SJM > Sculptris UI (Proposal)

[thenewone]

I think that the "search" would be better placed near File| Edit |view | Panels
or at least could be a floating thing (pressing a button and it will pop up near your mouse)


the light grey background is in my opinion to bright , it would be better if is as dark as in the actual Sculptris Alpha 6.



where will you store in that Proposal layout the texture brushes and the Matcaps ?

[justadeletedguy]

Here's one you can work on ......

I don't wanna have to sculpt or paint or retopo or uv. Just think of stuff, and push the button !!

[SeanJM]

I think that the "search" would be better placed near File| Edit |view | Panels
or at least could be a floating thing (pressing a button and it will pop up near your mouse)


the light grey background is in my opinion to bright , it would be better if is as dark as in the actual Sculptris Alpha 6.



where will you store in that Proposal layout the texture brushes and the Matcaps ?

The search is on a per panel basis, only searching the contents of that panel. A general search would be good too though. Search the whole project for a keyword.

-- Global Search --



Find it in the menu bar

Click on the search icon to invoke the search menu



Ctrl+Spacebar (Seems more convinient than Ctrl+Shift+Alt+S) to bring it up at the cursor

[SeanJM]

Here's one you can work on ......

I don't wanna have to sculpt or paint or retopo or uv. Just think of stuff, and push the button !!

What you want is $1,000,000 -- so you can pay the guy to do it for you. ;-)

[SporkFuMaster]

Honestly, while trying to redesign Sculptris is great and you have some very interesting ideas here, there are only a few things that I really want out of Sculptris that it can't currently already do. I'm even fine with it having the same intuitive interface if there were some additions to the functionality.

The booleans are certainly one. Having that tab that you have there to label as body parts would be great for many other reasons as well.

Higher resolution maps would be second. 2048 is great for some things, but for full characters with higher tri counts, it just isn't as adequate for what I'd like to do in terms of adding in additional details without having a sculpt go to the millions of tris and still be able paint it.

Another that I would like to have is for when you get to rendering. I'm one of those that's not the largest fans of moving into new programs and having multiple layers to a pipeline. I don't do this as a profession though. What I would like is just a fairly basic renderer similar to Blender Cycles. Something that I can give it shadows, light sources, and maybe even true reflections (or even if it's just using an environmental material like we currently can do).

Finally, I know it's probably asking a lot, but I would really like to have a way to add hair. Even without all of the rest in there, that would be my main request. Probably one of the hardest to implement as well.

I know, I know, just get ZBrush, but ZBrush just can't match the speed and simplicity of Sculptris. It may be more powerful, but I believe that Sculptris could be even more of a contender if given the proper amount of resources.

[SeanJM]

Honestly, while trying to redesign Sculptris is great and you have some very interesting ideas here, there are only a few things that I really want out of Sculptris that it can't currently already do. I'm even fine with it having the same intuitive interface if there were some additions to the functionality.

This statement.

I know, I know, just get ZBrush, but ZBrush just can't match the speed and simplicity of Sculptris. It may be more powerful, but I believe that Sculptris could be even more of a contender if given the proper amount of resources.

Are possibly a bit conflicting.

As a UI designer, I know software, and I can tell you one thing for sure--with Sculptris' current UI, adding more features to it, you are going to be changing the UI. Add all those features you want right now in Photoshop or Illustrator, or what ever and see what kind of design you get. Post them here--we might be able to share our ideas.

The booleans are certainly one. Having that tab that you have there to label as body parts would be great for many other reasons as well.

They're great for speed.

Higher resolution maps would be second. 2048 is great for some things, but for full characters with higher tri counts, it just isn't as adequate for what I'd like to do in terms of adding in additional details without having a sculpt go to the millions of tris and still be able paint it.

It would be amazing to have huge maps, something like 4,096 supported easily--I agree 100%, :-)

Another that I would like to have is for when you get to rendering. I'm one of those that's not the largest fans of moving into new programs and having multiple layers to a pipeline. I don't do this as a profession though. What I would like is just a fairly basic renderer similar to Blender Cycles. Something that I can give it shadows, light sources, and maybe even true reflections (or even if it's just using an environmental material like we currently can do).

mmmhmm. What if Sculptris played nice with Blender, Max, Maya and allowed you to share your model between them in real time?

