Textures not displayed in sculpt mode due to missing UVs (PBVH rendering, Multires) #63581

System Information
Operating system: Windows-10-10.0.17763 64 Bits
Graphics card: GeForce GTX 1080 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 NVIDIA Corporation 4.5.0 NVIDIA 417.35

Blender Version
Broken: version: 2.80 (sub 55), branch: master, commit date: 2019-04-13 17:26, hash: 6815efc3ff
Worked: 2.79b

Short description of error
Model with Multiresolution modifier doesn't display texture in Sculpt Mode.
Render engine doesn't matter.

Observed in display modes:

Solid (Lighting: Studio / Color: Texture)
LookDev
Rendered (in Cycles mesh is invisible)

Exact steps for others to reproduce the error

Open test.blend
Enable "Display modifier in viewport."

OR

Switch to LookDev mode
Apply multiresolution modifier to a mesh with texture
Add single subdivision (Sculpt Base Mesh OFF)

Added subscriber: @ElBaton

#103674 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#93946 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#90730 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#90054 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#80984 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#80049 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#76661 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#72410 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#69162 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#68335 was marked as duplicate of this issue

#66866 was marked as duplicate of this issue

Added subscriber: @ZedDB

@Sergey I think we had a ticket for this already, but I can't seem to find it.

Added subscriber: @TodorNikolov

Added subscribers: @SpectreFirst, @fclem, @ErickNyanduKabongo, @mano-wii

Added subscriber: @Jeroen-Bakker

Added subscriber: @PanicPug

Added subscriber: @anortje

Added subscribers: @manda.3d.projects, @MarcinTwarowski

Added subscriber: @maylog

Added subscriber: @Sergey

Added subscriber: @PabloDobarro

Changed status from 'Confirmed' to: 'Archived'

When using PBVH rendering there is not UV information (it only has position, normal, mask and color). This is explicitly coded this way and it works like that in any mode. If you try to sculpt on a regular mesh with UVs, the texture won't render until you add a modifier, which disables PBVH rendering.
We should decide if adding texture support to the PBVH is something we want to add to sculpt mode (it can be useful in some cases) or if we should add a better UI to communicate why the texture rendering is disabled. So I think this is a development task, not a bug.

Bug or not, this is still a very big regression from 2.79 and the reason why many people still have to switch between 2.79 and 2.8 because in 2.79 you can sculpt in Solid (Textured Solid) and Material modes both with subdivided Multires and on regular objects with textures displayed without having to constantly switch to Object mode to see what you are doing and without having to invent workarounds. Applying another modifier over Multires doesn’t seem to work at all because when you enter Sculpt mode it just says “Not supported in sculpt mode” in both Solid and Preview modes so it seems there’s simply no way to see textures in Sculpt mode with subdivided Multires applied.

Added subscriber: @dfelinto

Changed status from 'Archived' to: 'Confirmed'

Hi @PabloDobarro Sergey and I talked, and this is not invalid per-se, but how it is coded. And the way it was coded does violate design.

To address this is indded not a simple as a regular bug fix, but leaving it open helps as documentation. Otherwise users will keep re-reporting this.

Also collecting these issues help to illustrate the shortcomes of the current implementation and eventually lead us to decide on tackling them as big projects, refactoring things or even to abandon an area.

Added subscriber: @JoelArt

Added subscriber: @snuq

is there really no way to display a texture while in multires sculpting??? has anyone come up with a workaround for this? this pretty much makes multires sculpting completely useless

Added subscriber: @MarcelLegindi

Added subscriber: @Andruxa696

Added subscriber: @thinsoldier

Added subscribers: @Elster, @lichtwerk

Added subscriber: @illussimo

Blender 2.83.5
As a workaround, I tried vertex paint for multires sculpting. (Which is of course, less detailed but it gives at least some guidance. ) But also vertex paint isn't seen in sculpting mode with multires. Somehow this should be resolved if we want Blender to be able to encompass a complete creation workflow.

Added subscriber: @newsoft

Added subscriber: @AdamJanz

Just came across this myself while attempting to sculpt vehicle tire normal map details based on a manufacturer's provided texture map. Work is for a client. Texture is not shown in Dynamic Topology mode either. This seems to be a major limitation in Sculpt mode. While my simple scenario can likely still be accomplished by other means, the ability to sculpt while displaying a UV mapped texture would be a brilliant feature to have, especially when using a photo reference. Hopefully this can be added in a future release. :-)

Is anyone working on this issue at the moment?

Added subscriber: @YegorSmirnov

@illussimo, there is D9522 which is being worked on. Think the end goal of that project will resolve this issue.

Is it likely it will be resolved in 2.91, or is that too optimistic?

This is too big of a change to be considered a safe fix for 2.91. Realistically, it should be doable for 2.92. But it depends on availability and load of Pablo's and Clement's desks.

Added subscriber: @zhouxiang

Added subscriber: @GeRo

Added subscriber: @DavidGascuena

Just to document some workflows where this is very important, if not vital.

I'm sculpting a low poly earth model, with a texture in it. If I want to make details like, mountains, valleys, etc... I really need to see the texture, as it is my guide to know where I am.

