Does 3Dcoat a good software to use with daz3D ?
HLEET_3D
Posts: 172
Hi all,
I'm wondering if it's worth to buy/learn 3DCoat software to make some props and 3D stuff to import into daz3D.
I tried a little bit zbrush (free trial), it's kind of confusing interface UI. So I searched on google for an alternative and found out that "3D Coat" software could do what zbrush does and more (painting; retopo ; etc) for a way lesser price.
Anyone is using 3Dcoat with daz3D ? is it hard to play back and forth between the two (preparation for export ; file exchange ; etc) ?
At this time, there is no bridge for 3Dcoat on daz3D, will it be the case in the future ?
Thanks
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What are you wanting to do? I'm not sure I'd use 3d Coat or ZBrush for making hard-surface objects, that's more a thing for modelling applications, but fior sculpting and organic forms both are good. Certainly people do use 3D Coat as part of their content creation toolkits.
Inetersting comment. May I ask what is wrong with Blender for modelling hard surface objects? I don't model but I have Blender and it seems to have all the necessary tools. I seem to remember a similar comment about ZBursh being a sculpting only application but I thought scuplting was only one of the possibilities with Blender.
Sorry, I would not use 3D Coat or ZBrush is what I meant - I had Blender in mind as a more suitable tool. I will correct my post.
Ahh right, yes, easy to substitute the word that happens to be at the front of your mind, I know.
@richard thanks for clarification.
I want to stay away from blender because ... I just don't like that software too (yeah, weird preference of mine).
Zbrush is kind of cool for what it can deliver, but the learning stage seems steep and price is high. Furthermore, I've heard that they will finish their lifetime licence for good now (you will have to pay every year the full price).
As 3Dcoat auto-acclaimed to be the wholearound program that will do everything 3D start to finish, I was wondering why daz3D doesn't have a "bridge" of some sort to make it easier for 3DCoat and daz3D to work together in a smooth workflow.
So maybe there's some kind of technological incompatbility between the two ? Or maybe the workflow for 3DCoat is so bad to work with import/export with daz3D ?
You said : "people do use 3D Coat as part of their content creation toolkits." Ok but ... they don't talk about it at all ! Having a tool that you never use is kind of a mistake to buy it at the first place isn't it ?
Well you know they do have a free trial. No one 3D modeler works for everybody. 3D Coat does do 'everything' ... does have a learning curve [they all do]. Has a support forum as well as a Discord.
And of course there is Hexagon which many also use. Can quickly make a number of small props, walls, etc. with it. It also has a learning curve. It is an old program but the price is right ;-) And it has a bridge to/fro D/S.
One slightly unusual feature of 3D Coat is that the EULA contains a clause that says that it "... should not be used in the production of any lewd or obscene materials as well as of any products which propagandize hatred against people." It adds "... [we] understand that we are not able to check you, this is on your conscience, but we warn you about responsibility before God."
In other words, you can use it to create lewd or obscene materials, but you do so against the wishes of the software author (and, he would say, against the wishes of God). That may or may not be a problem for you, depending on the uses you have in mind.
Now why you had to go and bring up matters that if it concerned anybody, they could go and read "Our Voice" on the website themselves, I don't know.
I certainly didn't go and ask everybody that works for Daz3D and provides content for Daz Studio what their belief is, basically don't have to it's pretty obvious. Early products actually kept a few bits of info inside their files, like which coven they belonged to, etc. etc. And then there's the one who likes putting "666" in theirs. And so to the OP, all this answers your question as to why folk here don't normally support 3D Coat. I do, and so do others that provide some content for Daz Studio. The programs themselves are just that, programs. What you do with them is your business.
With 3D Coat one can make uvmaps easier [nicer] than with Hexagon, however there are also dedicated uv utilities that work well too.
