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What is the best way to use materials?


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I am new, so please bear with me if this has been explained before.

Could someone please explain to me (in simple terms) the best way to apply materials from the material tab to a model. I have a seamless texture of scales that I added to the materials tab and I was trying to apply it to the sample head provided with 3D Coat. I had symmetry turned on for the X axis. First I tried using the flood fill, but there was a lot of stretching of the scales in some areas. Next I tried using a brush and rotating the model a little at a time. I tried using the manipulators to position the scales material so it lined up, but I wasn't able to do a very good job.

Is there a way to use something like cylindrical mapping to apply a material. I think an option like that would be really helpful.

Also, should I use perspective or orthographic views while doing this... or does it matter?

My goal is to learn to use 3D Coat to create textures for obj models I have exported from Hash, because it is sorely lacking for sculpting tools (i.e., none). Other than the typical problems that Hash has with converting hooks and 5-point patches to polygon models, I think this is very doable. Since it is very dificult to model a lot of detail in Hash, I am hoping I can "fake it" with normal maps.

(RANT - Subdivided polygons look as smooth as splines and are easier for modelling. Get into the 21st century Hash, and stop isolating yourself!!! Make your program play nice with others!)

Sorry for the rant... and thank you for your time in answering my questions. :)

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First rule of thumb is that in AM you will need to add a few extra patches to keep the polygons exported as square as possible. 3DCoat does not apply material without some stretching on elongated polygons. Uv map your Hash model to avoid stretching as much as possible.

Here is one way to try out...

Change the camera to rotate around world center, The camera settings are in the upper right side of the screen under Camera. Your model will rotate in place.

Put about 25% falloff on your brush.

Spin the model in smaller steps as you apply the material.

You can turn on or off Additive depth under the depth icon, Try out both ways, on then off to see which fits your needs better.

Also you can turn fade on edge for your pen under the pen options, Test to see if you want to use it.

You can move your material image around as needed.

With patience you can get clean looking scales.

If you did a good job of uv mapping to avoid seams in obvious areas then you can use the texture uv editor to paint the material (color,normal,etc) directly on your flat uv map. Then do some minor touch up. The texture uv editor is located under the texture menu.

"The sample head is not uv mapped the best for what you are testing"

"The developer of AM as stated will not move from the current style of modeling. It is tied to AM's style of animation... :(

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Of course you can merge the obj model in as a voxel model and in "surface mode" used the material image to sculpt your scales on the voxel model. It's the little white square box by your layer name, click on it to enter surface mode.

There are a number ways to get what you are after, have fun and explore...

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I imported a AM model as an obj using per-pixel in the paint room. It's just a quick down and dirty normal map and hand painted texture.

Screen cap from 3DCoat's render. By the way AM does a great job on normal and displacement maps from 3DCoat...

post-518-12756156090301_thumb.jpg

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Animation Master by Hash Inc...

http://www.hash.com/

Ptex will work but he will still have to bake textures to his uv mapped obj from A.M so a good uv layout is important. Patches in A.M. are converted to Polygons upon export.

Patches:

"The software uses a proprietary spline mesh technology to perform modeling and animation, and it is different in this sense from polygon mesh or NURBS-based programs. The system used is called patch-based modeling. It uses multiple intersecting splines to create surfaces, called patches. Patches present an efficiency in that one patch can describe a complex curved surface that would require many facets to approximate in flat polygons."

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If you did a good job of uv mapping to avoid seams in obvious areas then you can use the texture uv editor to paint the material (color,normal,etc) directly on your flat uv map. Then do some minor touch up. The texture uv editor is located under the texture menu.

"The sample head is not uv mapped the best for what you are testing"

"The developer of AM as stated will not move from the current style of modeling. It is tied to AM's style of animation... :(

I never realized you could do that with the UVs. I tried a similar method, though, which worked. I took a screen capture of my UV mesh from Hash and imported it as an image plane into 3D Coat and painted on it. That in itself was a pretty good way to use 3D Coat with Hash. I'll have to give your method a try now, since it's probably much better.

I know Hash will never change. The rant was just wishful thinking on my part. I am also sorry if I come across as a hater. I actually like Animation Master quite a lot. I think it has some really great abilities and simplifies a lot of things. However, I do feel that it could be so much more if it had more polygon function other than letting me import them as simple props.

Sorry, I seem to have wandered off course again.

By the way AM does a great job on normal and displacement maps from 3DCoat...

I agree! The normal maps I have made in 3D Coat work amazingly well in AM (once I learned to switch to the Maya setting! :pardon: ). I haven't had as much luck with displacement maps though. I used the gray as zero setting. Is that correct? I was experimenting at the time, and I think my object didn't have enough patches to support all the detail I had added. Thus far I have only used very simple models from AM. I have just recently begun trying to texture some character models.

This is still very much a learning process for me. It is frustrating at times, but also a lot of fun! :D

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