Finally, I know it's probably asking a lot, but I would really like to have a way to add hair. Even without all of the rest in there, that would be my main request. Probably one of the hardest to implement as well.

Ask anything you want, hair is good. :-)

[SporkFuMaster]

"As a UI designer, I know software, and I can tell you one thing for sure--with Sculptris' current UI, adding more features to it, you are going to be changing the UI. Add all those features you want right now in Photoshop or Illustrator, or what ever and see what kind of design you get. Post them here--we might be able to share our ideas."

Agreed, no matter what you add, there's going to be a need to add it into some form of button or UI element to the existing design. If I had some time, I would certainly be throwing out a few of my crazy ideas in some type of visual form.


"mmmhmm. What if Sculptris played nice with Blender, Max, Maya and allowed you to share your model between them in real time?"

I haven't had any real issues with how Sculptris files work with Blender. Cycles is extremely easy to use with the .obj and all of the exported texture files. I haven't even touched Max and Maya for probably around 15 years now, so I really can't comment on either of those, but considering that I would have to make a purchase one way or another, I'd probably just get ZBrush. It already works quite well with it from what I've seen and it has numerous other advantages.

That does bring me to one additional want. While using the mask and rotate modifier works quite well for posing a sculpt, having the ability to pose (possibly with bones) plus the addition of being able to sculpt symmetrically and asymmetrically after posing would be great as well. It still works as it is, it just requires a bit of pre-planning and knowing what it is you are after. You can lose a bit of the creative process when you find a much better pose, but now you want to add some additional symmetrical details. That is one thing that Sculptris currently gives me over any other programs that I've tried so far. Just that ability to get in and go without having to over think a hundred technical details, hurdles, and nested menus. I'd like that to continue in a few additional areas.

Oh yeah. And when you get to that point, a color picker with some values on it. Either hex or RGB sliders with numbers to the side so I can get an exact color or pick the same color if I wanted to use it later in a sculpt at a lowered strength again somewhere.

[holyenigma74]

needs brush alphas and textures for screen overlay that can be painted through
(that can be scaled, moved and rotated)
the bottom of the screen would be nice it can point to your alpha and texture library,
really easy to see all of them that way. 3d-Coat and MudBox has them like this.
just like a painter using his pallet, move down grab what you need then paint again..

also, hope those floating panels can be "docked" to the sides if we choose.
I loathe floating panels like Gimp 2.6 had, new Gimp single window mode is alot better!)

[justadeletedguy]

The reason you can sculpt symmetric and asymmetric in Zbrush and Blender, is because the polycount doesn't change, and the symmetry stays with the Stroke, not the topology. Because Sculptris adds geometry, the only way to have symmetry is to have the geometry mirrored (Very similar to Wings3d mirror mode). Sculptris will never be able to switch back an forth, but you can always export to Blender to continue your sculpt.

Honestly most of this thread and the many others like it is a waste of time. Even if DR.Petters was asking for input, most of what we've suggested would not be possible. Sculptris 1.02 - later renamed Alpha 5, was a 3mb download. Alpha 6 is 19mb, but most of that is the PDF. It's the very best at what it does do, but it's nothing more than a DOODLE PAD! You play, you sculpt, you paint and show it off. If you make something you really like and maybe wanna take it further, then you get a REAL animation software and do it there! .... Sculptris IS my Favorite for painting Textures, but I'm painting models I built in other software, because I wanna be in control of the polycount, the edge flow, the UV's. Dynamic Tesselation, Sculptris was the FIRST to have it, and it's the worst thing about it as well. It makes Noobs think Scultpris is Zbrush, and it's NOT.

If you start adding Retopo tools, then you may as well add box-modeling tools, cuz that's what they are, and then you end up with Blender. And I can get Blender for FREE .... so What were you gonna sell me ???

[SporkFuMaster]

"The reason you can sculpt symmetric and asymmetric in Zbrush and Blender, is because the polycount doesn't change, and the symmetry stays with the Stroke, not the topology. Because Sculptris adds geometry, the only way to have symmetry is to have the geometry mirrored (Very similar to Wings3d mirror mode). Sculptris will never be able to switch back an forth, but you can always export to Blender to continue your sculpt."

