mudbox

Autodesk Mud Box – Retopology

1. Load a very dense Mesh as .fbx or .obj, select it

Mudbox cannot retopologize a mesh with discontiguous areas (islands).

To separate out a mesh island for retopology, choose the Face Select tool and double-click to select the island.
Then use Mesh>Duplicate Selected Faces to copy it to a separate mesh.

NOTICE: Retopology command does not reduce faces, but only

Automatic

2. MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Retopology> New Operation

3. In the floating Window:

– Target Base Face Count: for example 3000 faces for a videogame character

– Use Curves to Control Topology Flow: UNCHECK

4. ‘Retopology’

Using Curves

2. BOTTOM LEFT> Curve Tools> Create Curve, create curves

3. MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Retopology> New Operation

– Target Base Face Count: for example 3000 faces for a videogame character

– Use Curves to Control Topology Flow: CHECK

4. RMB over a Curve in the Viewport, select Soft Constrain or Hard Constrain

5. ‘Retopology’

Very dense Mesh -> Reduce -> Adjust -> Retopology -> Export

1. Load a very dense Mesh

2. MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Reduce Mesh> target Face Count: for example 3000 poly, ‘Create Reduced Mesh’

3. You need to close the holes:

a. BOTTOM LEFT> Select/Move Tools> Faces> select the adiacent faces of the hole

b. MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Patch (benda, pezza, tappa il buco)

c. Keep the previous selection> MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Tighten selection (modifica le facce nuove per renderle più continue con il resto della superficie)

d. Keep the previous selection> MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Fair selection (modifica le facce nuove per renderle più continue con il resto della superficie)

OPTION 1

4. MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Retopology> New Operation

5. In the floating Window:

– Target Base Face Count: for example 3000 faces for a videogame character

– Use Curves to Control Topology Flow: UNCHECK

6. ‘Retopology’

OPTION 2

2. BOTTOM LEFT> Curve Tools> Create Curve, create curves

3. MAIN TOP MENU> Mesh> Retopology> New Operation

– Target Base Face Count: for example 3000 faces for a videogame character

– Use Curves to Control Topology Flow: CHECK

4. RMB over a Curve in the Viewport, select Soft Constrain or Hard Constrain

5. ‘Retopology’

Export

1. Press on the keyboard PGDOWN to se the lower level

2. BOTTOM LEFT> Select/Move Tool> Select the Object

3. MAIN TOP MENU> File> Export Selection…> yourobject.obj

4. Inside 3DS Max> MAIN TOP MENU> Import> yourobject.obj, you will see 2 object, the Reduced model and the Retopo model.

Official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpVCvgvzR_I

Autodesk MudBox – Ptex Painting

Ptex means ‘Per-face texture assignment’, his tecnology was created inside Disney/Pixar to boost the productions workflow in texture painting.

With Ptex you do not need UVs to paint the texture over the 3D object!

The workflow is:

3DS Max – Export model without UVs

1. Open a 3D model inside 3DS MAX

2. Clear the old UVs with the modifier UVW Mapping Clear

3. Select the object> MAIN TOP MENU> Export> Export Selected> yourmesh.fbx

OR

MAIN TOP MENU> Sent to> Send to Mud Box

MudBox – paint the model with Ptex

4. Open MudBox

5. MAIN TOP MENU> File> Import> yourmesh.fbx

6. 3D View -> see the 3D Model
UV View -> there is nothing

OR

if you have a multiple Subdivision levels MudBox object turn to the lower level

7. MAIN TOP MENU> UVs & Maps> PTEX setup>
– ‘Increase’ to increase the texture resolution if you need.
OR
– BOTTOM LEFT> Select/Move Tool> Faces> select Faces, after ‘Increase’ to increase texture resolution locally.

8. ‘Done’, see also UV View -> yourmesh is currently using PTEX painting, and has no UVs

OR

if you have a multiple Subdivision levels MudBox object turn to the higher level

9. RIGHT COLUMN> New Layer> Paint Layer / Ptex file / Diffuse> ‘OK’

10. BOTTOM LEFT> Paint Tools> paint the mesh, notice it is easy to paint, there is not artifacts or stretched UVs areas

3DS Max – Export model with UVs

11. Open a 3D model inside 3DS MAX

12. Create UVs

13. Select the object> MAIN TOP MENU> Export> Export Selected> yourmesh-UVs.fbx

MudBox – from Ptex to UVs

—
Overview:

Maps> Extract Texture Maps> New Operation> Transfer Paint Layers.
In Target Model, choose the Mesh with the correct UV Mapping.
In Source Model, choose the PTex Mesh.
Projection Method> Ray Casting> ‘Extract’.
To export the texture, go to the paint layer from the UV Mesh, right click with mouse. Select export channel to PSD.
—

