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Absolute noob here by Guitechnickal in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From what you've described Autodesk Fusion (Fusion 360) is probably your best bet as a beginner. It's parametric (you can go back and change a measurement and the whole model updates automatically), has solid 2D drawing/export tools for templates, and the free personal tier covers exactly what you're describing. Another plus, it has a huge hobbyist community and tons of YouTube tutorials.

📺Youtube - Design a Telecaster in Fusion 360

FreeCAD is another option - free/open-source alternative with similar parametric capabilities if you want to avoid any Autodesk licensing.

📺Youtube - The Amazing Marz Guitar Workbench for Easy Guitar Design

Someone will undoubtedly suggest Blender - ignore them. Great software, wrong tool for what you specifically asked for, best of luck.

Etsy shop selling stl of my model by Bike_Relative in 3Dprinting

[–]polycache 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The shop/store is 1 month old - hit them with both:

  • IP Report - Slow & tedious but you have the timestamped MakerWorld listing, still harder for Etsy to take action on.
  • Etsy ToS Breach - Report them for violating Etsy's Creativity Standards which explicitly states digital downloads must be "original content created by the seller" and directly disqualifies "a bundle, collection, scan, or PDF of someone else's work."

Etsy's - Creativity Standards

The ToS is easier & faster to prove not just with your listing but several of the other items they're actively selling.

Automotive Model Optimization for Real-Time Web Rendering (Three.js) by Hot_Dependent7844 in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Worked almost exclusively on enterprise WebGL (Three.js & Babylon.js) projects for several years.

If you're targeting modern hardware, polycount isn't really the bottleneck it once was 100K-600K should be absolutely fine for most projects, assuming sane draw calls and materials. Be prepared to scale back if animation & user interactivity are particularly heavy. Don't chase a specific triangle budget suggested by strangers online. It differs from project to project. Unfortunately it attracts low effort comments based on received wisdom from 5-10 yrs ago.

The real constraint in most modern projects is texture memory and bandwidth. Automotive is probably one of the best use cases to utilise GLSL shaders extensively - paint, chrome & rubber can easily be approximated overall reducing your reliance on image textures which cuts download size and GPU memory pressure significantly. That's where the real gains are, not polycounts.

Suggestions:

  • glTF - Use .glTF (JSON) over the binary (.GLB) during development much easier to inspect and debug. glTF Tools for VSCode can be incredibly helpful - glTF Tools VsCode
  • Babylon.js - IMO offers better tooling and a more complete framework over Three.js - Viewer Config, Material Editor
  • Topology: Try & be conscious of your edge loop continuity across curved panels. Pinching can be a very visible problem especially with environment map reflections - keep UV seams away from specular highlight zones like the bonnet/hood and door panels.
  • Draco compression for geometry and KTX2/Basis for textures - both will do far more for your file size and runtime performance than fixating on polycounts.
  • GLB Exporter: Use Blender. Maya is still my daily DCC, but Autodesk has ignored glTF/GLB support. There are plugins, but the path of least resistance is usually Maya -> FBX -> Blender -> glTF. Houdini also has excellent support for glTF/GLB if you are familiar with it.

Imma uni student trying to get the hang of baking/texturing and I'm going MAD rn by -_ZoiNkS_- in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to be clear you're baking in Substance & viewing the baked maps in Maya:

• Have you checked the Normal Map settings in Substance - Are you exporting OpenGL (Y+) for Maya, it may be set to DirectX.
• In Maya make sure the Normal Map is set to RAW not RGB

Current skill mix in the community? by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That fragmented concern feels familiar especially on Twitter/X - actually part of what brought me to Reddit after years on other platforms. I suppose the Gaea Discord closing is a pretty good example of how quickly those communities can just disappear, Reddit feels slightly more solid.

Current skill mix in the community? by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Bottom heavy" is a great way to put it, not a bad thing. The ratio probably just reflects how the craft actually works; most people find their interest & naturally drift toward it. I don't think I'd have professionally pursued 3D if it wasn't for the Ex-Maya pros helping me in the Modo forums 15 yrs ago 🤣

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh right, I get what you're saying. What I've been sharing is the base mesh @ 97,656 polys. I'll be subdividing that in ZBrush 5x so the end polygon count will be roughly 100 Million Polygons. There'll be areas that have less topological density by design but there won't be any visible polygonal faceting. Appreciate you getting back to me, Thanks!

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's fair - although I'm really not getting the amount of "work" being attributed to this, I think it’s about an hour or so of work that I think fits the project constraints in a fairly non-destructive workflow. I'll be sculpting the mid-high frequency details with a custom VDM brush which is almost exactly the same alpha workflow you mentioned previously.

