Instant meshes - Free retopology solution

[@SouthernGFX]

Nomad Sculpt have just released Quad Resmesher for $15 inside of Nomad Sculpt. It's well worth a look. Watch our latest video about it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJTYf2N-nJypnZI

[@ayzhol9620]

Oh my god! Thank you! This means I can bring back a dear model I adored but had all the wrong topology especially around the mouth also I am free to make chaotic models and fix them later. This is a brilliant tutorial. Thank you again.

[@cainen6355]

Wow. The geometry orientation tool actually blew my mind. This seems like a very powerful tool! I'll definitely give it a try at some point.

[@IstyManame]

That's my favorite type of workflow. You input your idea without spending much time on technicalities and the software does all the nerdy job. And the same reason i adore Houdini and Geometry nodes - you can setup a system that does everything time consuming and then just enter some shapes or values and it does everything for you. That idea is the big part of future game dev and 3d overall

[@TankRust]

Great tips here Glen! I’ve been using instant meshes for quite some time and it’s a great way to get decent topology without retopologizing everything by hand in another modeling program. Keep up the excellent work!

[@ShatterBrainz]

Can Confirm this works!! I used it on a Creature with wings, 6 limbs, antlers and fine details! this is now a permament part of my workflow!

[@saveriovenezia6158]

A nice addition it would be to mark areas to add/lower resolution, as in the horns

[@SouthernGFX]

100% agree

[@zbrushiseasy9364]

Your a life saver Glen... I forgot this tool was available...just saved me many many hours of retop. Thanks Bud. Peter Minister

[@SouthernGFX]

I thought you’d be doing it in ZBrush Peter. I quite like the newer way in ZBrush with ZModeller

[@zbrushiseasy9364]

@@SouthernGFX Im a fan of letting the zremodeller do the grunt work but I am drawn to the way instant meshes lets you continually play and adjust. There's something really intuitive about it

[@peteredwards2371]

I’ve had instant mesh for ages but never understood it so never got a good result, thanks so much 👍😊

[@SouthernGFX]

I recently released a new Nomad Sculpting course - How to Sculpt a Trex on your Ipad. One of the Bonus Videos was how to Retop a model in ZBrush using ZRemesher. Not everyone has ZBrush and Blender doesn't have an auto retop solution that I'm aware of. I might be wonrg as it changes so often. I do love Retopoflow for Blender but again, it's not free an. Instant Meshes is Free and super easy!

[@donaldcourtemanche2395]

Retopoflow is paid or free but buying it helps the developpers.

[@donaldcourtemanche2395]

You also have speed retopo . I think it is 5$ by a french guy named pitiwazou. Good addon

[@dantorres1844]

Another fantastic and informative video, Glen! These are really helping my understanding as I travel further down the rabbit hole of 3d sculpting 👍

[@lukasTHEwise]

Wow.. worked far better than Quad Remesher for me, thanks for the overview!

[@CASMANWHAT]

Thank YOU! I try to avoid the retopo stage all the time cause I hate doing it. This will hopefully make it less painful. :)

[@thecappy5063]

Very cool piece of software. Thanks for the run-through.

[@goosible]

Fantastic!!! Thank you for showing us this!

[@jenkem4464]

This looks better than zremesh considering the quick preview and iteration.

[@SleepyMatt-zzz]

I use this program when I'm working on Photogram work. It's pretty handy since non of the free/cheaper/non-subscription programs don't come with any useful retopology tools.

[@marcellotenarta5233]

After doing the repotology here, how to insert it back to blender, for further editing?

[@activemotionpictures]

Wonderful video! Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@brianao.316]

Screwed up my mesh this morning. Going with this now after all that work.

[@majklnajt1772]

many thanks for tutorial helped me with few things I didn't know about instant meshes :)

[@lawsondeniserichie8691]

Awesome update, do you need to draw for both sides if you have a symentric mesh???

[@carlosverheul3648]

Thank you, great tools are always welcome!

[@joestapleton6435]

how do you re apply the texture to the model once you've exported it from instant meshes?

[@cinemyscope6630]

Hi, This is the first time I'm trying to retopo anything and I stumbled into this tutorial, searching for a photogrammetry workflow. The retopo worked just as you showed but I lost my UV's in the process. Is there a way to get this working? Thank you!

