Intro to 3D Coat: From Noob to Cook

Duplicate layers to create a backup and rename them for clarity, labeling copies as backup or head to keep projects neatly organized.

Save your work with save as, naming files with an incrementing number like hammer_001, and 3D Coat will read the latest sequence.

Turn on autosave and set the frequency to five minutes, or three. Use a depth history of one or two to limit folder clutter; autosaves store in the 3d folder.

Learn to create a sphere in voxel sculpt and use the voxel height tool to hide parts of a model from different angles, then reveal them with ctrl.

Explore the e menu to cut with circle or rectangle tools, move with spacebar, unhide voxels, and sculpt with brushes in a non-destructive attitude.

Enable and configure 3d coat symmetry by selecting an axis to mirror actions, then reset with the bounding box and hide planes as needed, typically using one or two planes.

Use the voxel hide tool in 3D Coat to form a hammer-like block, adjusting edge radius, moving with spacebar, and adding symmetry planes and bevels.

Duplicate the layer to purge hidden voxels and create a clean backup, then use the delete hidden command with a hotkey to remove any remaining hidden voxels before future edits.

Reuse and duplicate a layer, extract part to form a hammer handle, then invert hidden volumes to create separate hidden volumes and clean up with voxel hide.

Open the transform tab and use the pose tool to select voxels with a gradient. Move with the gizmo to deform, smooth the selection, and elongate or adjust proportions.

Rotate multiple objects at once in 3D Coat by un-hiding all layers, so hidden objects rotate too, then use control-rotate and hide the grid to keep the workspace clean.

Scale objects with the transform tool, but non-uniform meshes can become ovals; fix with uniform space (Ctrl+U) or switch to the pose tool to preserve uniformity and avoid smoothing.

Toggle pick by click to control layer selection when clicking objects, and use the transform tool with h in windows to pick current volume and select multiple layers via shift-click.

increase object density via resampling to higher voxel resolution, then apply repeated smoothing to refine edges while balancing detail loss.

Move the brush using right-click drag on the horizontal line to adjust radius, and drag vertically to increase brush strength. Controls apply to any brush; press enter to commit.

Use brush alphas with the move tool to deform a mesh, selecting default or custom alphas to create cracks and damage, with backface avoidance via the E menu.

Activate smooth mode by pressing shift to smooth surfaces in 3D Coat, adjust smoothing intensity with right-click drag or typed amount, and tweak falloff to influence smoothing behavior.

Learn to adjust a handle in 3D Coat by duplicating a layer for backup, using the split tool to cut, and making the edge visible with the split border width.

Use the split tool to create a round shape, adjust with transform and voxel height, explore radial symmetry, resample and bevel, and create holes with the voxel height tool.

Duplicate the mesh to back up, then apply a lattice box with a 3x3 grid to deform the selection. Turn off symmetry, move and smooth, then undo.

Combine layers with boolean union or subtraction, adjust density from 1x to 2x via resampling, and merge subtrees while respecting symmetry to create a coherent 3D Coat model.

In 3D Coat, improve blending between two props by using smoothing with an adjustable radius or switch to the field tool for filling, then refine with brush size and undo.

Create leather straps with the voxel layer, outline a rectangle, rotate about 20 degrees, convert to a uniform surface mesh with thickness and offset, then resample and smooth.

Instance duplicates inherit transforms to create a crisscross leather strap pattern; move, rotate, and clone groups to build a seamless, linked pattern while preserving original object integrity.

Use the sphere tool in voxel tools to craft rivets on a mesh, adjust extrusion depth, and control spacing with brushstroke and steady stroke, while managing layers, density, and instances.

Use the pose and move tools to tweak instanced stripes, rotate to reduce gaps for a more organic look, clear selection, and decide whether to tweak further or re-extract.

Explore basic clay brushes in 3D Coat to sculpt folds, indentations, and rivet details, and refine with layers, ignore backfaces, density resampling, steady strokes, circle alpha, and smoothing.

Distance the stripes that don't adhere well by turning instances into unique objects, cloning without clone instance, and renaming stripes while moving originals to a backup folder.

