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3D Model

At Union Avatars we use a low poly workflow​

We aim to build the best low poly version of high poly garments following the standards like edge loops, edge flow and uniform edge distribution.

The number of polygons depends on:

  • If you are creating a single garment or a complete outfit
  • The platform you are going to use your models in.
  • Complexity of the piece.
  • The kind of quality and details you want to preserve.

Retopology​

In the case of 3d models generated in simulation applications (Marvelous Designer, Clo3d) retopology is needed to make those 3d models usable. This is because the geometry is dense, triangulated, and or with poor edge flow.

We remake the initial mesh to simplify the geometry. We build a clean geometry with a different polygon distribution and poly count to be able to perform in Realtime.

This is an example of retopology from Marvelous Designer to Blender:

Mesh Holes​

The avatars are going to be animated, and most platforms only have one sided faces. The result of that is that in some cases the movement can create problems like colliding meshes, or seeing parts that should not be visible. Here we have an example of this:

5_mesh_holes

As you can see, holes can appear, and they don’t look good. To reduce this, we use what’s called “Watertight meshes”, that means, meshes that have no holes and are all sewn together. This is an example of the same mesh made watertight:

6_mesh_holes_fix

How we approach it depend of each case, but in general, for closing holes we don’t care much about the geometry and can do things like a triangle fan for closing round holes. This is the example shown in the image:

7_closing_geometry

As you can see, we just extruded the edges and merged them in the center. In the case of more complex arrangements, like for example a blazer over a shirt, we have to be a little more technical, cutting the shirt in the shape of the blazer and welding the vertices together so there is no gaps. As you can see, we have some triangles too, but it’s okay:

8_weilding_vertices_onedge

We will do this for each part of our avatar (top, bottom, shoes and accesories). With the body we don’t need to do it, we will just remove the parts that are not visible.