Full Version: Auto-retopology algorithms compared

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Hi all,

In the mean time I've installed ZBrush 2019 and had a go at it.

I have to admit I had higher expectations of ZRemesher 3.0. I guess it's more like ZRemesher 2.2 with sharp-edge support. It doesn't feel like a fully reinvented algorithm. As you can also see in Stefans image there are certain smooth areas where mangled multi-edge singularities occur, in favor of maintaining the sharp edges.

I had hoped ZRemesher 3.0 would make use of Machine Learning to recognize shapes and apply a 'Ground Truth' topology to it.

The rest of the features are of less interest to me personally. I experimented a lot with NPR rendering around fifteen years ago, when finalToon, Pencil+ and Liquid+ were exciting, state of the art 3ds Max plug-ins.

Next to MoI I find my focus centering on Blender more and more since the development of version 2.8. There are a number of free or very affordable add-ons that decrease my need for ZBrush as a companion tool.

I've post a top 5 of Blender add-ons that really help my daily modeling workflow to a separate MoI forum discussion here:

http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=9287.1

Regards,

Metin

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Hi Metin,

i somehow agree with you, but on the other side i have not seen
yet a quad remesher which can replace ZRemesher yet. I doubt,
for example, that 3DCoat's autotopo tool can even handle Michael's
sample model properly. Maybe Marco or you can give 3DCoat with
Michael's test model a try.

I am very very thankful that Pixologic gives us still free upgrades,
so this should be no problem, money wise …

Regarding Blender, yes, it is a DCC app, especially 2.8, which everybody
should take a closer look at.

Best regards
Stefan

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I think the general difficulty is that auto-retopo is targeting generating uniformly sized quads. That works well for the most common organic model type shaping but CAD models very often have a mix of large areas and then smaller sharply defined features.

- Michael

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I agree Michael. It's very complex stuff. I'm hoping that AI will bring the final auto-retopo solution.

Stefan, you're right, ZRemesher is still the best auto-retopologizer in the 3D industry, although 3D-Coat's Autopo can yield very nice results as well, sometimes even better than ZRemesher.

There's also a Blender auto-retopo add-on called Tesselator, which is gradually evolving into quite a nice solution:

https://blenderartists.org/t/tesselator-quad-remesher/1131624

Regards,

Metin

visualization • illustration • 3D design — metinseven.nl

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Greetings fellow MoIists!

Slightly on a tangent, but I came across this guide and it might prove useful to some of you that use Zbrush.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/baJYqo

Image Attachments:
francis-xavier-martins-tutorial.jpg 

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Sorry but your link no longer appears to be working.

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Rhino3D and Quad Remesher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z92YGS_Oy9g&t=107s

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Yeah, I transitioned to a new site CMS and back to Artstation in the mean time. A number of my blog posts died in the updating process. :|

I can safely state that the latest ZRemesher / Quad Remesher versions offer the best auto-retopology algorithms at the moment.

• ZRemesher (version 3 at the time I write this) is part of ZBrush.

• Quad Remesher is the same algorithm, but made available for other DCCs, like Blender, 3ds Max, Maya and more.
─ I've written an extensive post (and thread) about it on Blender Artists, including a FAQ:
https://blenderartists.org/t/quad-remesher-auto-retopologizer/1170913

• There's also a free / open source auto-retopologizer that comes reasonably close to ZRemesher / Quad Remesher, but its development seems to have frozen for a while now:
https://github.com/huxingyi/autoremesher

Regards,

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free versions for xsi
https://ssoftadd.github.io/quadRemeshPage.html

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