14. MAIN TOP MENU> File> Import> yourmesh-UVs.fbx, place it in the same position of your Ptex mesh

15. UV View -> there the UVs

16. Select the Ptex mesh

17. MAIN TOP MENU> UVs & Maps> Extract Texture Maps> New Operation> select ‘Transfer Paint Layers’

18. RIGHT COLUMN> Object List> Select> yourmesh-UVs> Extract Texture map floating window> Targert Models ‘Add Selected’

19. RIGHT COLUMN> Object List> Select> yourmesh (level 0)> Extract Texture map floating window> Source Models ‘Add Selected’

20. Extract Texture map floating window> Method> Ray Casting> ‘Extract’

21. Select the yourmesh-UVs> RIGHT COLUMN> Layers label> RMB over Diffuse Paint Layer> Export Selected> Photoshop 8bit

NOTICE: the output PSD file can have little artifacts you have to correct inside Photoshop

Official reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElVbyLyD_ts

Autodesk Mud Box – Projection

Load a Stencil Image

Create a Plane and project an image inside Mud Box, following the next steps:

1. MAIN TOP MENU> Create> Mesh> Plane

2. BOTTOM WINDOW> Select/Move Tools> Rotate -> RIGHT COLUMN> Rotate X=270

3. 3D View TOP RIGHT CUBE> Arrow Icon> Orthographic, after click FRONT FACE of the cube.
Now we have a Plane on the XY Plane in a orthographic FRONT View

4. BOTTOM LEFT> Paint Tools> Projection

5. BOTTOM RIGHT> LABEL Stencil> ‘Circle Arrow’ icon> Add Stencil> Select the imported image from the list>

6. See also RIGHT COLUMN, now there is the Stencil Image

7. S+RMB -> scale stencil
S+MMB -> move stencil
S+LMB -> rotate stencil
Q -> hide stencil

8. MAIN TOP MENU> Edit> Edit Stencil> FLOATING WINDOW> Display: Monochrome/Transparent/Opaque

9. BOTTOM LEFT> Sculpt Tools> Grab -> paint over the stencil to edit it
BOTTOM LEFT> Paint Tools > Paint Brush -> paint over the stencil to edit it

10. At the end> FLOATING WINDOW> ‘Save As’
After saving you will see the new stencil on BOTTOM RIGHT> Label ‘Stencil’

Paint the Stencil Image over the 3D Object

1. Select the object -> RIGHT BOTTOM> Label ‘Select/Move’> Objects icon> LMB over the object

2. Create a Paint Layer -> RIGHT COLUMN> small icon on top left> ‘Create New Layer’> Paint Layer / Diffuse

3. Select the projection image -> BOTTOM LEFT> Paint Tools> select ‘Projection’> BOTTOM RIGHT> Stencil> DOUBLE CLICK over an image, you will see it in the RIGHT COLUMN and in the Viewport

4. Deselect the Object -> RIGHT BOTTOM> Label ‘Select/Move’> Objects icon> LMB over an empty area in the viewport

5. Paint over the object -> select the Paint layer> paint over the object

6. At the end hide the stencil pressing Q on the keyboard or uncheck ‘on’ of Stencil in the RIGHT COLUMN

Create a new Stencil Image

I am going to create a new PSD file from the screencapture of the 3D viewport.

1. MAIN TOP MENU> File> Export Screen to PSD

2. Open .PSD file with Photoshop, you will find the Screen Capture, modify the Layer ‘Mud Box Texture (Paint Here)’

3. Open Mud Box, it knows that you have changed the texture, ‘Re-Import yourfile.PSD’

Mud Box Autodesk – Paint Texture – Paint Higher/Lower Areas Only

1. Select 3D Object

2. Select Paint Layer

3. BOTTOM LEFT> Paint Tools> Dry Brush

4. MAIN TOP MENU> Windows> Preferences> Paint> Paint> Fast Dry Brush: uncheck -> this will increase stroke accourancy

Higher Areas

5. LMB to Paint over the 3D Model

Lower Areas

5. CTRL+LMB to Paint over the 3D Model

Autodesk Mud Box – Paint Texture Opacity

Paint Opacity

1. Select a 3D Model with UVs

2. BOTTOM LEFT> Paint Tools> Paint Brush

3. RIGHT COLUMN> TOP LEFT> small icon ‘New Layer’> Floating Window> Channel: Opacity

4. RIGHT COLUMN> Color> Black, you can change ‘Strength’ values to change opacity of your paint strokes