there's always an axis where I just can't do it freely and I need to use the multiple edgle loop tools while in most of the videos I saw, the guy could do it.

>>666108
Brainlessly copying clicks is one of the best ways to learn. Your subconscious is taking in a lot more knowledge than you think to give it credit for.

Does anyone have experience moving assets from 3ds max to Rhino for archviz? The only tree models I could find that looked good are 3ds max, so I was hoping to export the trees as a vray proxy and use that in Rhino, however I'm not sure how to handle the materials. Any suggestions?

>>666253
i haven't seen that error before.

pic-related works for me.

could you post the steps required to reproduce your problem?

So i've got a nurbs surface in 3ds max. If i slap an editable mesh modifier on there it just gets really wide and scaling it down ruins the curves.

How do i convert it to an actual object?

>>666393
worked fine for me, you're probably using an illegal copy. theyre all buggy. there is not a single stable one.

>>666396
Oh my bad, i meant nurbs curve.

>>666400
still works for for me

>>666403
Well shit.

What are the current polybudgets in games for first\secondary plan props?

>>666423
Nobody can give you a reliable answer unless you state the scope of the game.

>>666424
Interested mostly in current triple A budgets

can someone explain why modeling and animating in houdini is so shit compared to maya? i wanna get into utilizing its more efficient soft body dynamics to do flesh simulation but should i just make my stuff in maya first then export it to houdini to do simulations?

>>666431
I don't know about animating, but modeling in Houdini is underdeveloped. They have been making good progress in that regard recently, but for now, in my opinion, it's better to stick to Maya or Max for modeling. Just think of them as a big Edit SOP in your graph.

does vray rt gpu rendering work on amd cards?

>>666431
> should i just make my stuff in maya first then export it to houdini to do simulations?

Yes. Alternatively, if you're just doing some simple shit like a basic "press on flesh" effect, you can stay inside Maya and save yourself some time. It's not as fun as Houdini but it's more time efficient if you're doing the super simple stuff.

>>666431
neither of those programs are made for modelling one is for procedural shit the other is for animating and rigging

>>666445
>animating and rigging

so then what's the modeling toolkit for?

>>666445
Keep your shitty /blender/ trolling out of this questions thread, Maya is just fine for modeling and Max is great, and both are far better than Houdini which is what the question is about

>>666264
Nevermind, I found my problem. My symmetry was on Object X.

I need to create tubes in maya along a drawn curve but my problem is that this extrusion needs to be animated, from non-existing at 0% all the way to the end of the curve at 100%

>>666482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Zpamrvj6s

>>666446
I think he's talking about the strengths of each program. You CAN model in maya, however 3ds max is a lot better suited for it.

Similarly you CAN rig in 3ds max but maya is a lot better suited for it.

>>666511
Just out of curiousity, what are some main advantages of modeling in Max compared to Maya? If you could give similar examples like: Booleans in Max is better because ... or bridge, append to polygon etc is better in max because ...
I've been modeling in Maya, dont mean to start a software flamewar, just curious.

>>666511

Except that Max has a shitty workflow that is slow as hell. I'd rather use Maya, the result will be the same but I'll get there faster. And before you make some dumbass comment about how I don't know how to use Max, I've used it for 6 years, and I'm still forced to use it at work and I hate it's guts.

I often see modelers post work with curved topology lines, like the smooth preview in maya, similar to pic related. What is it and why do some people do this? I think I've read that it's called surface modeling but I'm a noob so not sure.

>>666559
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Subdivision_Surface_Modeling
Here you go noobie.

>>666558
They havent added anything to mayas modelling toolkit since 2014, so...

>>666525
Max has non destructive modifiers for splines,polys and mesh. thats just a few things, basically all the modifiers are non destructive. With maya youre stuck with whatever the object has in its properties and simple toggling for subdivision, everything for modelling on there is bare bones thats why noobies like to model in it like >>666558
, even blender has a far more complex modelling toolkit and is slightly non destructive, but not quite the bread and butter like Max.

Is 8.2k tris enough for the skeleman skull to be considered "optimized for gaymes" or I can squeeze a bit more?

>>666566
this doesnt look subdivided. you need to model it low poly and toggle open subdiv to 1 iteration. a base mesh like this has too many edge loops running through areas that really dont need the extra definition, thas what subdiv takes care of. subdiv also optimizes the subdivisions depending whats on the screen(tessellation).

>>666567
Why do I need subdiv for realtime game engine?