Learn to apply different materials to multiple objects and instances in 3D Coat, using metallic shaders and the apply to visible option.

Learn how to create and customize materials in 3D Coat by constructing new shaders, applying colors and textures, and adjusting features like bulge, metallics, and texture scale.

Master wrap around techniques in 3D Coat by duplicating a layer and pushing it down to create an endless spiral stripe across a bandage on a cylinder.

Duplicate the handle to create an additional leather cap, center it, set thickness, and use symmetry and voxel hide for a clean, well-fitted cover.

Enable symmetry and use symmetry copy to mirror a sculpted surface across one or more axes, identify the side to copy, and troubleshoot misaligned planes for design features.

In this timelapse, I use basic tools to refine the design, compare stripe patterns, tuck geometry with the move tool, apply shaders, and perform 3D cuts to shape a hammerhead.

Fix mesh with back up volumes and the pose tool in 3D Coat, duplicating backups, hiding voxels, and refining with surface and voxel modes.

Explore voxel height painting to create and revert chip cuts non-destructively, refine with resampling, scratches, and steady strokes, while using voxel hide/unhide and alpha tools for varied edge details.

Preview the selection contour in the geometry tab to see what’s selected and its layer-dependent instances, and use the reference color to highlight the object and subtree.

Use the on-plane tool with a red depth plane to cut at varying depths by right-clicking, and draw rectangles or circles to create depth-aware cuts.

Learn to create complex patterns on a hammer using on-plane tools, rotate a rectangular selection to mirror stripes on the handle, and adjust depth and borders along the middle line.

Explore cutting through all volumes using the through all volumes and on plane tools in 3d coat, learn to undo, post multiple selections, and clear selection for precise modeling.

Discover how to flip geometry in 3D Coat, choose the correct axis (X or Z), and understand how flipping affects instanced objects versus individual items.

Compare voxel height with the cutoff tool, noting that the cutoff permanently deletes polygons, while voxel height preserves them; delete polygons via the menu when needed.

Explore the blob tool in 3D Coat to build logo shapes and patterns, manage layers and radial symmetry, toggle on-plane drawing, and refine with voxel height control.

Explore live booleans in 3D coat, cutting, merging, and sculpting with voxels to create complex surface designs; learn to switch between voxel and surface modes and manage boolean trees.

Create and modify primitive objects, like a capsule, on a new voxel layer, then sculpt with transform, boolean, pose, and symmetry tools to craft reusable shapes.

Create and customize text as a primitive in 3D Coat, place it on objects, bend into shapes, and use live booleans for subtraction while managing surface placement and object reuse.

Extract shells from volumes to create hollow objects in 3D Coat, using surface thicken for practical thickness and avoiding voxels. Apply symmetry and booleans to pattern shells on curved surfaces.

Uncover hidden custom shapes in the item menu, press E for pentagons, press five to duplicate, drag into your design, and use edge radius with E to smooth corners.

learn to use the free vector software Inkscape to create basic vector shapes. combine shapes with path union and save as an eps file, then import into 3D Coat.

Use brush smudging with alphas to create a bruised wood texture. Apply rotate and side shift for irregular patterns, and turn off symmetry for variety.

Learn to apply stencils in 3D Coat, adjusting alphas, opacity, depth, and pattern direction to create wood-like veins; use lasso and rectangle tools to shape and fix artifacts.

Learn why custom shapes yield cleaner voxel-height cuts than stencils in 3D Coat, as a triangle cut shows stencil limitations for hard-surface and sci-fi design.

Unboolean the mesh, switch to surface mode, and raise density to 3.5 million triangles for a sharp cut; resample capsules to 100,000 triangles, then collapse the boolean tree.

explore surface layer mode in 3d coat, using brushes and auto subdivide to add detail with a denser wireframe, comparing surface mode to voxel density while planning the final model.

Master the trace masking in surface mode of 3D Coat, where masking darkens surfaces, there is no button to remove the mask, and painting is limited by masked areas.

Mask the top area with a rectangular selection, apply the noise feature on the surface layer, adjust size and displacement, and paint to isolate areas for a rough top texture.