[@whizkid2000]

You mentioned doing a high poly low poly workflow. Do you have or could you do a video about the workflow? Thank you.

[@3dChris]

I think that’s what this video is.

[@kevinhouse7143]

Hey Glen, in your opinion is there any possibility of Nomad getting some kind of a smart retopology tool set down the road? Seems like a logical next step I would think.

[@pyrotechnick420]

This trick only works for sculpted or organic objects. If you try doing this with a hard surface model, the edges become jagged. Even with 10 smoothing iterations it doesn't work. I still use Instant Meshes to retopo all my 3D scanned objects though, it's perfect for that

[@tokyowarfare6729]

I wish that clean quad grid that shows the mesh flow could be saved as uv mapping.

[@21design_eu]

Cool ^_^ been looking for something like this for my scans

[@muhammadshahzaibanwar9302]

the problem that i am encountering is as you mentioned the missing volume from some places, i have changed the drawn lines but still it happens, increasing poly count or checking the pure quad box in the export menu is not helping me as well. Any tips on how not to lose volume(missing faces)?

[@neparespeu7677]

when i import my mesh, i do low poly so maybe that is why, some part of it are missing, but if i try to scale the polycount up in blender most of the model is just getting janky and lose a lot of its original form, what should i do?

[@francootaola9172]

Hello, I have some questions if I may 😊, it does direct meshing from step imported models? Can we separate meshes in different sections? In any chance that it does volume meshes?

[@mdrenders]

Thank you for this tutorial makes my workflow much easier

[@OrFennSchuller]

Will this add on work on Blender 4.0?

[@kidgeorgegreenery]

It's not an addon, it's its own excutable

[@creatureofvenice]

are more combing points better than less like should I make as many points as possible?

[@Manic154]

Whenever I try to import an obj from iPhone, I get this message: The document “Flower.obj” could not be opened. Instant Meshes cannot open files in the “Geometry Definition File Format” format. WTF?!

my antivirus blocks the website page when i go to download the windows version. why is that?

[@ads]

Why would you need this sort of trick? Why do you want to export from Nomad Sculpt, remesh it here, and then import back to Nomad again to do what?

[@akenney1234]

Amazing video as always. Thanks 👍

[@SouthernGFX]

It's a pleasure!

[@WhiteDragon103]

The only problem I see with this software is it doesn't concentrate vertex density around areas of high curvature - the flat section of the back has as much detail as the crease in the leg. I've seen another paper that does something clever: It "inflates" the mesh so that the mesh has uniform curvature everywhere, applies an operation like this, and then pulls the vertices back to where they were. The result is a very high quality topology that is much more efficient about preserving detail while not wasting as much geometry around flat areas. It produces retangle shaped quads, not squares as shown here, but for many applications this is better.

[@SouthernGFX]

Do you have a link to that paper?

[@SouthernGFX]

I use ZBrush for this job for exactly the reason you are pointing out. You can paint areas red or blue to increase or decrease density. Add to that ZRemsher guides and it gives me the best control in an automated solution that I know of.

[@WhiteDragon103]

@@SouthernGFX I wish I remembered what it was. Let me try searching for it for a few minutes...

[@WhiteDragon103]

I linked a couple of papers in a comment, but it doesn't seem to like it when I post links. One of them was from the same authors as this instant meshes thing shown here. Search for "Anisotropic Quadrangulation", and "Frame fields: Anisotropic and non-orthogonal cross fields"

[@WhiteDragon103]

@@SouthernGFX Also check out Olga Sorkine-Hornung's channel. She has plenty of related work including automatically deriving topology given the animations used. It places more geometry around areas of stretching, e.g. elbows.

[@VigneshR-z2c]

THIS VIDEO IS GOD SEND THANK YOU

[@SouthernGFX]

Thanks for your comment!!

[@underbelly69]

fantastic. know any good ways to transfer diffuse map from photogrammed fbx file to a retopo model ?

[@jeremiahrodriguez9711]

What do i do if the mesh is symmetrical?

[@sergsamsonovcom]

Wow. Greatly set up scene in Eevee! Could you please share the scene environment settings. Or throw it off without a dinosaur. Thank!

[@pavlosberd.609]

6:46 The comb tool would have worked if you didn't end the line outside of the model, if you drag a line either starting away from the model or ending away of the model it wont register, you need to start and end it inside the model.

