It Can't Be Decaled! Face Painting

[robcat2075]

 

This started out as "light" version of Jim Talbot's method to flatten a face and apply a decal but it's already running long...

 

Episode 1 is on Youtube. How to flatten a face?

errata: at about 5:35 you can see a bit of distortion happening on the screen-left edge of the mesh. That is because those patches are right next to the hidden stretched patches. Those will decal oddly at that edge. Ideally we would have one more column of patches between those and the stretched patches to hide and exclude from decaling. Then none of the decaled patches would be adjacent to the stretched patches.

Episode 2 is on YouTube. Fixing the overlaps.

 

errata: at about 11:30 I say "This character has a very long protruding feature in the nose..." when i really meant the chin.

 

Episode 2 Addendum is on Youtube. About those hidden splines in back

 

Episode 2 Addendum-da-dum is on Youtube. Not strictly required viewing, but this covers some more examples of re-apportioning patches for bitmap coverage.

 

Episode 3 is on YouTube. Capturing the wireframe, sizing it correctly, and painting on the decal.

 

Episode 4 is on YouTube. Discussion of what we need in a paint program. You can skip this if you are already quite familiar with AdobePhotoshop.

 

Episode 5 is on YouTube. We finally paint our color map.

 

errata: at about 13:50 I demonstrate a very soft brush but the screen capture loses most of that softness. You'll want to experiment with that yourself.

 

Episode 6 is on YouTube. Bumps and Displacements.

 

Episode 7 is on Youtube. Controlling hair with a map.

[Dpendleton77]

Awesome.

[robcat2075]

Part 2 is now online. See link in the top post!

[Rodney]

Nicely done Robert!

 

Edit: You posted part 2 while I was watching part 1.

Thanks for that too!

[detbear]

There are very few cases where you can avoid moving cps manually after the flatten process.

 

I think the flatten should be updated where you don't have to spin the axis handles around. There should

be a way to flatten from front view where the axis is automatically adjusted.

 

I normally do both the back and front side. Not only on a character's head....but also on the body.

 

The other issue that I never quite understood, was how to make an "Exact" match between photoshop and the A:M decal.

At least in the way Talbot did it. I always "fudge" it a bit.

[robcat2075]

 

 

I think the flatten should be updated where you don't have to spin the axis handles around.

 

I'd be curious to know why that convention is the way it is, too, since cylindrical wrap of a decal already automatically goes around the vertical axis. But at least there is a way to adjust it.

[Rodney]

The other issue that I never quite understood, was how to make an "Exact" match between photoshop and the A:M decal.

At least in the way Talbot did it. I always "fudge" it a bit.

 

Have you tried A:M's new Screencap tool?

While it might not quite fit your needs it can certainly save you that round trip to photoshop when applying a decal.

 

The basic steps:

- A:M Snapshot

- Immediately Right Click in same modeling window - Apply Snapshot as Decal

 

See the more graphic view of the workflow below (click on the image if the animation isn't active):

 

And of course once applied to the model the decal/image can be taken into photoshop and manipulated as necessary, increased to higher resolution, duplicated (and applied via Add Image) for additional layering and surface effects, etc.

.

 

The result stays pretty tight and can be tweaked to be even tighter (via A:M's Decal Editor)

[robcat2075]

 

The other issue that I never quite understood, was how to make an "Exact" match between photoshop and the A:M decal.

At least in the way Talbot did it. I always "fudge" it a bit.

 

Have you tried A:M's new Screencap tool?

While it might not quite fit your needs it can certainly save you that round trip to photoshop when applying a decal.

 

The basic steps:

- A:M Snapshot

- Immediately Right Click in same modeling window - Apply Snapshot as Decal

 

See the more graphic view of the workflow below (click on the image if the animation isn't active):

 

And of course once applied to the model the decal/image can be taken into photoshop and manipulated as necessary, increased to higher resolution, duplicated (and applied via Add Image) for additional layering and surface effects, etc.

.

 

The result stays pretty tight and can be tweaked to be even tighter (via A:M's Decal Editor)

 

 

 

I had forgotten about the "Apply Snapshot"! However...

 

- I see that it is only available in the model window and not in the Pose window where i have my flattened mesh.

- Also in the A:M i have, "Apply Snapshot" causes a snapshot to be made and applied in one step rather than being something you do after making a snapshot.

-If I use the scaling slider in the snapshot control window the image is not correctly rescaled to match the model

 

My episode 3 makes use of Snapshot but not "Apply snapshot". I'll need to make some bug reports to Steffen about the above.

[Rodney]

- I see that it is only available in the model window and not in the Pose window where i have my flattened mesh.

- Also in the A:M i have, "Apply Snapshot" causes a snapshot to be made and applied in one step rather than being something you do after making a snapshot.

-If I use the scaling slider in the snapshot control window the image is not correctly rescaled to match the model

 

Hmmm.... some of that sounds very familiar.

I think we've had this conversation before.

 

Press on... Press on though!

[NancyGormezano]

I think the flatten should be updated where you don't have to spin the axis handles around. There should

be a way to flatten from front view where the axis is automatically adjusted.

I tend NOT to use flatten. I find there is more control with which, and how patches get "flattened" by using scaling on z axis (set z-pivot =0, set scale = 0%)

 

1) hide all cps NOT to be decaled

 

2) In a pose, move cps so that patches usually obscured by other patches get spread out

 

3) From front view (with show manipulator properties ON): Select all the patches (cps) - select scale tool, set z pivot = 0, set z scale = 0%

 

4) If necessary, move cps more in pose, to reveal and space the flattened patches

 

5) from PWS, rt click on model's name, select new, decal, (position image), select apply, stop positioning

Edited April 4, 2015 by NancyGormezano

[robcat2075]

An addendum to Episode 2 is now online. See link in top post!

[robcat2075]

An addendum to the addendum to Episode 2 is now online. See the link in top post!

[robcat2075]

Part 3 is now live! See the link in the top post.

[robcat2075]

Part 4 is now online! See link in the top post.

[robcat2075]

Part 5 is now online! See link in top post.

[Mechadelphia]

Thank you for the videos.

 

I found them very useful.

[johnl3d]

Always great tuts...

[robcat2075]

Thanks guys!

 

Fasten your seat belts, the very bumpy Episode 6 is now live! See link in the top post.

[Dpendleton77]

I know "It can't be decaled" is a good tutorial and all but let me stop and say that "Heart of glass" is the tutorial of the year. Question though are you going to finish that one?

[robcat2075]

I know "It can't be decaled" is a good tutorial and all but let me stop and say that "Heart of glass" is the tutorial of the year. Question though are you going to finish that one?

Yes, I will get back to that.

[robcat2075]

Hold on to your Hair Map! Episode 7 is now live.

 

Check the link in the top post.

[Shelton]

Rewatching these. Awesome

[Rodney]

Thanks for that Robert... (talking specificially episode 7 here)... having been caught up in direction maps for hair I had completely forgotten the simplicity and power of the black and white maps to control hair density. Thanks for the reminder!