Here is my unwrapped model in Blender with a teeny bit of texture painting done in Blender.
Then when I do bit of painting (per pixel) in 3D Coat and export back to Blender here is what happens to the mesh when I click on “Get Back” in the 3D Coat Applink.
Are there any good, and recent, tutorials on exporting and importing from 3D Coat?
Thanks
I haven’t used applink at all, and it’s been a while since I used 3DCoat, but I’ve seen the issue many times.
My guess would be it’s a problem related to the old obj importer which is not keeping vertex IDs by default when importing.
Are you using this by any chance?
Not sure if there’s a setting to use FBX, but either doing that, or switching off split mode in the addons S3DC_OP_ImportScene class
bpy.ops.import_scene.obj(filepath=new_applink_name, axis_forward='-Z',
split_mode=OFF,
axis_up='Y', use_image_search=False)
, or better yet, switching to the new obj importer should solve the issue I think.
You should still be able to manually export and import your model, it’s just the applink that needs a bit of TLC.
I assume you’re using the add-on that 3D Coat installs automatically?
Make sure it’s updated.
Are you using any particular settings when you import the mesh in 3D Coat?
As long as you have it set it up properly, it should work fine.
I just tried it with an unwrapped model, from Blender to 3D Coat, did some painting, and sent it back to Blender without any issue.
You could also try exporting an OBJ.
Thank you both for the replies.
Dan2, I am not too versed in “voxels” and how they relate to a mesh created in Blender. Should I try the Mifthtools addon? And what is the "new obj importer? I am not to good with figuring out which files to download using github. And it appears that this addon was last updated for Blender 2.8.
And phoe-nix-art, I read on the 3D Coat forum that if 3d Coat is in the latest version then so is the Applink.
I am trying to learn as much as I can about this.
I can get the object into 3D Coat so maybe I just need to work on getting the painted image (.png) files back to Blender.
Not sure if you are in a rush trying to finish the project, but I could do a screen record in the next couple of days, if that helps.
In the meantime, has the scale been applied before sending to 3D Coat?
Hi phoe-nix-art I am not in a rush and would find a screen record super helpful. Only if you can spare the time. When I send a simple mesh over with the applink it works fine.
Yes I have applied the scale before sending.
I have found a way to just export the textures back from 3D Coat and not the mesh. But it would be great to have the applink work properly.
Thanks for the offer to help and for your replies thus far.
Hey @michaelws
Sorry it took me a bit to get this screen recording for you.
It’s very basic, so I’m not sure if it will help. But at least we can through the initial steps, and see if there’s something we’re missing. Mind you, I’m not a 3D Coat experienced user, all the opposite. Seasoned users may have better workflow to suggest.
Anyway, here’s the clip, and then let’s discuss it from there:
wow. Thanks Phoe-nix-art.
That went WAaay over my head. I will have to look at it numerous times with the speed slowed down.
For a “not experienced user” of 3D Coat, you put me to shame.
I just want to get the applink to work and not explode my mesh. I am able to export the Texture map from 3D Coat, with some renaming of the exported files, and get them on my mesh in the shader room in Blender.
But it would be great to have the applink work.
As I said earlier I can send simple objects back and forth but not the dog mesh I have created. I am now playing around with Substance 3D Painter 2023 and I still have an upward climb to learn it.
But I thank you again. That was amazing…I am humbled by your effort here to help me.
Are you exporting your mesh as an .fbx as described in this video (I set the timestamp to start at the relevant part)?
You have the option for an obj based export using the applink, however, looking at the documentation and the original code they used, I don’t think that would work and may very well result in exploding meshes like yours. Using fbx however would not show such issues. In theory at least. I didn’t try it as I don’t have 3DCoat installed.
Hi Dan2 yes I am sending as an .fbx
That’s odd. And that’s with re-starting Blender an using a clean scene right?
Yes to restart…but am using the same blender file of the dog.
I would try doing the fbx export of the dog from 3DCoat using applink into a clean Blender scene with nothing in it.
If you have other elements you need from your scene you can just copy and paste them into your new clean scene. It’s worth making sure the mesh has the same vert order as the one in 3DCoat.
Dan2
I will try that.
One thing I noticed when clicking “Send Back” is that the exploded mesh now has a scale setting in Blender of .010.
The original mesh before sending has a scale of 1.0 in XY and Z.
I tried hitting send back in an empty scene, new scene. Nothing happened
Is your applink identical to the one in this video? Notice he’s using export instead of open in original app, since his scene is now empty as well. - https://youtu.be/dB1Sq5Fi2RY?t=365
The 0.01 scale will come from the fbx defaults. The issue is that the mesh got the vert order mixed up, probably due to obj import at some point in time. Every time the applink wants to bring back the mesh using fbx, it tries to force a different vert order onto your mesh in the scene, resulting in mixed up positions for every vertex.
The only way to fix that is to start from a clean scene.
I guess you can’t share the model. Any chance you could try with another model, and in case you hit the same issue, then share it here?
Edit: and sorry, I didn’t mean to make it complicated. I thought it would be useful to go through the whole process.
Dan2 It appears to be the same applink. I followed what he did in the 3D Coat settings and then in a new Blender file I hit Get Back. It brought it back but without any textures. At least this time it did not explode the mesh so that is a plus. It would not show any textures tho. It places the UDIM tetures in different folders. I will have to play with the settings. I have gotten textures back from 3D Coat but I had to rename the texture files.
I will play around with it some more.
phoe-nix-art, I don’t know how to share the model. We’d have to share emails or something. Remember I have done this successfully with simple meshes from Blender. Even when I send like the tongue or the upper or lower gums. They come back okay. But the body of the dog is what messes up. There are no overlapping verts or anything. The unwrapping in UDIM tiles went good also. It exports and imports to and from Substance Painter 2023 perfectly. So I don’t know how to troubleshoot the problem with 3D Coat.
I’m not familiar with the folder requirements, but the mesh exploding thing was definitely due to a vert order mismatch. Since that’s out of the way it’s just a matter of resolving the folder structure. I think the first video here is diving a bit into that - https://youtu.be/bkKZN2gPkec?t=102
Here are some screenshots I just did. The model did not come back exploded so that is a good sign. I did get a few error messages that I do not know what they mean but I took a screenshot of that also.
First is my model in Blender in the Layout window.
Next are my UVs in two UDIM tiles with the body of the dog on tile 1002
Next is the import settings I used in 3D Coat after hitting Send in the Applink
Next is a shot of a quick painting on the back of the dog body in 3D Coat. No sense in painting detail in this test.
Next are the settings in 3D Coat Export window
And then the dog back in Blender after hitting Get Back in the Applink…with the error messages
Again I am grateful it did not rip the mesh apart. So that is a step forward.