[@SouthernGFX]

Awesome. Thanks for the tips!

[@3DJapan]

Instant Meshes is embedded in 3D-Coat.

[@SouthernGFX]

Ah nice. I didn’t know that. I bought 3DCoat years ago and haven’t kept up with its development that much. I’m assuming you still use it a lot Phil? I loved it for retop

[@Layston]

Can this replace classic retopology tools? It looked like it created a lot of ngons, but I might be mistaken. Still a very handy tool from what I saw.

[@dhidavidhuys8487]

Thankyou So Mucuh for this tutorial ! cheers from Belgium

[@Kullervo456]

Recently discovered Nomad and I have been binge watching your content since. Must objects be combined into one mesh before importing into Instant Mesh or can you import an object that is comprised of multiple pieces?

[@miketan5603]

Im a little confused, whats the point in having sort of clean topology if your not going to use the model for animation. Wouldnt it be better (for a low poly count) to use the decimation master in this case? Or am i missing a use case?

[@AerysBat]

It's easier to sculpt on subdivision / multiresolution surfaces. You work on the low resolution when you need to make large changes or smooth out wobbles, and work on high resolution when you work on details. You can go back and forth as you make changes at various scales.

[@boitahaki]

Thanks for the tutorial. What an amazing tool.

[@SouthernGFX]

I know it's fantastic

[@Rinkyu]

Really INcredible, This Will save me so much Time!

[@vancedaccount572]

is there any way to give more detail on some parts to make them precise

[@runzhu-yk1xz]

excuse me ...if there any person know how to project the texture on the lowpoly model processed then?i cant manage that

[@sefhde]

Hello in the orientation field i only get squiggly lines instead of straight lines, i also can't use the orientation comb... Is there anyway to fix it?

[@coulterjb22]

That's amazing! If you didnt lower the mesh count, would doing everything else (especially saving as a quad) give you a much smaller mesh file? I'll have to try that. Making a quad from an stl with this program would speed things up considerably! Glen = rock star!

[@SouthernGFX]

Just have a mess around with it. I’m so used to ZBrush it’s not for me but I forget not everyone needs or wants ZBrush so this is awesome I think

[@coulterjb22]

@@SouthernGFX Thanks I will try it...after I untangle a Discord problem :(

[@SnacksMpls]

Man I can’t thank you enough for your videos!Ok a few questions. So the goal of doing this makes it less likely to deform in unwanted ways/move as desired while sculpting low poly? Is this arrangement then undone if I bring into nomad, do some modeling and then do a Voxel remesh? Is this most useful for a file you didn’t create and want to use or at what point would a model you are creating in nomad benefit from this?

[@saveriovenezia6158]

Thank you for sharing!! Great tool!!

[@TheBrownTrooper]

the link doesn't work when I try to download for Windows. somebody help

[@ahmedmishima6663]

program not open zbrush file how i can solve that ?

[@NoName-yr4ke]

What if your mesh is symmetrical?

[@Paleoceratops]

Who its the name of the program where you texture

[@oxiigen]

Nicely explained. Thank you. It looks like a good task for an AI.

[@SouthernGFX]

Won’t be long

[@Frankleitor]

There is any way to make the mesh symmetrical?

[@Joe-es3jg]

good timing! i just found about this 2 days ago lol

[@untrollable3212]

on my model I Have Teeth and they are like your horn where there is nothing and it only happens to the teeth i dont know how to fix it is there a way to do the whole model except for the teeth?

[@untrollable3212]

also great vid

[@SouthernGFX]

Sadly. no. Maybe split your teeth out and keep them as separate models.

Saved my day! thumb up and sub, thanks for this video, it helped me from a lot of struggle

[@hnx9083]

Can you control the mesh density of different regions?

[@MrShroombot]

Great video. Subscribed. Have a nice day.

[@SouthernGFX]

Glad you liked it and thanks for subscribing

[@kru3d36]

Great explanation, much appreciated!

[@trulycreative9795]

excellent video man. thank you very much!

[@mch43856]

Thank you this was really useful!

[@marioCazares]

great tutorial!

[@SouthernGFX]

Glad you think so!

[@SaturdayXIII]

Awesome software find!

[@aaayerus]

I spotted triangles and pentagons in the finished mesh though..