Sample a surface to create a VDM brush, save as xr, and adjust spacing and depth using the current alpha to build a brush library.

Explore how the copper clay brush copies damage across a surface in 3d coat, an old method before pick and paste, useful for copying larger chunks or between meshes.

Explore how to reproject details from one mesh onto another using the Reproject tool, adjusting auto scan distance, masking areas, and managing artifacts to preserve surface detail.

Explore the layer panel to create sculpt layers with the clay tool and adjustable opacity. Learn how surface and volume layers commit edits, enabling non-destructive experimentation and flexible design.

Explore how the pinch brush in voxel mode creates strong pinches for wrinkles and detail, while surface tools in voxel mode offer reliable pinching and require committing with enter.

Turn to voxel mode to fix surface mesh artifacts on the handle, then use the closed hole option with the lasso tool in surface mode; voxels prevent holes and crashes.

Create a low-poly proxy to enable large deformations on heavy meshes by decimating the model to about 16–18 polygons, using a proxy layer and released cached data, then revert to the high-poly model for final adjustments.

design a hammer stand quickly in 3D Coat with the sketch tool, leveraging three-plane projections, symmetry, and painting to build and refine a complex stand.

Watch a timelapse of designing a complex, symmetrical hammer stand in 3D Coat, using sketch tool, symmetry, arrays, rotations, and voxel layer while iterating and discarding ideas.

Design a compact hammer stand in 3D Coat, using crisscross diamond patterns, hole grids, and material choices for plastic vs metal, with iterative cleanup for 3D printing.

A timelapse of designing a functional travel case in 3d coat, balancing a diamond shell with latches, hinges, and internal foam using voxel height, booleans, and symmetry.

Watch a timelapse of hammer head boolean design in 3D Coat, exploring patterns, spheres, voxels, and noise while refining textures, materials, and bevels.

Align the stripes tightly on the handle to ease retopology and baking, then duplicate and edit instances, apply patterns, and refine leather band and wood details for wear and tear.

Explore advanced detailing in 3D Coat by adding intricate cracks with alpha patterns, using voxel hide, and combining a backup hammerhead with careful carving, smoothing, and noise control.

Create a black and white hammerhead logo in 3D Coat by stamping with the radial stamp on the sphere, using the build clay brush in the stencil palette.

Learn to use the replicator tool for arrays in 3D Coat to create patterned layouts, swap models, adjust density, scale, and preview results with wireframe and voxel previews.

Learn how to use ghosted volumes in 3D Coat, switching from don't peek to act to enable look-through previews and cut through ghosted volumes with voxel tools.

Import 3D Coat objects into your scene by using the open mesh option and the objects input, then load the saved 3D code file with ease.

Export selected objects as obj or fbx, use decimate to reduce 43,000 triangles to 1,000, then import the obj file and adjust scale; import without voxelization for a surface layer.

Explore the Retopo room basics, including poly groups, the sculpt tree, and tools for previewing low-poly topology with bias, extrusion, and opacity controls.

Master retopo with the points to polygons tool: build quads and triangles using symmetry and edge loops, control density for uniform topology and a clean low-poly mesh.

Use the quads tool to create polygons by clicking and dragging from an edge, form triangles by double-clicking a vertex, and delete edges; quads cannot create an edge loop.

Learn to use the add-split tool in 3D Coat to create inside lines by dragging vertices with brush snapping, and cut through with bracket size control for polygonal forms.

Master the brush tweak tool to adjust brush radius with a right-click drag, and use shift to smooth and relax the mesh, while left-clicking to move and fine-tune.

the knife tool in 3D Coat cuts through many polygons to create large mesh cuts, unlike the single-polygon edge split tool; you can't move points with the knife.

Use the strokes tool to run strokes across and draw other strokes across, creating grid patterns with enter and modeling cylindrical shapes, ideal for arms, legs, and long objects.

Use the R-Fill tool to fill a mesh gap with good topology. Hover over empty space and press enter to create the fill, noting the border outline.

Use the smart topology tool to draw curves, preview patches, adjust density, width, UV spans, and apply triangulation to create patches with options like quartz tool and split brush cap.

