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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12001 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Jan 2025 : 14:07:01
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Several years back, I got into playing with blender for a couple years. I had a lot of fun doing this. Sadly, I've probably forgotten half of it because I haven't touched it for a while. But, painting 3d models in blender was for me.... a pain in the arse (at least older versions). So, I turned to Microsoft's Paint3d for windows 10, which was intuitive as hell and very much fun. It couldn't do the detail I really wanted, but it was good enough for A) Free and B) someone just playing around to make a 3d model that they could add "labels" to for tattoos, heraldic symbols, etc... Don't get me wrong, there were a LOT of problems with it too. Sadly, though, Microsoft has chosen to stop supporting this software, having never imported it to windows 11 and stopping downloads. I'm trying now to setup a new laptop and want to get something to use with it (and downloading the newest version of blender as well, so maybe that will be better).
So, my question... and maybe noone here will have an answer... anyone used anything else that's free and SIMPLE? I see some stuff talking about adobe's substance painter, an "armorpaint" software, and a quixel mixer. Of these, substance paint requires a monthly subscription it looks like, so its out. Armorpaint LOOKS like it was made with someone like me in mind, but that doesn't mean its without issues, and it looks like it may have a slight cost now (like $20). I so far don't even see where to download quixel. I'm probably going to download armorpaint for now, and I'm looking to see if there's a free version.... but I know how software is... since the videos I was looking at were from 4 years ago, I wouldn't be surprised if there's something else I may want to try.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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kateupton
Acolyte
1 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2025 : 07:44:42
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Hi Sleyvas,
Given your preference for free and simple, Quixel Mixer is likely your best bet in 2025. It’s free, downloadable via Epic Games, and offers an intuitive interface for painting 3D models without overwhelming you with options. If you’re willing to spend $20, ArmorPaint is a fantastic alternative that’s tailor-made for your use case—casual, direct painting with minimal fuss. |
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gimox
Acolyte
1 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2025 : 10:08:34
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| Do you need layers and procedural painting tools, or just simple hand-painting? Blender's texture painting has improved, but it can still feel clunky. If you just need basic painting, you might not need something as feature-packed as ArmorPaint. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12001 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2025 : 12:26:33
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quote:
Originally posted by gimox
Do you need layers and procedural painting tools, or just simple hand-painting? Blender's texture painting has improved, but it can still feel clunky. If you just need basic painting, you might not need something as feature-packed as ArmorPaint.
When I was doing this all the time for fun, I was just hand painting (i.e. click a brush and color in spots). There were a few times where I was painting inside of blender by coloring each individual object and putting it together, but that was with things that I pretty much built all of it (for instance a picture of an open book that I created a cover for and put text on the inside pages as a 3d object, etc...), but I must admit I haven't tried a newer version of blender. I guess I'll download the latest version and see what that's like. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12001 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2025 : 00:10:40
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quote:
Originally posted by gimox
Do you need layers and procedural painting tools, or just simple hand-painting? Blender's texture painting has improved, but it can still feel clunky. If you just need basic painting, you might not need something as feature-packed as ArmorPaint.
I finally caught some time and decided to try out a newer version of blender (4.2) from the microsoft store. It looks like a nearly new interface. I will say painting something basic does seem to be a lot better and I've only been trying for 5 minutes. I need to figure out how to make things look more metallic, etc... but I'm sure with an hour or two under my belt it'll be better. Thanks. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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theresatharrod
Acolyte
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 01 May 2025 : 06:45:38
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| ArmorPaint might be a good choice-simple and affordable. You can also try Material Maker, which is free and user-friendly. Quixel Mixer is free with an Epic Games account but works best with Unreal Engine. Texture painting in the latest Blender is also more user-friendly now. |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2474 Posts |
Posted - 01 May 2025 : 21:27:22
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
But, painting 3d models in blender was for me.... a pain in the arse (at least older versions).
Awkward GUI? Well, it's Blender...
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and B) someone just playing around to make a 3d model that they could add "labels" to for tattoos, heraldic symbols, etc...
Do you mean using clear labels within a given mesh, so that you could find it quickly?
I think Wings3D (for an immediately available example) doesn't have it, beyond using custom vertex colors. But since such swappable details should be in separate textures, the most obvious solution is to name materials in a recognizable way, so that you can just find it in the list -> select [everything with this material] from context menu -> align to selection.
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So, my question... and maybe noone here will have an answer... anyone used anything else that's free and SIMPLE?
What exactly do you want? Mapping as such? In the end, it depends on the model format. Obviously, pretty much every line of 3D modelling software has some way to do this, but follows its own idiosyncrasies. From select -> choose the unwrap mode, then dragging vertices or edges of the cutout around the texture image in Wings 3D (pure mesh) to flowchart-based texture builder in Art of Illusion (very procedurally oriented).
UV unwrapping? It obviously cannot be automated too well, because software does not know what projection is the best for user's actual needs in the general case. On the upside, there are tutorials on internet for any stage of the process, including this.
quote:
blender (4.2) from the microsoft store
From what? 
Anyway, Blender site says the current release is 4.4.3 (April 29, 2025) |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12001 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2025 : 03:00:00
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Yeah, I messed with using blender for an hour and gave up. Getting anything to look metallic, etc... was a pain in the ass. It does really suck that the silly microsoft paint3d is gone, because honestly, for hand painting a virtual mini.... it was better for me than anything you could pay for, and it was free. It was easy as hell, you could easily change brush type, color types, whether they were flat, glossy, metallic, etc... Now, was it good for much else than painting a mini real quick and then taking a picture of it? No, not really.... At least I still have one pc running windows 10 with the program, but it won't last forever.
On labels, you don't seem to understand. I could take any image and basically turn it into a "skin" that I could stretch over a section of a mini. To give ideas, take an image and stick it on a shield, take an image and turn it into a tattoo, take an image and make it look like embroidery on a robe, surcoat, etc.... |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36876 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2025 : 04:59:52
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Yeah, I messed with using blender for an hour and gave up. Getting anything to look metallic, etc... was a pain in the ass. It does really suck that the silly microsoft paint3d is gone, because honestly, for hand painting a virtual mini.... it was better for me than anything you could pay for, and it was free. It was easy as hell, you could easily change brush type, color types, whether they were flat, glossy, metallic, etc... Now, was it good for much else than painting a mini real quick and then taking a picture of it? No, not really.... At least I still have one pc running windows 10 with the program, but it won't last forever.
Look around online... I know some things that were removed from more recent versions of Windows, people have made standalone installers for. |
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Painting 3d models WITHOUT Paint3d
