Can I use new topology as the first subdiv level whilst keeping details of higher?

Inazuma · October 13, 2011, 5:34am

Hi all,
I’m going to be creating meshes for an animation - meaning I need a low poly version for the maya viewport, and then a high poly version with detailed texture maps. But BOTH need to have the same general topology so that they both deform the same way when animated.

What I was thinking, but I don’t know if it’s possible - Is if I could sculpt the high poly version, then retopologise it (which as I understand, requires a new mesh to be made), then project the new topology onto the original.

So the result is that I have one mesh. The lowest subdiv level is the new tool I just made from retopologising. The highest subdiv level is the original high poly mesh, but with the new topology projected on to it.

Is this possible? Or are there different/better ways? How do film studios do it?

system · October 13, 2011, 6:52am

Inazuma:

Hi all,
I’m going to be creating meshes for an animation - meaning I need a low poly version for the maya viewport, and then a high poly version with detailed texture maps. But BOTH need to have the same general topology so that they both deform the same way when animated.

What I was thinking, but I don’t know if it’s possible - Is if I could sculpt the high poly version, then retopologise it (which as I understand, requires a new mesh to be made), then project the new topology onto the original.

So the result is that I have one mesh. The lowest subdiv level is the new tool I just made from retopologising. The highest subdiv level is the original high poly mesh, but with the new topology projected on to it.

Is this possible? Or are there different/better ways? How do film studios do it?

How about normal and displacement/bump map?

Inazuma · October 13, 2011, 8:29am

Yeh my character will be quite wrinkly, so I’ll be using those maps too.

LeoAMD · October 16, 2011, 4:26pm

you can retoplogize it in zbrush and then divide the new mesh into enough subdivisions to hold the hi res detail. Then with the new mesh selected and the original visible use the project all button in the subtool pallet. This will project all the hi res detail and polypaint from you original model to your new one. From there you can generate all your uv, normal, texture maps ect. hope this helps.