Triangulated Mesh Are Cool… Can I Get A Order of Quads To Go?

Workshop Feature requests
1

Please follow the format below for requesting a feature.

The problem that this feature will solve:

PLEASE NOTE I AM AN ANIMATOR WHO USES SHAPR 3D TO CREATE ENVIRONMENTS AND PROPS FOR VIDEO GAMES AND FILM

I have used Shapr3d for over five years and I would like to say how I am pleased with the direction of the updated texture option as well as the visualization tab updates. Recently I exported a design into Autodesk Maya and the only problem is the triangulated mesh is not the norm in animation because of the difficulty editing the mesh. Offering an option to use a triangulated or quadrangulated mesh would definitely boost Shapr3D beyond the competition in a creative space they never considered. I have had two professors continually push me to use Shapr3D in my projects to experiment with a software the world of animation has never considered as an option, giving me the ground floor on adding Shapr3D into a animation pipeline.

Brief description of the outcomes that you expect from this feature:

Adding the quad mesh option to Shapr3D will allow the end user to choose which mesh works best for their pipeline. Although the app was not designed for animators, it hyper extends the workflow while decreasing the sculpting time by well over 60%. In animation, a designer would have to use primitives or NURBS Curves in Maya to use the 2D sketch to 3D body workflow of Shapr and the process would take hours to get a rough draft of a prop.

What can’t you achieve without this feature?

To sculpt environments and props exclusively using Shapr will give space to promote the app just as they have promoted me by adding me to the Beta program. The yearly subscription is their way of compensating me and I offer feedback for the subscription. To exclusively use Shapr to make all my environment and prop assets in animation will expand our partnership and the world of animation and their time constraints will thank the company with their unwavering support. Lastly, I can not successfully edit the bodies I create in Shapr using triangles, I need an option to have a mesh comprising of all quads. I can not exclusively use Shapr for me props and environments without a quad mesh.

2

Many years ago I worked professionally in polygonal modeling. I remember from using Blender and 3D Studio that they have automatic quadrify tools - I think maya does, too. They are very hit-and-miss though as they have to make some guesses as to what the most practical topology directions are.

As I understand the process, I think the issue would be present for an automatic quad-export from any CAD software as well. For the program it’s not obvious as to how the quad topology should flow as it is for an experiences polygon modeling artist. It may be fairly reliable for simple geometries like spheres and boxes, but as soon as it gets more intricate, working out the ideal flow is difficult, something artists have to practice and learn over time.

There are many solutions to create clean quad topologies on 3d models quickly, but as far as i know they still rely on the artist drawing the topology flow more or less by hand. This might actually be a reasonable application of AI, come to think of it.

But in the end, it’s not as simple as just exporting quads instead of tris, this is not a trivial problem.