113 replies to this topic

[Nazgûl]

Things are not looking good... I spent a week on this model, but I can't seem to UV map it which rules out any chance to skin it. Motivation is going down the drain atm so I'll probably be off for a while until I find a solution. So friggin sick of all the setbacks that keeps slapping me in the face whenever I have a moment where progress is good *sigh*

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

Have a look at the Snow Troll anims from ROTWK the proportions should match a bit closer than Orcs.

[Mathijs]

It isn't a setback slapping you in the face. It's a challenge that presents a learning curve. Don't frustrate yourself into backing out, just take a calm step back and let it simmer in your brain for a bit. If you absolutely positively feel you cannot unwrap the model, see if you can export it as a 3ds file and I'll take a look at it (and fix some remaining mesh problems to ease the rigging). I'm not a genius at UV mapping but I certainly get by.

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

There are tools/plugins available out there that can help with UV mapping I just wish I could remember their names.

[Nazgûl]

It's not that I can't UV map it. That is done via the press of a button basically. The problem is that I can't UV map it with any good result. The map looks like a road kill at best and it's not possible to see what goes where. The result of the mapping looks NOTHING like the examples given in tutorials and similar work flows... Very strange indeed. But yes, it would be most kind of you Mat to help out, if you should feel like it. Just one question, what are you refering to with remaining mesh problems? 

[Mathijs]

Unnecessary vertices that will cause rigging problems. My fingers itch for the welding tool when looking at your mesh. You won't be able to tell the difference.

 

Also, proper UV mapping is *not* done through the press of a button, no matter what plugin you use. You need to cut your mesh into pieces and manually fiddle with each bit (organic models are terrible like that) to get it texture ready. That also solves the problem of not being able to tell what goes where. When you're unwrapping an arm, you cut the arm off from the rest of the model, map it, then reattach it so you won't be hindered by the thousands of other body vertices in the editor. 

 

Send me a PM with a .3ds file (I prefer a .max file, one that is compatible with max8, but I don't know if you can provide that) and I will take a look. 

[Nazgûl]

Yeah, I get some of that from watching the tuts, but I can verify that I've seen videos of people that create a scuplt in ZBrush, then use the plugin called UV Master (that I did), and it does produce a very good map. But that's from a much simpler body shape than this though. I can export my mesh as .obj, is that ok? And, you want the low res version I assume? =)

[Nazgûl]

 Naturally, modeling wasn't as easy as I thought... Scuplting in ZBrush is easy as you are allowed to use millions of polys, but when decimating polys to prepare mesh for UV mapping and exporting for rigging, shit happens to the topology. In ZBrush 4r5 there are tools to deal with this, but it's really hard to do that without completely crushing the details of the model. So when UV mapping, I get what looks like a road kill... Not sure if I can fix this.

 

Mathijs was kind enought to have a look at the mesh, but rejected it as unworkable. So, I'm kinda stuck here for the time being...

[njm1983]

Well thats a bummer though. Im not really surprised lol. You almost have to build a model with the intention to keep the polys low in the first place. Itll get done eventually.

[Nazgûl]

Yeah aparently the new version 4r6 has tools for this, but I haven't got it.... yet 

[Art]

Why it is simple not to make a retopology, and then to make UV.
It is better to wait while you will have zbrush 4r6 and to look as it does everything for you?

[Nazgûl]

I have tried retopology for several hours using qRemesher in 4r5 (alpha version of zRemesher in 4r6), but the result is still not good enough for UV mapping even though the model looks good in PolyFrame mode. When using the morph function after Unwrapping, I can see that the model is twisting inside out around several axis which makes the UV a total mess and impossible to map with a texture. The new features in revision 6's zRemesher looks like they are specialized in fixing topology in a very easy and highly useable fashion, so I'm putting my hopes to that. I have NO idea why this model is so messed up in topology, considering that I sculpted it on an existing human model that came with ZBrush's toolset...

Edited by Nazgûl, 07 July 2013 - 08:57 PM.

[Art]

It does not have to use qRemesher, use topogun for retopology, and UVLayout for create uv map.

Or i can help you, and record it on video. I just need a model in obj format

[Nazgûl]

That would be very kind of you =) Would you like to try with a low poly version, or high poly? 

[Art]

let's have a low poly and high poly, for baking normal.

[Nazgûl]

I'll send them to you via PM tonight after work. The HP is about 1,5 million polys in total. The LP is about 6000 for the body, 1500 for sceptre and 500 for crown. If you manage to UV map this model for SEE, it will mean the world to this mod's progress indeed. However the outcome, I greatly appreciate you offering help 

[Gollum]

Hi everyone! Don't know if anyone remembers me! I was around right before a couple of people went AWOL! Good to see all of you back! Naz I love the Great Goblin model! Hope to see it able to be used in the game! Also can't wait to see what your Azog model might look like 

[MattTheLegoman]

Yay! Gollum! =D Production has slowed down a lot again. But, I am hoping Naz is able to get his 3d models in game soon.

[Gollum]

Good to see you MtL! Your maps are beautiful as ever! Hope production picks back up and people can get their hands on the finalized mod!

[Nazgûl]

Just finished topology for GG... All in all, approx 3500 polys ^^

Edited by Nazgûl, 10 April 2014 - 01:20 AM.