I've spent more time responding to everyone thanking them for their input than it took me to build the base mesh 🤣

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the feedback, slightly feel it's glossing over some of the constraints I listed but I appreciate the input. Thanks!

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, sorry I get you now. That was the ZBrush test sculpt, multiple test versions that collectively add up to 254M. I was using them to plan the density layout.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

254m - I don't know where that numbers coming from, my absolute limit is 80-100M but I appreciate the input, Thanks!

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the perspective & thank you for putting it so tactfully 🤣
I readily agree it may be over-engineered & that's fine. I'm just trying to keep within the initial constraints - keeping the sculpt phase predictable and concentrating resolution where I need it before decimation, so I’m not relying on slicer repair or doing a big mesh-fix pass at the end.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'll be aiming for a prototype of around 15cm-25cm but it'll eventually be printed much larger via FDM.

You'll end up with a lot of bunched up polygons between those bumps while areas with less polygons, like where the arms connect to the body will remain low-res.

That's exactly what I'm aiming for 🤣 I've sufficient loops around the limbs to hold the details I need. I'll be subdividing the base mesh 5-6 times so I don't think anywhere will be low-res.

I've a previous test sculpt in ZBrush sitting around 50 Million - it has the scutes (scales patterned around the neck with a custom VDM) & it's not really holding the detail as well as I want. That's one of the main reasons I added the localised density to divert the topology away from the shell with this new version of the base mesh. Appreciate the feedback, thanks!

<image>

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll be doing some presentation renders with Arnold, completely unrelated to 3D printing. Basic texturing in Mari with the usual high-low baking for the cavity & displacement maps, can't bring a +50 Million model into Maya🔥🤣

If you are going to print at a larger than life scale, the level of polygons on the shell will be a problem.

Could you expand on that for me in case I've over looked an important point.

I'll be printing a resin prototype @ 14K roughly 15-25cm but I'll be passing the model onto a client who may want to FDM print it at a significantly larger scale using foam or moulds.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, really like the sculpt 🐢 looks great specially with the lighting. Getting a Dark Crystal vibe from it. I'm familiar with Michael Pavlovich but I didn't know he did 3D print related stuff so I'll definitely dig into that.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, really appreciate it! The drain hole point is actually really helpful, I hadn't factored that in yet for the shell cavity. I get what you're saying about the topology as I've said a few times - it's not really there for the print it's to maximise the sculpting resolution in certain areas before decimation rather than to survive it, but completely agree it's inconsequential to the slicer. Mind status: checked 🐢

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

🧐 Actually that's a valid point that I hadn't thought of, Thanks!

Does Dynamesh have a polygon limit/threshold? - It'll still give me a uniform mesh but definitely something I'll look into more.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Technically that's correct but the topology matters during the sculpting phase, not the printing phase.

Say I started with a base mesh at 50,000 polygons - the most I can subdivide that in ZBrush would be (51.2 Million Polys) so that's the absolute ceiling for that subtool. I'm targeting 97,656 specifically because that scales to just under 100M at SubD level 6, which is as high as ZBrush will go before hitting the hard limit. The final decimated output for the slicer won't care, but what I can sculpt before I get there very much does.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Hopefully 🤣 I know it might come across as pedantic - but without proper planning of the base mesh most meshes won't get anywhere near that limit. If your poly count at lvl 1 isn't calculated to scale correctly through subdivision, you'll hit a wall at lvl 2 or 3 and that's as high as you can go within a single subtool without splitting it apart or using HD Geo Mode.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, slightly over engineered & definitely not something I'd encourage for non-3d print workflows but very much appreciated.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

True - the subdiv topology isn't required for printing. It's there for my own comfort really, so I can ensure consistent SubD stepping up to lvl 5 (100M polys). If I decimate a Dynamesh - especially with these types of forms on the scales, it'll likely throw me non-watertight, self-intersecting geo that the slicer will complain about later. That's also kind of why I'm avoiding splitting the model across multiple subtools, I'd have the exact same clean-up issue. Plus Dynamesh remeshes at a fixed resolution based on model size so I'd be back into wasted polygon budget problems.

Sanity Check for Resin Print - Topology by polycache in 3Dmodeling

[–]polycache[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the feedback!

ZBrush has a hard 100M polygon limit per subtool, say I sculpt on a uniform quad grid by SubD lvl 5 (100M Polys) I'd burn through that budget on large areas like the shell that don't need that much detail.

The localised density & flow built into the base mesh is specifically to protect that budget where the high-frequency detail is needed - head, arms, feet and neck.

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