SJM > Sculptris UI (Proposal)

[justadeletedguy]

the Keyboard shortcut (9) is an old one Tomas left in there from before Pixo days, I found it on his old board, but it's still in A6. I don't know what to call it, or exactly it's function (hide, break, or Freeze) but what is does is hides the left side of a Symmetry model. This allows the user to Pan, Rotate inside the model to fix problems. Many new users run into the same problem - inflate works on polygon normals, and when used near the Symmetry line, can cause the mesh to cross over it's self, and Sculptris wont edit backfaces, leaving chunky garbage to fix. This is when they come complaining to the forum, and keyboard shortcut 9 is what I tell them to use. You could call it "Toggle mirror view" or "Hide one side" or "Mesh fix Mode" but yes this could use a button. It's not mentioned in the current UI or the PDF .. but it's still in the software and very usefull .....

[SeanJM]

Task Summary:

All Tabs

1. Export Model > Include textures

Sculpting Tab

1. Create menu bar (File, Edit, etc...)
2. Outliner > Mirror > Weld at center (tolerance slider)
3. Outliner > Mirror > Compensate at Symmetry Line (if we no longer use the mirror weld method, this is not an issue)
4. Tools Panel > Symmetry > Show Symmetry Line
5. Tools Panel > Masking > Smooth Subdivide
6. Tools Panel > Relax Mesh when adding detail
7. Organize Objects Library to feature: Head, Hand, Foot, Torso, Humanoid
8. Tools Panel > Masking > Hard edge control, Edge Bevel
9. Tools Panel? > Alphas, control contrast/brightness (vectorize alphas?)
10. Materials Panel > Groups not obvious
11. Global Preferences > AA, DOF, Background
12. Global Preferences > Configure Navigation, Presets:Zbrush, Sculptris, Maya, 3DS

Texturing Tab

1. Crop Image
2. Seamless Texture Creation

Baking Tab?

1. Normal Map Baking, Displacement Map Baking, Baking.

Render Tab?

[justadeletedguy]

Hard edges control is a display preference that's usually software independent and is not exported with the model (obj format, FBX I believe can). In blender it's set fairly low, 30° or better for hard edge, in Wings3D 60° a nice mid value, and in Daz Studio it's 89.5°, meaning you need a full 90° to show a hard edge. In all of these apps the default value can be changed for Auto-smooth, and in most, individual edges can be marked for hardness as well. This was a display trick in the early, low-poly, game days, so that things like an 8-sided cylinder (octagonal) could be displayed as a round pole (maybe for a sign) and yet stay very low-poly. Sculptris has no hard edges at all, although it probably would not be useful for Sculptris (Dynamic Tessellation) models, as to get a crease you use Pinch and "Smash" polygons together. It looks straight, but up close it's actually very jagged. But when importing quad-models, it's horribly noticeable.

[holyenigma74]

are you just drawing this stuff in 2d or do you have a "working" prototype of the UI?
(buttons mouse over and everything?)

If you have a prototype, that we can actually "install" and move around in
(its doesnt have to be a "working" prototype with sculptris code or anything)

just to give an idea of what it looks like.
then we would be able to give better feedback,
having the hands on i think would help.

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oh and probably in the render tab is where you would want to put the DOF settings, Fog settings,
maybe a redundant button for background
(or maybe the render room can have a different background than the other rooms?)
i know Sculptris uses matcaps but it owuld be cool if we could change the light angles,
like in 3d-Coat in the upper right hand corner of the UI you can change direction/angle and intensity of the light.

--------------

Oh and Straight line drawing polylines would be cool. for the masking tool.

[holyenigma74]

[holyenigma74]

then you would want a restore a "restore defaults"
or load factory defaults layout button as well somewhere.