>>666568
because that how you optimize complex organic mesh?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YATzaRDn_aQ

>>666569
So you tell me to write and use expensive asf tesselation shader for second plan prop that I'm going to stuck into the wall and have it's invisible part chopped... I fail to see a logic here

>>666564

They did (quad draw improvements, knife tool improvements, circularize, to name a few). I use plugins in both, with Maya I mainly use May9 Next, it's free and brings tons of useful stuff. Sure Max has better tools, but it's workflow is so slow and boring that I'd rather deal with Maya's bugs.

>>666572
improvements=/new features

>>666571
you dont understand what open subdiv is buddy. its not just for subdivisions , it has adaptive subdivision which lets you control how much of the subdivision is showing on screen depending on the cage(initial low poly mesh) to the target subdivision level so for a prop it would be 1 level. so if the skull is further away from us, open subdiv will unsubdivide it to its initial mesh(which you dont have). instead you just have this high poly prop that you cant use opensubdiv on because its already too high in poly count.

>>666571
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99_IfX3PVyE

>>666573
>>666576
Is 8k tris considered high poly?
Keep in mind that I'm working with a very old version of unity here.

>>666578
for a prop, yeah dude...
https://youtu.be/D6zyUI33FqA?t=992
i have a low poly vehicle at 12k polys. it will double when i use subdivision. its easy to optimize that skull tho, just collapse unnecessary edge loops with rings selections.

>>666581
sorry 10k polys 11k tris

sorry 10k polys 21k tris and thats just because wheels are expensive geomtry

>>666581
sorry 7k polys 14k tris
i keep messing up my post because i keep selecting the wrong shit.

>>666581
Interesting. I'll take a look at that thanks. I think it won't be that easy to just collapse those. I did a mistake and some of them are helices.

>>666573

Is the new UV toolkit not a new feature for you? I'd rather work with Maya from 2010 than current day Max. It's such a fucking dinosaurish curmudgeony piece of crap with the worst workflow I've ever seen in any software.

>>666587
maya 2010 had nothing for modelling, like i said that all came in 2014, and its still lagging behind in modelling. like i also said, maya modelling is permanent damage to the model.
maya
>add loops, push something, delete something
>have seconds thoughts and what to go back to an iteration
>sorry damage is already done, but we have a history tho!

max
>add edit poly modifier
>add loops,push somthing,delete somthing
>have seconds thoughts
>lets delete this modifier and go back to where we were
easy.

>>666588
>but we have a history tho
>literally the first thing they teach in maya bootcamp is to delete history

>>666589
i wasnt implying history gives you the same effect of non destructive editing lol

>>666588
maya
>add loops, push something, delete something
>have seconds thoughts and what to go back to an iteration
>open node editor and delete unwanted nodes. back to where i want.
easy.

>>666592
>having to learn procedural just to get a non destructive workflow
>having to use addons/plugins just to get a non destructive workflow
crazy i know,i guess thats why max will stay the better modelling program.

>>666597
>>having to learn procedural just to get a non destructive workflow
wut

>>666604
you have to use inefficient nodes just to get non destructive workflow in maya, when in max its a simple click and back to work.

>>666617
>>666617
>>666617

Sorry for the delay, we're back.

whoops lol forgot the thread title
Sorry for the delay, we're back.

>>666619
>>666619
>>666619

Anyone who unironically suggests modelling in maya as a viable alternative to max or modo should kindly go FUCK themselves RIGHT FUCKING NOW. OFF YOURSELVES FAGGOTS.
Any operation over edges polys verts in maya is literally a fucking gamble, ESPECIALLY quad draw\multicut and every operation under the hood they have(extrude, append, insert loops verts, slide etc). Eventually not even a fucking delete history will save your mesh from going FUBAR.
Green polygons, weird vert welds themselves into infinity, disappearing polygons, self-creating laminas, this is what maya "modelling" is.
The way to mitigate it??? Export into fucking OBJ and back once in a while, that's the only fucking way.
FUCK maya modelling, I fucking hate max guts for 90s interface but at least it doesn't fuck my meshes up.

Is it worth it to learn how to model, just so I can make a maquette as reference for my illustrations? As James Gurney does

>>663316
>some old game engines COUGH SOURCE COUGH really don't like it and won't render intersecting polys correctly.

lol wut? no it doesn't, which source engine version are you referring to?

>>662466
are you a child?

>>662468
export as a Image sequence