48 replies to this topic

[Francesco Mai]

Hello dear members of 3D Coat forum,
I am the 3d digital artist Francesco Mai from Italy,
I am continuing with my artistic research on Voxel sculptures.This time use the Cinema 4d render engine to have a better control on light and materials.
For these images I used this workflow:
Voxels exported as DENSE QUADS (4-16 millions polygons)
Decimated in ZB with Decimation Master up to 90% of original polygons
Imported as .obj and rendered in Cinema 4d

I hope you enjoy them.

All the best

Francesco Mai

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[spacepainter]

There is a decimation function in 3dcoat, too.

[michalis]

Great clean shapes.
@spacepainter: not of the same quality though. Using 3dc decimator, artifacts are visible, unfortunately.
But the whole method is useless and boring here. The whole approach seems wrong.

[Francesco Mai]

@michalis:You are right about the different performances of the internal 3D Coat decimator.I spent many days,maybe weeks to comparison the two difference approaches and at the end the Zb decimator master is the winner.

Concerning my workflow if you have to suggest me another one I will be very happy to learn something new.But remember that my artworks are conceived to be rendered at huge resolution (until 16.000X12.000 pixel for an incredible details with Lambda print) and using sculptures coming from voxel I cannot found another better way.If I use retopo objects many details are lost.Of course I know the whole process of use displacement map and normal maps,that
usually are the most clever and smart way to achieve some good results.
Anyway I am happy that you like my shapes!

[michalis]

OK, of course you wont go for displacements and normal maps. This work needs a lot of love and a hi quality output.
What concerns me is that you'll never achieve to wrap a cage around a dense vox mesh of this quality and details.
So, if I were you, I could sculpt some basic low poly <1M in voxels, go for a fast autopo with the use of guides-loops. Export this ~8K mesh to zbrush and perform the detailed sculpting there. I could export then a non decimated mesh from there with some use of normals-displ. What is crucial is to have displacements for the first steps and normals for the rest only.
Why to do so, because zbrush is a surface after retopo sculpting tool and a 1-2M mesh can be crisper and sharper than a 20-30M voxel or triangulated mesh.
I'll test your method, though texturing is rather impossible.

[Tony Nemo]

Hello dear members of 3D Coat forum,
I am the 3d digital artist Francesco Mai from Italy,
I am continuing with my artistic research on Voxel sculptures.This time use the Cinema 4d render engine to have a better control on light and materials.
For these images I used this workflow:
Voxels exported as DENSE QUADS (4-16 millions polygons)
Decimated in ZB with Decimation Master up to 90% of original polygons
Imported as .obj and rendered in Cinema 4d

I hope you enjoy them.

All the best

Francesco Mai

I see a market for Limited Edition printed copies.

[Francesco Mai]

@Tony Nemo:It is my work but I you write about this,not me.I post my images here only because I love the voxel sculpt and I want
to share my images to a kind and clever team of guys.I don't need to create publicity there.Many times (as Andrew can confirm)I sent images only to him just to show what is possible create with Maths and Art together but also for showing something different from the usual superhero,monster and spaceship (ok the spaceship of TINKER is WONDERFUL,especially the way it was created)

@Michalis Ok,thank you for the information about the way you suggest me.I will try also if I have to say that the freedom of voxel is incomparable but you already know.Anyway thank your for your kind interest and for your time to explain me another way!

[michalis]

Great site! I'm impressed Francesco. Bookmarked already.
So all these are voxels to zbrush? It doesn't look so.

[digman]

I am always delighted to see how artist use 3DCoat in conjunction with other programs to create their style of artwork... Thanks for sharing with us.

[Francesco Mai]

@michalis:I don't want to appear off-topic.Just two words on my artworks on my site.98% of images you see are sculptures (digital I mean)
craft by "hand"in modo or LW and then render in Lw or C4d.Thank you for compliment!My next step is to print in 3d my sculptures.

@digiman:Thank you for your kind words.3d Coat is a true revolution in creation of digital shapes and its limit is very far to be reached..But maybe
there are no limits..

[michalis]

My next step is to print in 3d my sculptures.

