I am a total newbie here and I created a character using alot of subdivision, then I added some features using sculpting and dyntopology. my faces and vertex are over 812,000 would this cause a problem when trying to get the mesh to parent to the bones/armature? because I cant get it parent. I choose automatic weights and it fails every time due to bone heat warning. I also tried other thinks like just parenting to the bone or empty weights and I get undesirable results like my mesh moves or jumps out of position or my model turn to silly putty and stretches weird. Is there any work around I could use to get my character animated or can anyone check out my file and see what I am doing wrong? When i downloaded a simple base mesh character I am able to parent and animate just fine. I really need to figure out what I am doing wrong I have spent 5 days on this and I am ready to give and failure is not and option. Also when I upload to www.pasteall.org for you all to check out my file, it uploads but I do not see a diffrent url. and i just realized my file is 128MB I think it is to detailed. I subdivided alot and the sculpted using dyntopology to add detail. I could not get the sculpt tools to work to make a ear or nose until i subdivided and the used subdivision modifier and the dyno. What am I doing wrong. Can I still get it to animate is there a work around if not. Can someone tell me how I can get the sculpt tools to work without upping the detail much what are the minimum requirements for the tools to work?
here is the google drive of my blender file. link if anyone wants to try and help. It was created in blender 2.8 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x6rznu2IC3MJa4o1wRrweugbcUuNP0XG/view?usp=sharing
Nobody uses an high poly mesh in an animation.
Workflow to adopt is to use a low poly version of character to animate it easily.
You have several options :
- First, creation of a low poly mesh that will handle an armature modifier and a multi-resolution modifier. Then, sculpting on higher levels of multi-resolution modifier, caching these levels and disabling the modifier while animating.
- Creation of an high poly mesh, first. Then, retopology of the mesh in order to create a low poly version. Then, UVunwrapping of Low Poly mesh and baking of details of High Poly mesh into a normal map. Low Poly mesh is animated but it looks like High Poly one at render because of normal map.
To sum-up :
Low Poly + Multiresotion modifier = High Poly look
or
Low Poly + Normal Map = High Poly look.
In theory, you can rig any kind of mesh.
Bone Heat automatic skinning may fail. You can always do a manual skinning in Weight Paint mode with brushes.
In practice, a mesh with a high polycount corresponds to lots of vertices that are requiring a refreshment of their position. It requires a lot of memory and a lot of computation.
What about sculpting why where my sculpting tools not working? they did not work till I upped the geometry detail. I forgot what I did I think I subdivided a few times, I also hit the subdivision surface modifier a few levels/times and i also used dyntoplody. What is the proper method for getting detailed sculpting of a mesh?
Go slow, you seem to be in a hurry. Step back and redo it from scratch. If you are a newbie do not try to dominate all areas of cg in a single project at first go.
Also please post screenshots, not every one has a powerful desktop to open your files.
Of course. The more dense the mesh, the more difficult will be for the skinning algorithm to work.
Let alone if you created the mesh with errors like intersections, holes…
Worst yet if you imported it from another application which has more math resolution… you’ll get math errors.
Moreover, subtle “errors” like sliver tris could cause bad quality meshes to fault…
Well, subdivide it if you know you are going to need it. Do not jump between methods of subdividing. Subdivision is there for optimization not for liberty to upres your model for a million polygon at one go.
I personally never upres my sculpts unless I have to. In fact I work as low res as possible, like below 1000 polygons if possible. And I go from there.
What are the minimum requirements to get the sculpt tools to work?
Any decent computer will do it, your issue has nothing to do with system specs. I recommend you imagine that every polygon you put there will cost you a dollar, meaning that calculate every polygon, be mindful of not wasting polygons. In that regard I highly recommend you to try doing game ready models first, that should get you understand optimization.
Lets put it that way. If you can`t make a proper face with 1000 polygons, 1000000000 polygons wont help you either.
I don’t know much about rigging and animation in Blender but i know a little bit about C4d And Maya.
Usually you use a lower poly mesh to skin and bind to your mesh. You then use the lower poly mesh to drive the deformation of the high poly mesh.
You keep the Low poly mesh under 50k polygons and the highpoly mesh is either a Sub-D mesh or a mesh with displacement maps (or both)
Just to put things in perspective: I recently saw Alita: Battle Angel in the cinema. One of her eyes has more polygons than the whole Gollum character from Lord of the Rings (8 Million +), if that was after subdividing i can’t tell, but its mind-blowing.
Dyntopo is a sculpting mode creating geometry on brush stroke. If detail size defined is higher than brush radius, it will not create geometry and you will not see a change.
It is abbreviation of dynamic topology.
There are several dyntopo methods. And using correct set-up depends of which method is used.
Following a tutorial or reading manual should explicit that.
Dyntopo use implies retopology of mesh. On low poly mesh from retopology, you can bake a normal map or use a multiresolution modifier with high levels.
People using dyntopo, often uses it for the feeling and the freedom it gives at moment of creation despite the need of retopology.
But Dyntopo is one way to sculpt. You are not forced to use it to sculpt on mesh.
Sculpting directly with a multiresolution mesh may be simpler.
This workflow ( add modifier, create high levels, sculpt) requires less learning to obtain an animated character although feeling is not as good.
How can I parent the mesh to the bones if automatic weight fails? I tired empty envelopes and it was stretching my character in very weird ways and when i tired to parent the mush just to the bones my character jumped out of position.
Skinning is a slow process when it is done manually. But nobody can avoid it when automatic skinning fails.
You can use envelopes or weight painting of vertex groups or both.
But, as a newbie, you should avoid to use both and choose one way : envelopes or vertex groups.
Envelopes are simply defining areas. Vertices inside volume of the envelope are following movement of the bone corresponding to the envelope. Simple concept.
There is a small volume. Vertex movement is strictly following movement of bone.
And there is a bigger volume. In that case, bone influence decays with distance to the bone.
If vertex is outside of bone volume, it is not influenced at all and does not move.
What is complicated with use of envelopes is that an armature is not made of one bone but several bones. So a vertex may be inside several overlapping volumes. It may be influenced by several bones which is ideal for joints. But you have to take care that armature is well made with bones precisely positioned to produce ideal envelopes and ideal joints.
You don’t have this problem with vertex groups weights. Position of bones may be approximate.
Vertex belonging to a vertex group with same name of bone follows this bone.
If it has a weight equal to 1, it follows strictly bone movement. If its weight is less than 1, it is less influenced by bone.
Simple concept, too. But if mesh have lots of vertices, it means lots of verification.
It is why there is a Weight Paint. Weight is represented as a color, you immediately see if an area of mesh has wrong weight, wrong color. By painting, you can fix that for lots of vertices in one paint stroke.
Concepts of skinning are not complicated. But it implies to be strict.
Best way to avoid problems is to start by position origins of mesh and armature at same location.
Then, Scale and Roation of both objects have to be applied.
Then, Armature have to be edited to place bones at ideal location.
Then, parenting can be done.