Export OBJ Remeshing as Quads

[aeko]

I think this is a feature request, but the remeshing of OBJ export needs to be improved to be 99% quad polys with good edge poly flow for people who are using the software for hard surface work with other 3D tools.

I’m using Shapr3D for hard surface 3D asset creation and with Zbrush and Houdini and it would be great if the mesh “just worked” out of Shapr3D since I am paying a lot for it every month. By “just worked”, I mean it could be exported with 99% quad polygons and good polygon flow (instead of a mess of triangles) so I could use it with dynamic subdivision in other 3D apps.

Currently the process is:

1. Create, export from Shapr3D
2. Remesh in Zbrush (mixed results)
3. HEAVY polygon cleanup (Zbrush, Modo) - mixed results

2 & 3 take DAYS depending on the asset. If Shapr could reduce these to nothing, that would obviously save a LOT of time and a TON of 3D artists would be interested in using the software for similar needs instead of apps like Fusion360 or MOI which is what they use now.

NOT this:

more like THIS:

[lforbes]

Is there any movement on this? Shapr3D use is very limited by the randomness of their exported mesh. It is a big mess when opened in any other program. OBJ should export as Quads and there should be a GLTF and FBX option to export where you can include colors. I find myself going back to blender for modeling because it takes longer to clean up a Shapr3D exported obj that to model from scratch blender.

[Sentz]

Would love any updates or feedback on this too

[CannaSoftware]

Today, in order to reduce the large number of triangles, I have to do the following:

1. Export Obj from Shapr3D
2. Import into Maya
3. Rotate -90 on the X because “up" is different in my business
4. Remesh/Retopologize/Delete hidden faces. Shapr3D has an large number of triangles (quads is an industry standard in my business).
5. Import into RizomUV to create a clean UV map (quads are MUCH easier to flatten than triangles)
6. Export as FBX because the game industry pretty much lives and breathes FBX (except when it doesn’t )
7. Paint
8. Import into Unreal

(I’m skipping the LOD reduction which would also be done in Maya)

Example Raw OBJ input into Maya:

After cleanup in Maya (and converting tris into quads):

This is just roughly cleaning up hidden faces and turning the triangles into quads.

This isn’t even a complex design (although it does have a lot of curved surfaces).

Example of tris vs quads (Left is after Maya cleanup and Right is straight from Shapr3D obj file)

I still find it faster with Shapr3D, but seriously, there is a lot of unnecessary busy work for real world game assets.

[Stephen]

I do the same thing but use ZBrush instead as the ZRemesher allows me to add more quad density where it’s needed like edges and other places, and less density on flat plane ares etc.

[CannaSoftware]

Ah, that sounds pretty nice. Maybe when this license runs out (we’ve got Maya legacy 2020 — sigh) we’ll look into ZBrush. Maya allows something like that, but its only something like that