[request] high/low poly workflow

[bad_mofo]

hi everybody , i wanna know how to you start your modeling when you want to create a normal map from a higher res model , do you start modeling the higher res first and make the low poly after or do you reduce de high poly model to give you the low poly... anyway can some one help me out with this one thx

[Diegio]

There are a lot of topics about that in our forum.
Please look around, you will find some topics about this question.

[Tiros]

Well, aye, it's kinda surprising actually. It's like, the one and only question that's being asked everytime a new member joins

Anyhow, even though Diegio has a point, I thought I'd atleast just tell you since that hopefully might give you, and even more people the answer to the question.

While working with a highpoly/lowpoly model, I commonly start out by doing the highpoly model, and then model a lowpoly which I know will fit in well with it.. but this is no rule or better way to do it really. Some preferes doing the lowpoly first.. It pretty much comes down to what suits you the best, and what kind of workflow you'll have.

For detailing something in ZBrush for example. I usually find creating a lowpoly model in max, importing it to ZBrush, sculpt it, export lowest subdv, unwrap, import again, and render out the normals to work the best

So in conclusion, simply do as you like.. there's no "Better or Proper Way"

Cheers!

[TheCorey]

To be honest, you can hardly blame new people for not finding it. This site's search never gives me good results either.

I've got a question though. How do you manage to fit the low poly with the high poly if you make the high poly first?

[Tiros]

Well, that's true. I usually find what I'm looking for.. but.. It might not always show up

Well.. fitting the lowpoly.. um.. that's something one will have to keep in mind while modeling the highpoly. And aslong as the lowpoly model intersects with the highpoly, it's really no problem, aslong as ther cage won't.

Cheers!

[Ghostscape]

Originally Posted by TheCorey

To be honest, you can hardly blame new people for not finding it. This site's search never gives me good results either.

I've got a question though. How do you manage to fit the low poly with the high poly if you make the high poly first?

You build the low poly around it. I make extensive use of X-ray mode in Max (Alt-X) and have a script one of my tech-artist buddies made that flip-flops the X-Ray mode for everything in my scene. Using multiple layers helps for managing the mesh, as well.

It's just a matter of building a low poly model around the high poly model. I prefer doing it this way because I can mash out proportions and details and such on the high-poly, which is much quicker to change up since I don't have to optimize the mesh and re-optimize if the scale changes, and then I can build a low that is optimized perfectly to the high poly model.

Doing it low to high just seems backwards to me.

[Autocon]

Is there a way or tutorial on how to go about quading an object? I have this project to model a low poly weapon being under a 1k tris and so I build the low poly vers first. I would like to do a normal in Zbursh as it would be my first time using it but my model isnt quad friendly atm. Lots of tris and varying shaped polys.

From what I have learned about Zbrush you need to have your model unwrapped to make a normal map for it. It would seem I would have to unwrapp a faily high poly sword if I wanted to keep most of the hard edges in the sword so Zbrush dosnt smooth them all out. This would then blow my tricount. Could anyone point in me in the right direction of a tut or something like that, that could possibly help out? Wouldnt even know where to begin to phase this kinda question to find a search for it.

Is this kinda a foolish way to build a sword?? Should I just try and build a high poly in max? Or should I build a low poly quad vers of the sword, import it, sculpt it, low sub division back to max, lower polys again, unwrapp, add some segments to preserve hard edges without breaking unwrap, import to Zbrush and then bake the normal?



If none of this makes any sense at all I understand but if someone knows where i could get some help for this I would be extremely appreciative.

[benclark]

why do you want to use zbrush on a sword?? seems a strange thing to use organic sculpting on

for something small like this my workflow would be...

1. Model a low mesh (this will be the game mesh later on)
2. UV map the low mesh
3. Make a copy of the low mesh and add extra edges where you need them so the edges stay sharp when subdivided
4. Import this new mesh with extra edges into zbrush and sculpt
5. bake normal map in zbrush and apply the generated map to the mesh made in step 1

[Autocon]

Well I wanted to give the edge of the blade a real rough, beatup look as if it has seen a lot of use and the blade has been dinged up alot. And a good friend of mine who is really been getting into Zbrush said I should sculpt the 2 edges of the blade in Zbrush to give it that beat up and jagged look. I wasnt really sure since I have never used it so I just assumed he was right in thinking it would be a good idea.

I guess I will pass on using Zbrush for this if you think it seems odd. But thanks for the workflow to use when using Zbrush. really apperceate it.

[retardedmonkey]

As far as fitting an LP mesh to an HP mesh it really isn't that hard. I'll tell you my flawed workflow :P

Generally I will have like a billion or so saves. I figured out that it helps so you can go back and grab what you need from earlier saves. Sooo, I will start off my model by making a block-in in order to get proportions and everything correct. This block-in is not detailed....at most it might have medium scale details, but usually nothing more than the basic shapes and forms.

All the while I am saving incrementally like a mad man. Then once the block-in is done I will make a new folder and begin my subdivided saves....in this special folder the block-in model becomes my HP. I then go crazy and model my HP till I'm practically all smiles.

Since the block-in mesh is already correct as far as proportions go, all I really need to do is optimize the block-in model (which was pretty much all quads) and then add any new parts I might have added in the HP stage.

If I do need to move faces or something around to fit the HP, I just turn on snap and adjust it with the HP behind it. I've found this works quite well for me, especially since the LP is almost done and easily accessible thanks to my thousands of incremental saves.

Unwrap, normal map, texture and you're done!

If this workflow has already been stated, I'm sorry I repeated it...I'm very tired and just skimmed the rest of the thread.