[SeanJM]

Hard edges control is a display preference that's usually software independent and is not exported with the model (obj format, FBX I believe can). In blender it's set fairly low, 30° or better for hard edge, in Wings3D 60° a nice mid value, and in Daz Studio it's 89.5°, meaning you need a full 90° to show a hard edge. In all of these apps the default value can be changed for Auto-smooth, and in most, individual edges can be marked for hardness as well. This was a display trick in the early, low-poly, game days, so that things like an 8-sided cylinder (octagonal) could be displayed as a round pole (maybe for a sign) and yet stay very low-poly. Sculptris has no hard edges at all, although it probably would not be useful for Sculptris (Dynamic Tessellation) models, as to get a crease you use Pinch and "Smash" polygons together. It looks straight, but up close it's actually very jagged. But when importing quad-models, it's horribly noticeable.

What you said and what I mean to create is a control where hard angles are contrasted, so you could have a slider and increase the angularity of a selected area. Like, making a car for example and you want that hard edge, you increase the slider value and angles all get sharper.

are you just drawing this stuff in 2d or do you have a "working" prototype of the UI?

(buttons mouse over and everything?)

Illustrations for now although I have been thinking of coding a prototype in HTML, CSS & JavaScript.

If you have a prototype, that we can actually "install" and move around in
(its doesnt have to be a "working" prototype with sculptris code or anything)

just to give an idea of what it looks like.
then we would be able to give better feedback,
having the hands on i think would help.

It would be in browser hosted on my server.

----------

oh and probably in the render tab is where you would want to put the DOF settings, Fog settings,
maybe a redundant button for background

(or maybe the render room can have a different background than the other rooms?)

I don't think of these as rooms, really they are just ways for us compartmentalize the UI and scope it's structure.

i know Sculptris uses matcaps but it owuld be cool if we could change the light angles,
like in 3d-Coat in the upper right hand corner of the UI you can change direction/angle and intensity of the light.

What if you double click on a material and you brought into MaCrea where you can do that? And then you get real time feedback on your model there.

--------------

Oh and Straight line drawing polylines would be cool. for the masking tool.

Yes, hold shift, :-)

Task Summary:

All Tabs

1. Export Model > Include textures

Sculpting Tab

1. Create menu bar (File, Edit, etc...)
2. Outliner > Mirror > Weld at center (tolerance slider)
3. Outliner > Mirror > Compensate at Symmetry Line (if we no longer use the mirror weld method, this is not an issue)
4. Tools Panel > Symmetry > Show Symmetry Line
5. Tools Panel > Masking > Smooth Subdivide
6. Tools Panel > Relax Mesh when adding detail
7. Organize Objects Library to feature: Head, Hand, Foot, Torso, Humanoid
8. Tools Panel > Masking > Hard edge control, Edge Bevel
9. Tools Panel > Masking > Hold Shift to Draw Straight Line
10. Tools Panel? > Alphas, control contrast/brightness (vectorize alphas?)
11. Materials Panel > Groups not obvious12.
12. Global Preferences > Configure Navigation, Presets:Zbrush, Sculptris, Maya, 3DS
13. Global Preferences > UV deformation mode (is this needed?)
Create HTML Prototype

MaCrea
1. Adjust light position on materials
2. Add lights, change light color and shadow
3. Adjust material reflection
4. Material Diffuse
5. Material Specularity
6. Load environment map for environmental lighting

Texturing Tab

1. Crop Image
2. Seamless Texture Creation
3. Options

Baking Tab?

1. Normal Map Baking, Displacement Map Baking, Baking.

Render Tab?

1. Global Preferences > AA, DOF, Background

[thenewone]

I really like these UI designs

they integrate well into the Zbrush look and still have the (user friendly) Sculptris feeling.

[justadeletedguy]

This is where it gets complicated, you get asked for one, but you need to include five. After I suggested a Render Tab, H.E brought up the backgrounds issue which brings even more problems with it. A several model render with an image background would look terrible with out Shadows, so you'd need to include some sort of Shadow Catcher function (with Opacity options), then you'd also need to include either an Ambient Occlusion or a Ray-Trace render engine.