Oh my god...
small sizes? ... because the cost is terribly high. I remember an interesting (technically speaking) thread in zbrushcentral forum. The guy, a scottish artist if I remember correctly, 3d printed on digital wax going for bronze. A really expensive process, twice expensive than the traditional clay one.
I did some search for good lambda prints, even these are expensive enough.

[Calabi]

I know someone whom built bought a cheapy 3D printer from china, £200 pounds or so I think. He had to put it together himself though and do some programming. If you wanted to do it yourself you could, there are plenty of websites devoted, but it would take lots of time, which would be taken away from the actual sculpting. But then its always fun to learn new things.(actually remembering now it was a laser cutter, I have heard there are lots of websites devoted to 3d printing though, it cannot be that expensive?).

Good stuff as always Francesco Mai.

I hope I'm not rude in saying, but I'd love to see you do something perhaps a little more familiar, or ordered.

[Francesco Mai]

I think that the revolution in 3d printing is near here.In few years behind our colour printer there will be
a wonderful and cheap 3d printer.Of course for big works services will be necessary as today.I am very excited
to know that 3d coat supports stl files.

@Calbai: You make a compliment to me saying "I'd love to see you do something perhaps a little more familiar, or ordered"

[spacepainter]

For small sizes 3D printing is extremely affordable. To me 3Dcoat is my first experience with real digital sculpting without feeling trapped in a nerd-designed cage.

[michalis]

To me 3Dcoat is my first experience with real digital sculpting without feeling trapped in a nerd-designed cage.

Thats why I bought 3dc the second night I was testing it.
But we are trapped in this 'cage' spacepainter. It was an illusion ...
A painter can be trapped for other reasons not for this. If you have any experience with real clay and armature then you cant call this cage a trap. The real trap is when you realize that you can't export what you've created.
You're trapped in this cage as long you have to retopo what you've created. To save a small portion of it.
or better...
I prefer to be trapped and try to escape than to feel free first and then have to build the cage to be trapped into.
I'm spoiling francescos excellent thread now, Sorry.
@Calabi
Do you really believe that Francesco's work lacks of order?

[spacepainter]

Voxels exported as DENSE QUADS (4-16 millions polygons)

I know, I'm silly. I never had to build an armature but I know about constructing a painting.
So, Francesco exported his mesh, It works or does it?

[Calabi]

Thats why I bought 3dc the second night I was testing it.
But we are trapped in this 'cage' spacepainter. It was an illusion ...
A painter can be trapped for other reasons not for this. If you have any experience with real clay and armature then you cant call this cage a trap. The real trap is when you realize that you can't export what you've created.
You're trapped in this cage as long you have to retopo what you've created. To save a small portion of it.
or better...
I prefer to be trapped and try to escape than to feel free first and then have to build the cage to be trapped into.
I'm spoiling francescos excellent thread now, Sorry.
@Calabi
Do you really believe that Francesco's work lacks of order?

No not at all, I didnt say it lacked anything. I'm not sure if thats the right word, order, I was using that to refer to the things we see around us. Familiar was more the word. I just didnt want to be too specific/suggestive.

[michalis]

Contemporary art is the more appropriate word. LOL
Familiar, naturalistic, etc.
But for me familiar also means expressionistic, surrealistic, constructivism or any other movement. It also means archaic egyptian, greek and roman, renaissance but also byzantine art. Most of all means Alberto Giacometti. picasso and deChirico
The VG and CG usual hero like figures aren't so familiar as I never used to play and watch these.
The future of modern art may be the CG, we don;t know it yet. In this case, apps and developers like Andrew have to consider it too. LOL
with all of you girls and guys.
I strongly recomment you to visit Francesco's site if not already.

[Francesco Mai]

@Michalis:Hey,thank you for the publicity!Too kind.

Digital Art was one of the revolutionary aspects of the arrive of Digital Era.Many changes will happen (Internt,digital photo,digital music has changed our life in 10 years or less).It is only a matter
of time and also her will find her place inside the infinite world of Art...In my opinion mouse and table are only tools like
brush and chisel..

[michalis]

Back to ~1500 when Dürer believed that gutenberg's invention could change art, he thought that 'now' a simple leaf could show us the whole world, not just huge paintings for churches and kings. In every house, a piece of art, a book...
I'm not saying that we live a second renaissance but you never know what's coming. I'm an optimist though I see how terrible our lives can be.