You could still add the same amount of triangles within a known area on the other side of a sculpt without pulling those same triangles out on both sides. It's the same theory with a bit of a different practice. Sculptris could do it and there would never be a need for Blender.

"Honestly most of this thread and the many others like it is a waste of time. Even if DR.Petters was asking for input, most of what we've suggested would not be possible. Sculptris 1.02 - later renamed Alpha 5, was a 3mb download. Alpha 6 is 19mb, but most of that is the PDF. It's the very best at what it does do, but it's nothing more than a DOODLE PAD!"

I'm not sure why you feel it's a waste of time, nor am I asking. It's a thread that wouldn't exist if at least a few others felt differently. As it isn't necessarily just the same old wish list thread I could certainly explain that one further as could many others. As for most of what has been suggested being impossible, there isn't much that's impossible when it comes to programming. All it takes is an idea and the know how to make it happen. For many, they would like to do a bit more than just doodle and really love the program enough to make it into more than just a "Doodle Pad". While you may not believe that it is capable of anything more, why try to stand in the way of those that do? Pixo and Doc just may not want to hear anything about it. We may never know, but it hurts no one for the conversation to happen.

"You play, you sculpt, you paint and show it off. If you make something you really like and maybe wanna take it further, then you get a REAL animation software and do it there! .... Sculptris IS my Favorite for painting Textures, but I'm painting models I built in other software, because I wanna be in control of the polycount, the edge flow, the UV's. Dynamic Tesselation, Sculptris was the FIRST to have it, and it's the worst thing about it as well. It makes Noobs think Scultpris is Zbrush, and it's NOT."

While I understand how you use Sculptris, that does not necessarily make it the definitive, or only possible, way that it can, or should be, used now and in the future. I for one would love to see additional functionality with it and I can only applaud those who would try to push that forward in any way. I may or may not agree with everything, but that's only my opinion, not a fact. I still think that the good Doc is still working on a lot of improvements and haven't lost all hope that it's dead. We may not get regular, or even any updates on how it may be going, but that doesn't mean that absolutely nothing is happening. If they are able to read another thread with additional ideas and that gives them that extra bit of energy to finish what they are working on in order to release what they have so that they can start on the next set of fresh ideas to make it better, then I'm all for it.

If you start adding Retopo tools, then you may as well add box-modeling tools, cuz that's what they are, and then you end up with Blender. And I can get Blender for FREE .... so What were you gonna sell me ???

Again, not everyone wants Blender. I want the Sculptris flavored retopology. I want the Sculptris flavored booleans. I want Sculptris, but with little chocolate sprinkles...lol.

[SeanJM]

"As a UI designer, I know software, and I can tell you one thing for sure--with Sculptris' current UI, adding more features to it, you are going to be changing the UI. Add all those features you want right now in Photoshop or Illustrator, or what ever and see what kind of design you get. Post them here--we might be able to share our ideas."

Agreed, no matter what you add, there's going to be a need to add it into some form of button or UI element to the existing design. If I had some time, I would certainly be throwing out a few of my crazy ideas in some type of visual form.

Sometimes, the opposing view has some really good ideas--if you make the time, I'll look at your designs and I'll probably learn something.

"mmmhmm. What if Sculptris played nice with Blender, Max, Maya and allowed you to share your model between them in real time?"

I haven't had any real issues with how Sculptris files work with Blender. Cycles is extremely easy to use with the .obj and all of the exported texture files. I haven't even touched Max and Maya for probably around 15 years now, so I really can't comment on either of those, but considering that I would have to make a purchase one way or another, I'd probably just get ZBrush. It already works quite well with it from what I've seen and it has numerous other advantages.

I'm thinking a seamless way, just thinking. ZBrush is worth buying btw.

That does bring me to one additional want. While using the mask and rotate modifier works quite well for posing a sculpt, having the ability to pose (possibly with bones) plus the addition of being able to sculpt symmetrically and asymmetrically after posing would be great as well.

If we had layers this would be possible, to toggle the pose and turn it on and off. In the modifier panel, I could add something like that.