Learn how the cap tool creates triangulated caps at holes in 3D Coat, a method the instructor notes while acknowledging it's a tool they rarely used.

Explore selection tools for vertices, edges, and polygons, switch selection modes, and use rectangular and brush selections with control to deselect, plus snapping to the high-poly mesh.

Switch to polygon selection and use smart extrude to push a polygon in a direction, using the inner circle to move and the outside circle to extrude.

Learn how to apply symmetry to a mesh layer or polygroup in 3D Coat, disable symmetry before editing, and reapply symmetry for clean, mirrored modeling without errors.

Explains the tweak menu's duplicative tools, shows deleting polygons or edges with select, using edge loop and collapse, and prefers the add split tool over memorizing the weld tool.

Explore the slide edge tool in 3D Coat, using Ctrl to select an edge loop and slide it along the surface, and compare with vertex sliding, which is less useful.

Retopo a dense high-poly model by hand in a quad-friendly workflow, align topology to the bake, adjust symmetry and edge loops, and ensure the low-poly silhouette matches the high-poly design.

Flatten the 3D model into a 2D UV layout in the modeling room, auto map, check for stretching with a checkerboard, bake textures, and pack UVs to maximize space.

Learn how to remove UV shells in 3D Coat by using clear seam to reset shells. This avoids deleting polygons and refreshes the UV preview.

Learn to create shells in 3D Coat by marking seams, isolating UV islands, and unwrapping components like cylinders with edge loops and caps removed.

Use the v path tool to find a seam through a triangulated mesh, placing and moving points to create a continuous edge loop across a model's handle.

Open the unwrap workflow in 3D Coat by using devtools previews, click unwrap, and compare unwrapping methods to relax the mesh and minimize distortion, including checker map stretching.

Combine shells with the joint clusters tool to form cohesive UV shells, then use pack UVs and auto scale to optimize space and minimize distortion.

Create a baking cage by adjusting outer and inner shells, paint to inflate values, preview, then bake a normal map at 2K with auto UVs in Blender.

Resolve baking issues by cleaning the scene in painting room, merging meshes via merge subtree, using voxel hide, resampling for density, and rebaking the normal map to prevent cross baking.

Push vertices to better match the sculpt, fill gaps with the fill tool, and raise bake resolution to 4k for a cleaner bake. Painting over them lets you move on.

Master painting room basics in 3D Coat by using the layer palette, 2D and 3D previews, and brush controls like radius and steady stroke to paint on UV shells.

Learn to use painting tools in 3D Coat, including color picker and palette, brush variants, depth map, glossiness and metalness controls, layers, masks, and selection tools.

Explore the layer panel in 3D Coat to control materials, masks, clipping masks, blending modes, and folder organization for precise normal map depth and layer merges.

Explore layer color correction in 3D Coat: learn to change the colors of the current layer by navigating to textures, selecting the chest, and adjusting hue, lightness, and darkness.

Apply smart materials in 3d coat using curvature maps for edge detection, clipping masks, and dirt paint to add wear and color variations to a model.

Customize smart materials in 3D Coat by editing wood textures for handle, baking ambient occlusion, adjusting degree, edge scattering, contrast to achieve color and save as a material.

Adjust the materials tension control panel to scale the texture projection for detail, then rotate the texture and use a clipping mask with brush work for directional wood veins.

Explore texture creation in 3D Coat using only smart masks, experimenting with multiple materials, blending three metal layers, and adjusting roughness and opacity to evoke a sea-weathered hammerhead.

Use layer masks in 3D Coat to non-destructively hide or reveal details by painting black or white on the mask, invert or extract masks.

Learn to tell a prop’s story through hand painting in 3D Coat, adding grease, scratches, burns, paint drips, and wear with deliberate damage layers that reflect use and history.

Timelapse masking in 3D Coat applies standard alphas to add and remove dirt across layers, with a small brush for local edits. Compare layers and fingerprint-like crosshatching using default tools.

Build photoreal textures in 3D Coat by tuning roughness and opacity, using eraser alpha and smudge to sharpen borders, then blur with smooths and rotate the mesh.