@bytescapes : fair enough, I understand now why nobody wants to talk about 3DCoat ... It's a weird way to treat their clients :/
Maybe daz3D needs some kind of technical assistance from 3Dcoat to make the bridge work between the two softwares .... if 3DCoat admin doesn't like what he sees on the daz3D store (all theses satanic stuff with wings, horns, fairies ... lol !); yeah .. anyway that could explain the reason why.
@Catherine3678ab : by the comments that you provide, it seems that you know 3DCoat :). If you don't mind to share with me your workflow between 3DCoat and daz3D, it would be cool :)
Anyway, 3Dcoat websites and videos show how easy this 3Dsoftware is, so I'll just give it a try. If I don't succeed to make them "connect", I hope that what I learned from 3DCoat will be skill transferable to blender or zbrush (... I really hope so...).
If I recall correctly, 3DCoat may have a bridge to Blender. I don't use Blender so didn't investigate the matter. It also has a bridge for PSP or PS for use in texturing. Apparently a lot of the layout is similiar to PS [according to them, I use PSP]. It works with layers for texturing and modeling. Rather interesting approach I think.
Between 3DCoat and D/S -- both programs can export and import .obj files. IF one has any surface issues, it's D/S - send such a figure over the bridge to Hexagon first, export the .obj out of Hexagon. For new uvmaps, those are brought back into D/S from the Edit menu, load new uvset. Be very careful which brushes are used, one cannot make new mesh for example, same as if morphing.
What's cool with the editing of uvmaps, is one can change one surface only - leaving the rest of it the same. Cannot do that in Hexagon.
The problem I had when I tried 3DCoat is that I couldn't find any way to stop it from changing the topology of models exported from Daz Studio. This meant that it was useless for creating morphs for Daz Studio.
Just a quick comment that might help. If you move this thread to the Commons I think you will get more replies about 3D Coat. There are several people here on the forums that use it, but most people primarily hang out in the Commons. As the creator of the thread you can change where it is posted.
I can't help with 3D Coat but I can give you an alternative that might work. There is a version of Blender called Blender For Artists (BFO). It has a different user interface than Blender. The user interface for BFO is designed more for creative minds rather than technical minds. It has quite a large number of users and many people find it much easier to use. It might be worth checking out, free is a great price!
3D Coat is on my "someday" wishlist, and probably would have bought it by now if Blender didn't make such huge improvements in both usability and functionality with the big upgrade at version 2.8. The features and usability of Blender make it a no brainer for me. I've used a lot of commercial software over the years (started dabbling with 3d in 1989), and every one I've used (liked) has either gotten prohibitively expensive or is no longer being developed. I finally made the jump to Blender a few years ago and have been very happy with the move. I've literally spent thousands of dollars over the years, and the only commercial 3d software I even use anymore is Blacksmith 3D, Carrara, and Hexagon (but seldom use Carrara and Hexagon now, Blacksmith3D unique and easy to use). So I think it really may be worth it for you to give BFO a try, free for top quality software is definitely worth the price. I haven't tried it in years since Blender 2.8 came out. It has been very usable for me.
This is a really old thread, I haven't actually used 3D Coat for ages, but it may offer a starting point for morphing https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/34993/daz-studio-3d-coat-morph-creation
I doubt I am going to add anything new to the conversation, but just to add another voice and another users perspective.
If I need to make morphs for something from Daz, I use Hexagon ... it is a quick and easy back and forth. For quick little models (and sometimes big ones) I will make the mesh in hexagon. But that is about it for that program.
I do not like working with clay, so I have done little with 3DCoat in that regard. But I do like it for retopology, mapping, and some texturing. ([the meshes from hexagon are mapped and maybe textured here]. The way 3DCoat separates activities into different 'rooms' is slightly cumbersome ... but not enough to really be an issue for me. It is a good program with a cheaper price and (at least when I bought it) a permanent license (rather than monthly) ... I do not know about now.
As far as sending files to Daz from 3DCoat .. my only warning would be to watch the settings ... it will easily try to make and send a lot of maps which are not always necessary.