It still works as it is, it just requires a bit of pre-planning and knowing what it is you are after. You can lose a bit of the creative process when you find a much better pose, but now you want to add some additional symmetrical details. That is one thing that Sculptris currently gives me over any other programs that I've tried so far. Just that ability to get in and go without having to over think a hundred technical details, hurdles, and nested menus. I'd like that to continue in a few additional areas.

I hope that if you look closely at my designs, you'll notice subtleties where I am very much planning on a straight line usability principal (ie: the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line).

Oh yeah. And when you get to that point, a color picker with some values on it. Either hex or RGB sliders with numbers to the side so I can get an exact color or pick the same color if I wanted to use it later in a sculpt at a lowered strength again somewhere.

That's a good idea, :-)

"The reason you can sculpt symmetric and asymmetric in Zbrush and Blender, is because the polycount doesn't change, and the symmetry stays with the Stroke, not the topology. Because Sculptris adds geometry, the only way to have symmetry is to have the geometry mirrored (Very similar to Wings3d mirror mode). Sculptris will never be able to switch back an forth, but you can always export to Blender to continue your sculpt."

You could still add the same amount of triangles within a known area on the other side of a sculpt without pulling those same triangles out on both sides. It's the same theory with a bit of a different practice. Sculptris could do it and there would never be a need for Blender.

"Honestly most of this thread and the many others like it is a waste of time. Even if DR.Petters was asking for input, most of what we've suggested would not be possible. Sculptris 1.02 - later renamed Alpha 5, was a 3mb download. Alpha 6 is 19mb, but most of that is the PDF. It's the very best at what it does do, but it's nothing more than a DOODLE PAD!"

I'm not sure why you feel it's a waste of time, nor am I asking. It's a thread that wouldn't exist if at least a few others felt differently. As it isn't necessarily just the same old wish list thread I could certainly explain that one further as could many others. As for most of what has been suggested being impossible, there isn't much that's impossible when it comes to programming. All it takes is an idea and the know how to make it happen. For many, they would like to do a bit more than just doodle and really love the program enough to make it into more than just a "Doodle Pad". While you may not believe that it is capable of anything more, why try to stand in the way of those that do? Pixo and Doc just may not want to hear anything about it. We may never know, but it hurts no one for the conversation to happen.

"You play, you sculpt, you paint and show it off. If you make something you really like and maybe wanna take it further, then you get a REAL animation software and do it there! .... Sculptris IS my Favorite for painting Textures, but I'm painting models I built in other software, because I wanna be in control of the polycount, the edge flow, the UV's. Dynamic Tesselation, Sculptris was the FIRST to have it, and it's the worst thing about it as well. It makes Noobs think Scultpris is Zbrush, and it's NOT."

While I understand how you use Sculptris, that does not necessarily make it the definitive, or only possible, way that it can, or should be, used now and in the future. I for one would love to see additional functionality with it and I can only applaud those who would try to push that forward in any way. I may or may not agree with everything, but that's only my opinion, not a fact. I still think that the good Doc is still working on a lot of improvements and haven't lost all hope that it's dead. We may not get regular, or even any updates on how it may be going, but that doesn't mean that absolutely nothing is happening. If they are able to read another thread with additional ideas and that gives them that extra bit of energy to finish what they are working on in order to release what they have so that they can start on the next set of fresh ideas to make it better, then I'm all for it.

If you start adding Retopo tools, then you may as well add box-modeling tools, cuz that's what they are, and then you end up with Blender. And I can get Blender for FREE .... so What were you gonna sell me ???

Again, not everyone wants Blender. I want the Sculptris flavored retopology. I want the Sculptris flavored booleans. I want Sculptris, but with little chocolate sprinkles...lol.

/\ This.

[SeanJM]

Task Summary:

UI

1. Docking Panels
2. Global Preferences > Configure Navigation, Presets:Zbrush, Sculptris, Maya, 3DS
3. Global Preferences > UV deformation mode?

All Tabs

1. Export Model > Include textures

Sculpting Tab

1. Tools Panel > Masking > Hold Shift to Draw Straight Line
   
2. Tools Panel > Crease sharpness
3. 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
   

Retopo Tab

1. Project Mesh Modifier
2. Remesh Solver
3. Extrude Edge
4. Turn Edge
5. Various modeling tools

Texturing Tab

1. Crop Image
2. Seamless Texture Creation
   
3. Options
4. Texture Panel
5. Texture Stencil (Paint over a projected texture stencil on your model that can be scaled, moved, rotated)
6. Color Picker with HEX, RGB, HSL values.

