Win10 Creators Update / Paint3D - First Impressions

[Rodney]

Installed the Win10 Creators update and everything appears to be working fine.

 

My primary interest of course is gaining access to Paint 3D and testing that out and while it's basic beyond belief I must confess that I'm excited by the prospects of the average Windows user being able to paint 3D models.

 

I chose as my first model to paint the Goose from the A:M Library.

Painting is pretty straightforward but minimum size for paintbrush is limited to 5 pixels in size.

For smaller detail a pencil, pen or marker must be used.

So... laying in a base color with the brush and then zooming in and adding detail is a must.

 

Format-wise the trip from A:M to Paint 3D is not entirely direct.

FBX and 3MF are the formats used (because they can store paint data).

The most direct way from A:M to Paint 3D is via STL export from A:M into the Remix 3D site where the file can then be sent to Paint 3D (and/or exported to FBX, etc.)

 

The big downside (as far as I can tell at this point is that there is no direct means to get the painted model back into A:M.

 

Remix 3D is a site similar to SketchFab but with an emphasis on sharing and reuse ('remixing').

Unlike SketchFab the Remix site does not at this point support animation.

 

Other Oddities

When signing up for Remix3D a username is given that, according to documentation, can be changed 'for a fee'.

Ridiculous.**Edit**Apparently users can change their name/xbox gamertag once for free. Rodney3D was available so that is now me.

 

More to follow..

 

Link to painted Goose on Remix.com

[Rodney]

Here are a few screenshots of the Paint3D interface.

In order to rotate selecting the model (in this case the goose) is required.

 

 

[Rodney]

Loosh making his appearance in Paint3D and Remix.com

 

Link

 

This surely would have turned out better if I'd have used the fill tool.

[Fuchur]

Looking quite nice (so the smoothing isn't perfect).

You should be able to use the same workflow as A:M2Unity3d / FBX Pipeline to Unity3d in my signature...

[Rodney]

so the smoothing isn't perfect

 

They certainly could be smoother but import file size appears to be limited to 64MB.

That's a pretty big file but required for smooth STL files. As I recall, in the Loosh model above I could only use 256 for the level of detail in exporting to STL.

A model with flatter surfaces could likely be exported with higher resolution.

 

The pipeline you outline should certainly work but that is likely overkill for those only desiring to use free programs.

I'll guess that working through Blender with Nemyax's plugins will cover that angle.

Of more interest to me would be that of getting models back into A:M and again, Blender may be the ideal route.

 

I would imagine if I printed the Loosh model out via 3D printer I might be quite satisfied with the results.

(But I have no plans to do that)

 

Added: It's important to be able to use the output of any program with A:M and barring a more direct route back into A:M I'd say the primary output will be that of imagery used as layers, decals, patch images, rotoscopes, etc. This may be just as well because the formats used in Paint3D are stills (whether of models or images). So, environments, props etc. might be created with Paint 3D and shoehorned into A:M by rendering out the object.

 

There is much more to delve into of course. For instance, as a model painter, finding a way to extract the painted surfaces might be useful.

 

At any rate, I hope the technology is useful to Windows users because what is used often gets developed further.

There is much more to try/test to include 'drawing' in 3D. Still need to do that.

[nemyax]

Of more interest to me would be that of getting models back into A:M and again, Blender may be the ideal route.

The only thing that's lost in an A:M→Blender→A:M round trip is hooks (they turn into CPs). Otherwise it's the same geometry.

However, if you're already working with that pipeline, you'd be better off using Blender's built-in 3D painter instead of the Microsoft toy.

[Rodney]

However, if you're already working with that pipeline, you'd be better off using Blender's built-in 3D painter instead of the Microsoft toy.

 

Agreed!

[Rodney]

The whole of Paint 3D appears very much to be a technology preview for those that aren't yet into 3D and yet... there is that aspect of potential... that of any area of interest reaching a critical mass that suggests much can be achieved with the limited toys available. I recall holding on to Windows original paint application for a long time because it had a few bells and whistles that were easily accessible that took a lot of jumping through hoops to get at in other applications. We laugh at that program now but it was pretty useful in its day.

 

There are a lot of little things to like about Paint 3D and I'm discovering more as I explore.

An interesting aspect for instance is the history which can be quickly exported out to an MP4 video.

This can make quick work of creating animation (ala stop motion methodology and drawing) in an otherwise 'still frame' application.

Yes, this is pretty trivial but I'm confident it demonstrates where standard 'rendering' is headed.

If a scene is already rendered to screen it is a fairly trivial matter to record that imagery.

There is little need to re-render something that has already been rendered, especially where nothing has changed.

 

As for drawing of 3D shapes... that's easy in Paint 3D but my stylus isn't quite keeping the lines smooth.

There surely must be a smoothing option somewhere but I've yet to find it.

 

Standard drawing can still be accomplished in Paint 3D but there are very limited tools.

 

Image transparency is an issue. I haven't found a way to preserve transparency in PNGs so perhaps it's not supported.

If not supported that adds another level of complexity to composting imagery as the background must be keyed out.

 

Attached is a quick test of rendering out history (to MP4 video) from the app.

The dent in my head is real the rest imagined... so don't laugh.

 

 

[Rodney]

And a quck 3D treatment of the same...

 

For online me: Link

[Rodney]

I downloaded and installed the lastest Wacom driver for my stylus and what a difference that makes!

Lines drawn are now quite smooth.

 

Although, there is something nice about the crude look with the jaggies...

[Roger]

Is the Loosh creature your character? If so, he's interesting.

[Rodney]

Is the Loosh creature your character?

 

Yessir. He came into existence an hour or so before I posted the drawing of him above.

 

If so, he's interesting.

 

Thanks. I've got a few general thoughts about his personality and of course some of that is based on his physical traits.

Originally I wasn't going to give him arms/hands and instead give him robotic attachments but I've got another character who that angle fits better.

One thing that I need to progress on character-creation-wise is getting to the stage of giving them (audio) voice.

That is so important to establishing personality and yet I can't recall every progressing one of my characters to that stage.

I'm no Mark Largento so I'm not sure how decent I'd be at giving characters voice.

It'd be fun to find out.

[Rodney]

The latest WIndows 10 update continues to improve the native 3DPaint application.

Definitely moving in the right direction.

 

A lot of new additions along with export to GLB, FBX and other formats.

 

In this image I exported Keekat out of A:M into MS3DPaint and then exported out to GLB where I drag dropped the file into the browswer window of the first online 3D viewer that popped up via Google.

 

Interesting times we live in where 3D is being embraced by so many people.