I would reccomment it ... but, if there is a free trial, it is always good to test drive a program and see if it works with your personal style.
Be it for morphing or making new uvs at first I thought the same. BUT then I discovered yes we can! Rather than the expected route, under the Textures Tab, export UVs. That produces an .obj file which can be used for making morphs via Morph Loader in D/S, or for bringing in a new uvset in D/S under the Edit, load new uv set options.
I am using a slightly older edition of 3DCoat so the interface may be a bit different from their latest edition however the concept is likely the same.
n.b. Figure at Base resolution, "0" subdivisions, NO eyelashes [G8 figures] or any other grafts, I also apply a basic 3D shader, no images before exporting figures, and use the collapse uvs option on export, and NO groups ;-)
That's interesting. I don't remember trying that (though I'm guessing that it only works in the tweak mode).
I stopped using 3DCoat a while ago as I found other software that worked better for me. Like you, I bought the lost cost amateur license, which is no longer available. Nowadays 3DCoat costs 379 euro, and I wonder whether a combination of ZBrushCore + Substance Painter (via Steam) + RizomUV would be a better option for a little extra cost. Blender is also far more useable now as well.
No, the ability to export out the "uv obj" on the Textures Tab, AFAIK, works from any 'room' - or at least from more than the one.
I'm not springing for the subscription stuff either. One has to be careful. Having ever purchased 3DCoat, it stays in your account. PROVIDING one does NOT download and install the "free trial" for their latest version, we can keep using the perpectual licensed one indefinitely. The amateur license of course means for nothing commercial.
I did buy their 3DCoatTextura which is delightful to work with. Basically it's the texturing part of 3DCoat stripped out to be on its own. Doesn't require as powerful a computer as what 3DCoat itself does these days. But again, one has to be careful not to "upgrade" from the old 3DCoat in acquiring it. [unless of course one definitely never wants to use it again]
In shopping around for brushes and stuff like that, ZBrush and Substance Painter do have a lot of resources available. It is a good idea to try out programs before investing in them. I tried a ZBrush free trial a few years ago, no thanks. Maybe another year.
I guess I've tried most of those mentioned here. I was very tempted by 3DCoat when it was $99 but decided against it. I have Hexagon and have followed a few tutorials but it crashes too often for my liking. The main attraction was the Hexagion bridge to DAZ Studio (I wish there was a Blender equivalent - the current bridge products are not equivalent for this purpose). I am still in the "one day I will make something" phase f my 3D modelling venture but, if I do get off the starting blocks, I will probably go with Blender as it has all the tools and is in (very) active development.
I agree with Richard, Blender is the way to go if you need to do some morphs or modeling for Daz Studio via the Daz Bridge. I don't use Daz studio too much anymore just the occasional 2D still for which it works great. I use Blender and Lightwave. I have both 3D Coat and Zbrush and also 3D Blacksmith and I prefer Zbursh but it is a preference not that one is better than the other. My philosophy on subscription software is very simple! If a software goes subscription I stop using it Period! So when everyone goes Adobe's route I will stop using their software. I strongly beleive that unless you are using the software for busness purposes it should not be subscription. I have looked at the Blender for Artists interface and it is a little better than the mess that is regular Blender. It just that Blender has too many great features and the price is perfect!!! Just my 2 cents
Another caution with 3D Coat is its a Ukranian software headquartered in Kiev. A Russian attack or cyber-attack might effect their business and customer support.... unless they have headquarters in other countries.
That's okay. Some AV is Russian based, some clothing programs are Korean based, some ... are ... name any country in the world ... the internet is a fragile world.
3DCoat also has a supportive community on Discord.
Updating my reply. I'm now going with yes, it's probably a very good idea to hold off on purchases of it right now. Many have fled the Ukraine and while the company does have some team members still working on updates, etc., they are in Russia. End of comment for now.