Indeed it is an important issue to be solved, but probably quite complex. Any chance of getting it working in 2.92?

Added subscriber: @Neigh

Added subscriber: @PeteX-2

I have a partial work-around for this. What you can do is create two linked duplicates of your object, then you sculpt on one, and allow the other to display the material. The one problem is that you don't get feedback as you're using the sculpt brush, only after you release the mouse button.

You should normally have the duplicates on top of each other, so you can see how the mouse pointer lines up with the material. To stop the two meshes interfering, select the mesh you're going to sculpt on, and go to Viewport Display. You can then set Display As to Wire or Bounds, depending on your preference.

Wire can be quite helpful because at least you then see the wire frame updating as you use the brush. The material then catches up when you release the button.

Unfortunately, it is still not working in 2.92. Is somebody working on this issue so that it will work in 2.93, or do we have to wait for 3.0? The partial workaround is a nice suggestion for now but, sadly, these workarounds are still needed, aren't optimal and it feels clumsy that it should be necessary. While sculpting in Blender is now so fully featured and advanced, this shouldn't lag.
Please give this issue a higher priority!

Added subscriber: @bowserlm

Jumping in to add that we absolutely need this for production. Working on feature film characters and adding sculpt details after a character is textured is proving to be impossible.

When will this important issue be picked up? This surely should be resolved in 2.93 (LTS)!

This should come after finishing the design and implementation of #85296 and #84864. After that, adding new features to sculpt mode rendering should be way easier.

@PabloDobarro First of all thank you so much for all the fantastic improvements in sculpt mode. Multires is used a lot for creating high-quality normal maps. It does a good job at that. Being able to see the texture or vertex paint while sculpting with multires is not a new feature but has somehow been broken. Is there no way to repair this? It is so important for animation, game, and WebGL production.

Any news on this issue? Any timeframe when this will be resolved? Please, give this high priority and keep us informed when it is resolved.
Thanks.

Added subscriber: @DeadDrag0

Added subscribers: @Astronet-4, @PratikPB2123

@PabloDobarro Again more users are reporting this issue. On August 27, 2020, and April 29, 2021, I had mentioned that also vertex paint isn't visible in sculpt mode with multires modifier. So probably missing UVs is not the whole story. Keep this in mind while thinking of a solution. Please keep us informed. Thank you.

Added subscriber: @JosephEagar

@JosephEagar I've just learned that you are taking over Pablo Dobarro's workload on this issue. Multires modifier is complex so hopefully, you can give us a clue on when this issue could be resolved and in what version of Blender. Will it still be in one of the 2.93 LTS versions or do we have to wait for 3.0? I also want to thank Pablo Dobarro on his fantastic work.

Added subscriber: @Ghostroots

Added subscriber: @SethTooQuick

Hello! Is there an update on this? Just decided to do this exact thing, only to find out it will hinder my productivity D: Is there a workaround?

Unfortunately this still seems to be a problem in Blender 3; it was one of the things I checked as soon as the new version came out.

There is a partial work-around, @SethTooQuick (see my comment above) but it doesn't provide the editing experience you'd really like. The mesh with the texture only updates at the end of a stroke, which makes it difficult to see how you're changing things.

See my comments in #93946. @JosephEagar Please keep us informed and let us know when you expect this pressing issue will be solved!

Added subscriber: @Jakuba

Added subscriber: @neckaros

Maybe this need to be reassigned since Pablo is no longer working on this?

Unassigned for now then (@PabloDobarro just reclaim if you are still on it)

@lichtwerk Could you please change this to High Priority? I thought Joseph Eagar was working on this but it seems to be abandoned. Let us know when and by whom this will be picked up again.

Please fix this bug

In #63581#1291368, @illussimo wrote:
@lichtwerk Could you please change this to High Priority? I thought Joseph Eagar was working on this but it seems to be abandoned. Let us know when and by whom this will be picked up again.

I think this would be the responsibility of the #sculpt_paint_texture module, up to them to decide.
Feel free to drop by in https://blender.chat/channel/sculpt-paint-texture-module, seems @JosephEagar is not very active here.

@lichtwerk This is not a chat subject it is a bug that still hasn't been solved since 2019!

In #63581#1291776, @illussimo wrote:
@lichtwerk This is not a chat subject it is a bug that still hasn't been solved since 2019!

Dude, chill ...

This is still a bug that need to be fixed.
Blender 2.79 don't have this bug, so way does it exist in 3.0?

In #63581#1291803, @DeadDrag0 wrote:
This is still a bug that need to be fixed.
Blender 2.79 don't have this bug, so way does it exist in 3.0?

There has been great improvements in sculpting and multi resolution so a unfortunate bug can happen.
I hope this will be fixed but I understand that their might be more urgent bugs.

Added subscriber: @GeorgiaPacific

Added subscribers: @blend_ellie, @Wesley-Rossi

Any update on this?

To my knowledge there is some development towards it, but no real visible fix yet, unfortunately.

Added subscriber: @Asger

Added subscriber: @Jam-Dalu

Added subscriber: @Tahnour

Added subscriber: @BertVandenBosch

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Textures not displayed in sculpt mode due to missing UVs (PBVH rendering, Multires) #63581