[@SouthernGFX]

There’s lots of options for tris or quads. It’s worth investing some time to see what results you can achieve. There’s a lot more under the hood than you you realise when you first open it up. I won’t use it as I’m so reliant on ZBrush but if someone hasn’t got that option then it’s worth exploring.

[@jumpbreak99]

i use it on my pipeline and my retopo is clean and low poly. what you need to know is that computers just cant do everything, you gotta modify that mesh in smart ways to achieve a good look (that until an ultra-clean retopology automatic tool drops lol)

[@josebaa.3300]

si pero hace las UV's a esa cosa, es imposible, buena unas UV's decentes que no den asco

[@PartyBlimpLLC]

Great video!

[@SouthernGFX]

Thank you

[@gyatsolix]

any zbrush user can tell me how is this compare to zremesher ? I really would like to know thanks a lot.

[@SouthernGFX]

It’s nowhere near. This is a very good program but ZRemesher using ZRemesher guides and blue and red control for areas of density is the defacto standard in the industry. This is great if you don’t have that. ZRemesher is an incredible piece of programming.

[@gyatsolix]

@@SouthernGFX Mind if i ask one last question ? and btw thank you for your answer. was there any point at time that you can easily say " i dont need to retopo by hand " for whatever reason (animation,etc..) I'm asking this because whenever i tried to retopo by hand. I always failed and it became something very discouraging for me.

[@SouthernGFX]

@@gyatsolix I only retop by hand for things that need rigging commercially. Characters, creatures, faces etc. Other than that I use auto mostly.

[@gyatsolix]

@@SouthernGFX Thank you so much

[@vipe5010]

amazing tutorial ！

[@reezlaw]

You kinda forgot the front right leg

[@SouthernGFX]

Well spotted

[@arnoldlozano6629]

been using it since blender 2.79

[@SouthernGFX]

Yeah it's stood the test of time. Quad remesher and ZBrush are by the same guy but this is free so perfect for everyone else.

[@thorhammer7153]

Hopefully, somebody will update this in GitHub and the symmetry option. It's the only thing missing on this app.

[@raV_3d]

Why not use symmetrize or cut in half and mirror the mesh after importing to 3d software?

[@bobabooey8367]

SG is da Bawm Thanks

[@Professionalgamer1209]

Thank you 😄

[@matslarsson5988]

Antivirus complained about the Windows download. Probably a false positive. But I'm not taking the risk.

[@SouthernGFX]

I get that alot from GitHub. Totally see why you’d be cautious.

[@alakinamann2069]

thank you

[@hellerart]

I don't want a dinosaur on my desk 😋😅 Real or 3D printed.

[@SouthernGFX]

Real might be difficult😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@hellerart]

@@SouthernGFX I especially don't want a real one on my desk. I would be willing to tolerate a 3D printed 😉 Just noticed there is a "Schleich Pronotosaurus" on my other Table 😂

[@dusnmatr]

All the free auto-retopo tools give less than desirable results. Instant Meshes is the least worst.

[@SouthernGFX]

Good summation.

[@Atomic-toons00]

But you will lose lots of good details man

[@breakstergmr4499]

You can do texture baking to get normal map

[@no.1_2u32]

Am I the only one who can’t stand how artists put triceratops eyes RIGHT ON THEIR HORNS?? 🤨 Edit: No offense, but it makes no physical sense…. nestle them under the horns and not too far to the side or the front of the face.

[@SouthernGFX]

None taken. This is a Machairoceratops.

[@arsdever8957]

It's sad, that you are using the app, but even didn't give the developer a star.

[@SouthernGFX]

It’s not sad at all. It’s an oversight and one that I’ve corrected. I have only used GitHub on rare occasions and hadn’t spotted the rating. I’ve corrected that now so thank you for pointing it out.

[@rjv2395]

ewhy make a video about an app that you dont understand. the reason I started watching this was to get a pro idea of how to adjust the settings here. not to have someone tell me they dont understand how to use the program so they will leave the description of the detailed settings out. first, I didnt you mention that it requires .obj files, it wont take anything you throw at it. second, I was looking for a clear explanation of the settings, the differences between the mesh types, etc. so really, if you are just going to clutter yt with stuff that is already abundant, pls dont

[@SouthernGFX]

Thanks so much for your comment.

[@garviegarzo6853]

looks better than zremesher to me