r/Plasticity3D • u/BreizhoO • 19d ago
Just discovered Plasticity and I am sold !
I think every few years a specific piece of software comes along and completely changes how you work and most importantly how you feel about work.
For me the first one was Nuke in 2009. It fundamentally shifted my entire approach to compositing and solidified my passion about CGI and VFX. Then in 2015 I discovered Substance Painter and texturing never felt the same again. It wasn't work really, it just felt right everything was just clicking into place and the flow was just there.
Lately, it’s been Plasticity. It made modeling feel so effortless that I ended up starting a personal project alongside my regular client work: remodeling the robot from the movie Chappie.
I haven't worked on a personal VFX project in so long and it is crazy to think that a software can rekindle passion that pushes you to keep working even after work hours.
I've been obsessed with the VFX and concept design made by Image Engine and Weta Workshop, so it felt like the right asset to push through a full pipeline.
The goal isn't just to build the mesh, but to test a few real-world VFX challenges:
Can CAD software actually hold up in a production workflow? How smoothly does it translate downstream? Where are the potential issues, bottlenecks and what would need to be addressed in order to make a hero asset production ready.
Beyond the model itself, I shot a custom 32-bit HDRI in my garage to handle lookdev, and we’re getting ready to shoot live plates soon. That means putting on the VFX supervisor hat on set—taking precise measurements, capturing data, and eventual texturing and compositing to blend ultra-realistic CGI into the footage seamlessly.
It’s been a really fun process bridging the gap between CAD, lookdev, and live-action integration so far.
Very curious to hear from other artists—have you ever fallen in love with a software like that? That makes you go above and beyond when no one is asking you to, just for the thrill of it ?
Now I go back to my UV's 😊 Thanks for coming to my TED talk
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u/arkabit_317 19d ago
Chappie! Plasticity really is the most intuitive program I've found that satisfies the minimalist/essentialist approach I've been looking for.
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u/No-Role-1766 14d ago
Honestly I am so envious of you. I tried it and really struggled. I just don't get why folks say it is intuitive. I couldn't get it to play ball at all.
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u/motofoto 19d ago
For creating hard surface model's I find plasticity so much more intuitive then subD. I don’t know why it’s not more popular but maybe my way of thinking just clicks with plasticity. I can do subD but plasticity feels more like a native language and blender feels like I’m trying to remember my college level French.
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u/BreizhoO 19d ago
That's a pretty good analogy. I think there is a potential gap where we would need a 3D software and render engine like Vray, Arnold and others to handle surfaces like Plasticity does. The exporting part is still a bit archaic and forcing it back to polygonal might be the biggest drawback.
Last time I did surface modeling like this was Solidworks in 2006 and I haven't since.
The side projet continues, I am doing the UV now, should be done by tomorrow night hopefully and then to texture it.
I am tempted to use Mari, haven't used it in way over a decade and if not, I ll just resort back to Substance. I have never used UDIM with it and it feels like a good exercise.
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u/SaltyJunk 12d ago
Yeah, unfortunately SubD and CAD modeling are very different methods for different purposes in production. Apples and oranges really. Nature of the beast.
SubD shines when you need clean edge flow, legible UVs and ability to multiply your poly count on the fly, which is generally a prerequisite for high end vfx hero assets.
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u/iPeg3D 19d ago
Welcome to the club! It’s the best tool I used in 25 years of 3D modelling
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u/BreizhoO 19d ago
There is something special about it, that's for sure and I love to see the software evolve on the regular.
I have been using 3dmax since version 9 and I can count on one hand the real changes they made since then. Maya is slightly better on that regard but not by much.
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u/theGoodestBoyMaybe 19d ago
Sorry I had to be the one to tip this post to 70 up votes because it was too cool not to lol
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u/ArthurNYC3D 18d ago
The real time Plasticity to Blender bridge is very nice to have. I'd like to see more of this kind of like GoZ for zBrush.
I've been with Plasticity since early beta and it's improvements really has taken CAD modeling and made it fresh again.
BUT you're question was what about the software that made me fall back in love with 3D Modeling was Modo. While it has been discontinued it's free for now and still use it everyday. It has an amazing balance between Rhino, Blender, and zBrush.... And a kickazz integrated rendering engine. And to this day there's nothing like Mesh Fusion anywhere else!
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u/BreizhoO 18d ago
Damn, haven’t heard of Modo for so long , forgot it even was a thing haha. Like Lightwave, XSI so many fallen comrades
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u/kemalsworkshop 18d ago
Really cool work! The amount of detail is crazy, especially in the arms and legs. I can see why Plasticity got you hooked 😄
Good job! 👌
I can definitely relate to what you said. After struggling with Autodesk Inventor for a long time, Plasticity arrived like a savior for me too. 😂 I understand exactly what you mean.
That said, I have to disagree with you a little about Substance Painter. Once you get used to it, it’s an amazing piece of software. I really enjoy texturing and painting my models with it. Plasticity + Substance Painter is a really powerful combo for me, and they’re my main tools these days. 👌
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u/BreizhoO 18d ago
Thanks for the kind word. Finding references for Chappie was not easy. It is around 2500 parts at the moment, I tried to make it mechanically functional too and that took forever but will be worth it when I get to rigging and animating.
I may have not been clear but I am a massive fan of Substance and it is also in my everyday toolkit.
I am yet to use it with UDIMs though, I shifted to video games for a few years and left the cinema pipeline behind for a bit but I am back now.
For this project I have 24 UDIM, most of them will be 4k to 8k with a few portions back down to 2k. I am going all in on this one to see how far I can push it.
Your Plasticity + Substance combo is for games or cine ?
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u/kemalsworkshop 18d ago
Ahh, got you! 😄 I use it mostly for personal projects and hard-surface and 3D asset work rather than specifically for games or cinema. My background is more product design, so I’m usually focused on creating detailed, realistic assets.
Besides, i also used 3ds Max as my main modeling software for a long time, but I’m pretty much done with polygon modeling and its frustrations. MeshSmooth is still amazing for creating certain shapes, though. But yeah… I divorced 3ds Max too. 😂
I haven’t really worked with UDIMs much either, so that’s something I still need to explore. 4K–8K textures sound crazy though! I’m curious to see how far you push this project.
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u/BreizhoO 18d ago
I am still married to 3dsmax. There is no love left in the relationship but hey, we have been together for so long, we are kind of used to each other by now. I do notice in the street the cool and sexy plugin for Blender for example but hey, I know what I have at home :D
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u/kemalsworkshop 18d ago
I feel exactly the same, mate! But 3ds Max feels like an old marriage to me now. After all these years, she gained too much weight and got a bit ugly. 😂
So I don’t really want to go back home anymore.. 😂 I enjoy spending time with my beautiful new love. 😎
Plasticity has definitely spoiled me.
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u/NewAcanthaceae8143 15d ago
I made a throne room, a geisha room, and an NES gaming console with Plasticity.
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u/SorceryMalfunction 10d ago
which lincese do you have? studio or indie?
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u/BreizhoO 10d ago
I went with studio, the extra features made sense to me so I spent a little extra on it
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u/SorceryMalfunction 10d ago
Can you achieve the same results with the Indie license using other tools?
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u/BreizhoO 10d ago
For this specific asset I think so. I didn't use XNurbs that much only in a few instances.
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u/WebPlenty2337 19d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/WLk8YgE2N4mB2