Key takeaways
- Keep a saved reference before converting the topology layout.
- Inspect the drawing, conversion result, and exported selection as separate checkpoints.
- Review boundary merging in the preview and then inspect the delivered file.
Drawing a topology layout, converting it, and exporting the intended geometry are three separate checkpoints. When an exported garment does not resemble the mesh you expected, work through those checkpoints in order. Keep a copy of the project before trying another conversion so that the comparison remains useful.
The Retopology manual describes drawing topology on existing patterns and converting that layout into a new mesh. Its current instructions use Convert commands; older tutorials may call the corresponding actions Remesh. Follow the labels for your installed version rather than assuming two differently named tutorial steps describe different tools.
Preserve the editable starting point
Save a separate project before conversion. The project-file manual explains that a ZPrj stores the garment's 2D patterns and associated scene information, and distinguishes Save As from overwriting the current project. Give the copy a name that makes its purpose clear, such as a pre-conversion reference.
This is a recommended checkpoint for comparing results. It is not a promise that every export format will retain the same information as the project. Keep your intended handoff format and the editable working file as separate items in your delivery notes.
Before changing anything, identify the garment pieces you expect to deliver. For example, a jacket shell and a lining may need separate treatment in the receiving application. Write down that expectation instead of relying on whichever objects happen to be selected at export time.
Inspect the topology layout before conversion
The documented topology workflow closes faces with three or four sides. If cutting an existing topology face produces an n-gon (more than four sides), that face is highlighted in orange. Inspect those areas and resolve the layout before using it as the basis for your export. Do not describe this workflow as a guarantee of an all-quad result: the manual explicitly includes triangular faces.
The version 12 topology improvements also describes snapping to internal lines, ghost points across sewing relationships on internal lines, and a validity check for topology patches. If a patch would overlap itself, the tool reports an error instead of creating the patch. Return to that patch and correct the overlap before continuing.
These are useful places to focus a layout inspection, not a substitute for inspecting the finished file. Keep a screenshot of a distinctive region, such as a cuff or a junction between panels, to compare with the converted mesh and the imported export later. Choose a region where the edge layout is easy to recognize.
Decide whether conversion should duplicate or replace
In the Edit Topology context menu, Convert (Duplicate) creates a new mesh for the chosen pattern. Convert (Replace) removes the existing pattern while creating its replacement. The manual also lists versions of these actions that apply to all patterns. The names changed from Remesh to Convert in version 2024. See the conversion instructions for the commands available in that workflow.
For an initial comparison, duplication is a useful choice because you can inspect the source and converted result separately. Identify which result you intend to export. If you use replacement instead, confirm that you are working in the saved copy before proceeding. The key decision is what should remain in your scene after conversion.
Avoid running a whole-project command merely because a tutorial used it. First establish whether you mean to convert one pattern or all of them. Record that choice alongside the project filename so a colleague can repeat the same operation.
Export the intended selection
For a targeted OBJ handoff, the OBJ export documentation includes a selected-only export path for selected patterns. Inspect your selection and the exported file rather than assuming everything visible belongs in the delivery. This is especially useful when a working scene contains both a source and a converted result.
Open the file in the receiving application as a separate check. Compare the recognizable region you recorded earlier. Look for the expected pieces and edge arrangement, and check whether an unintended duplicate was included. These are recommended acceptance checks; they do not imply that exporting has automatically solved UV layout, shading, or rigging requirements.
If the geometry is the wrong one, return to selection and conversion first. A downstream repair cannot establish which source object you intended to export. Make the handoff reproducible before tuning it for later production stages.
Use the proximity-merge preview when joining boundaries
The Merge Vertex by Proximity manual explains that finalized retopology no longer carries the sewing relationships used by sewing-based merging. Its OBJ export option instead joins vertices by distance across patterns. Enabling it makes the Weld and Thickness options unavailable in that dialog.
Choose the distance in the displayed scene units and inspect the preview: red can indicate vertices that will merge, while blue can indicate those that will remain separate. Do not copy a distance from another garment without checking the result. Inspect the boundaries you meant to join and the nearby details you meant to keep apart before accepting the export.
If the preview joins the wrong details, revise the setting or the geometry and inspect again. If it leaves an intended boundary open, document that observation rather than calling the exported mesh finished. The preview is a decision aid, and the exported file still needs your handoff check.
Agree on a concrete delivery check
Before handing the garment over, record the project version, conversion command, exported selection, and merge setting if used. Ask the recipient to confirm the expected garment pieces and the sample edge layout in their application. Add UV, material, and deformation checks only as requirements to test, not as capabilities assumed from a successful conversion.
A useful delivery note says which checks passed and which belong to the next stage. That keeps a topology correction from silently becoming a promise about the entire asset. If the file still differs from the intended result, the saved checkpoints show whether to revisit the drawing, conversion, export selection, or boundary merge.
FAQ
What should I inspect when the export looks like the old mesh?
Start with the saved conversion checkpoint and identify which geometry you intended to deliver. Compare one recognizable region in the scene and the exported file. Correct the selection if it does not match that intention.
Should I copy another artist's merge distance?
Use it only as a setting to evaluate, not as an accepted result. Inspect your own boundaries and nearby details in the preview, then check the exported file against the intended joins.
What belongs in the handoff note?
Include the working project version, the conversion choice, the intended pieces, and any merge setting used. State which checks you completed and which checks the recipient still needs for their application.