Master scratches by adjusting brush roughness and depth, vary thickness with the eraser at 100% transparency, and build many small scratches on edges for realism.

Create gradients around the mesh with a large brush, using 100% opacity and power smooths to blend; erase unwanted color and emphasize gradients top to bottom and left to right.

Apply contrast to create a salt effect in a seawater setting by blending an original layer with a high-contrast salt layer, adjusting opacity, and using a non-destructive mask.

Use the roughness brush to restore gloss and eliminate black spots on the stripes by painting over them, then refine roughness on the front side with a bigger brush.

Export objects and textures from 3D Coat, set the output mesh directory, use the scene file name as texture prefix, switch to Blender standard, and remove ambient occlusion and emission.

Import an FBX into Blender and reconnect textures in the shading workflow. Switch metalness and roughness maps to non-color space to preserve realistic reflections.

Set up a basic studio by adding a plane backdrop, beveling an edge, and placing area lights. Render a preview to tune intensity and radius against a black, rough background.

Enhance viewport rendering by adjusting area light and shadows, enabling ambient occlusion and screen space reflections, tuning bloom, and optimizing top sampling and viewport settings for realistic previews.

Explore hdri environment maps to light a scene with high dynamic range, using a free public-domain a2k map opened as an environment texture and previewed in the world tab.

Triangulate the mesh to fix normal map artifacts and color splotches by applying a triangulation modifier in Blender during baking, then triangulate again to preserve correct normals.

Master light sculpting to create a gritty, desaturated render using a black backdrop, HDRi lighting, rim light, top diffuse light, and a front point light for subtle specular reflections.

Render the final image with a transparent background by disabling the backdrop in render properties, selecting transparent film, and exporting as PNG or TIFF for use in Photoshop.

Capture screenshots and paste them into Photoshop or Krita, organize renders for presentation, create a mask, and boost thumbnails with levels, clipping layers, and color lookups to pop.

Back up the case with clearly named layers and masks for baking. Merge subtrees, duplicate and resample to a manageable low-poly model, then decimate while preserving latches and overall geometry.

Apply auto retopo and auto decimation to convert a high-poly model into a low-poly version with auto UVs and configurable triangle counts for fast workflows.

Increase the baking distance and rebake in the sculpting room, merge layers by the same material, clean up masks, and finalize the front and back case in 3d coat.

Bake curvature RGB and ambient occlusion maps in the edit window, using curvature and occlusion calculations, and create two new layers to remember the model's main parameters.

Timelapse case texturing in 3D Coat demonstrates creating a foam look with a uniform noise texture, adjusting roughness and transparency, and layering masks to shape the prop's surface.

Export the case in millimeters, import it into the scene, add a triangulation modifier for the normal map, and reapply textures set to non-color for roughness and metalness.

Learn to improve reflections at the base of the hammerhead by adjusting screen space reflections, setting max roughness to one, and tweaking thickness and lighting angles to soften edges.

fixes heavy artifacts on six magnets after auto decimation by selecting the mesh and nudging faces along the z axis to prevent coplanar face flicker.

Learn to work with props in 3D Coat by separating case parts, renaming pieces, creating a collection, and moving and rotating them along the Y axis with snapping; adjust alpha.

Place the 3d cursor at the target pivot, set origin to the cursor, and rotate around it; isolate the latch objects with the question mark and reuse the operation.

Set up two lights—a front rim light and a bottom-up horror light—to create an unveiling effect, add a third rim light for punch, and rotate the camera to hide lights.

Animate the case by selecting it, enable auto keyframing for rotation, insert a keyframe at frame 60, and adjust the values, keeping the timeline at about 60 frames.

Learn to create and animate a camera, lock it to view, adjust focal length, set keyframes with auto key, fine-tune timing, and render a 4k sequence with the EV renderer.

Set up depth of field in camera and render settings, adjust focus distance and f-stop to control sharpness, commit keyframes, and note artifacts fade with high quality renders.

Explore what could have been done better by addressing baking issues and artifacts, and favor decimation over manual retopology to tighten the silhouette and improve the render.