The shadow catcher is easy. Poser/Daz Studio have been doing this forever. It's just another model, a plane, a cube, or both or more, set up in the scene to line up with the ground and objects in the background that should have shadows cast on them. But when rendered the only part that shows is the rendered shadow, and its partially transparent, the rest is completely transparent. But as it is now, there's no Opacity control in Sculptris.

An export to a free Render Engine like Kerkythea would work, except I don't believe Kerkythea can use the MAT-Caps Sculptris uses for materials, so some sort of work around would be needed. Wings3d exports to Kerkythea, with options, and might have some good examples of this

[SeanJM]

I really like these UI designs

they integrate well into the Zbrush look and still have the (user friendly) Sculptris feeling.

Thank you, that's what I am trying to accomplish. :-)

This is where it gets complicated, you get asked for one, but you need to include five. After I suggested a Render Tab, H.E brought up the backgrounds issue which brings even more problems with it. A several model render with an image background would look terrible with out Shadows, so you'd need to include some sort of Shadow Catcher function (with Opacity options), then you'd also need to include either an Ambient Occlusion or a Ray-Trace render engine.

The shadow catcher is easy. Poser/Daz Studio have been doing this forever. It's just another model, a plane, a cube, or both or more, set up in the scene to line up with the ground and objects in the background that should have shadows cast on them. But when rendered the only part that shows is the rendered shadow, and its partially transparent, the rest is completely transparent. But as it is now, there's no Opacity control in Sculptris.

An export to a free Render Engine like Kerkythea would work, except I don't believe Kerkythea can use the MAT-Caps Sculptris uses for materials, so some sort of work around would be needed. Wings3d exports to Kerkythea, with options, and might have some good examples of this

I'm keeping my focus on the Sculpting tab for now. I haven't determined yet if those fly out panels are the preferable interaction model. I'm starting to think, if there are many different tools, and tool settings, like those Masking tools--that this fly out panel will be out often, and that it actually takes up more space than if it was permanently on the side--is there a way to get a best of both worlds scenario? Maybe... what does that look like? :-)

I'm designing an interaction model first.

[holyenigma74]

i really would like to see a "working UI" to see how it works..

i just noticed the "flyout" style of it.. not sure that i like that at all..
I like being able to see all my tools at all times. i would leave those exposed all the time
(unless the person presses a key to hide them(TAB in Sculptris hides the interface, for instance)

the "outside boxes." or framework around the buttons, not sure they are needed either.
(although it may be need if we can move the panels around like the new 3d-Coat interface can)

i just tried the 3d-Coat again(new version UI) your mockup look almost exactly like 3d-Coat.
buttons and things.

[SeanJM]

i really would like to see a "working UI" to see how it works..

i just noticed the "flyout" style of it.. not sure that i like that at all..
I like being able to see all my tools at all times. i would leave those exposed all the time
(unless the person presses a key to hide them(TAB in Sculptris hides the interface, for instance)

the "outside boxes." or framework around the buttons, not sure they are needed either.
(although it may be need if we can move the panels around like the new 3d-Coat interface can)

i just tried the 3d-Coat again(new version UI) your mockup look almost exactly like 3d-Coat.
buttons and things.

Did you read my comment above? YOU ARE READING MY MIND!! GET OF OUT OF MY HEAD MAN! (except relating it to 3D Coat) Can you post a screenshot of that UI?

Also, probably going to lighten this up too. Dark interfaces are like painting your bedroom black, after a while you want to jump out a window. Dark is such a barrier to having a happy easy experience. And if I think about all the dark colored UI's I've experienced in my time--they all had one thing in common--****ty user experiences (IMHO).

Black is a rich color, but very possessive and oppressive. White on the other hand is like freedom, all possibilities exist in white--it's the void and emptyness, that piece of paper that starts out white and ends up with a drawing on it. That's how ZBrush/Sculptris should be, a blank canvas.

[holyenigma74]

[holyenigma74]

not sure how to make thumbnail?

[holyenigma74]