Baking Tab?

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

Render Tab?

1. Global Preferences > AA, DOF, Background

Added Symmetry Line



Smooth Subdivide



Draw Panel (Added Relax Stroke)



Materials Panel (Added 'Mini' Materials for the the material group is collapsed)



Alphas / Stencil



The Big Idea behind all of these panels

Every panel with an arrow can be docked into another panel, so you can quickly put together a custom UI

[SporkFuMaster]

@SeanJM I can't say that I have an opposing view on all of this. Honestly, I can't say that I yet have a full opinion on it as I haven't studied it as in depth as I should. From what I've seen so far though, I could probably easily adjust to where everything is if it were to change tomorrow to your exact vision of things. Though after only a few days of getting to play around with ZBrush, which many seem to have an issue with their UI, I was more than able to find everything I need. Just like Photoshop, there's a lot more there than what I would ever really need to use, but it's good to know it's there. And many times, I still use it as an overpriced doodle pad...lol. I'd certainly like to find the time to add some of my own ideas visually, even if they may not add anything of value to the conversation...lol.

I did have one other upgrade for Sculptris (at least for one of the tools). This probably would go into one of those wish list threads, but you might be able to find room for it in here somewhere. The crease tool needs a bit of refinement. I'm not sure what it would take in the programming realm, but with all of the bright minds over at Pixo, I'm sure someone might be able to come up with a decent solution. A bit more specifically, what I was wanting is for an option when using "Crease", is to have the lines of the triangles align along the path of the brush stroke. I think that one upgrade would allow for many more mechanically detailed sculpts (without the need for an excessive amount of triangles in an area to achieve the same effect) with edges that are as sharp as you need them to be would add that little bit of extra to a great organic sculpting program.

[SeanJM]

@SeanJM I can't say that I have an opposing view on all of this. Honestly, I can't say that I yet have a full opinion on it as I haven't studied it as in depth as I should.

*Should* implies guilt. :-) -- don't worry.

From what I've seen so far though, I could probably easily adjust to where everything is if it were to change tomorrow to your exact vision of things.

This is the ideal situation that I'm going for, :-)

Though after only a few days of getting to play around with ZBrush, which many seem to have an issue with their UI, I was more than able to find everything I need.

It's only when you want to do really technical things that it becomes... so technical. :-) -- However, saying that, I think it can get better.

Just like Photoshop, there's a lot more there than what I would ever really need to use, but it's good to know it's there. And many times, I still use it as an overpriced doodle pad...lol. I'd certainly like to find the time to add some of my own ideas visually, even if they may not add anything of value to the conversation...lol.

It's your call, anytime, I'm open to suggestions! It's a real motivator. :-)

I did have one other upgrade for Sculptris (at least for one of the tools). This probably would go into one of those wish list threads, but you might be able to find room for it in here somewhere. The crease tool needs a bit of refinement. I'm not sure what it would take in the programming realm, but with all of the bright minds over at Pixo, I'm sure someone might be able to come up with a decent solution. A bit more specifically, what I was wanting is for an option when using "Crease", is to have the lines of the triangles align along the path of the brush stroke. I think that one upgrade would allow for many more mechanically detailed sculpts (without the need for an excessive amount of triangles in an area to achieve the same effect) with edges that are as sharp as you need them to be would add that little bit of extra to a great organic sculpting program.

This is something you should illustrate, :-)

[SporkFuMaster]

It does imply a bit of guilt in this matter as I am expressing a bit fuller opinions on a UI that I have seen, but haven't spent as much time understanding... I actually have a shirt that talks about something very similar...lol.

I know what you mean on getting some motivation with new ideas being shown visually though. I've worked on a few UI's, though nothing that needed to be as detailed in some ways. I am in no way an expert in their creation.

Had a few things to do, but I came up with a simple kind of image to show you what I meant with the crease aligning the edges of the triangles along the brush stroke. I could have made it more detailed, but I think this should sort of explain it.