Smooth out joint deformed mesh

[octomber]

Hey everybody,

I wonder how I can smooth out a mesh deformed via joints. I wanna get rid of the "edges"/"ripples" where the joints are (s. Screenshot).

The file is available under the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lka6gud38htwlwk/PROMASTOP%20FC3%20neubau_0004.c4d.zip?dl=0

The aim is to get a complete smooth and round surface on the outside.

Thanks in advance and sunny regards, Tom

P.S: @Dr. Sassi: if you see this post you may remember this model from a long time ago . As you recommend, I rebuild it and manually weighted the mesh.

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi octomber,

Yes, I remember our discussion!

Thanks for the file. Please do the following on a copy to explore how far you can push it.

Select all the points of the "band", not the Bend-deformed parts. I unchecked all deformers (incl. Skin) and selected those in the "right (or left) view". Store the selection just in case.

Then shift-click on the Weight Tag, a step which you certainly know already very well (but I write in a forum).

With the points selected, go to the Options Tab> Smoothing.

The Distance that worked for me with your file was 0.5 cm. Press Smooth, and it should be done in a few seconds.

Render and check if it looks as if you like to have it. If not, repeat, perhaps with a 0.7cm distance.

My best wishes!

Screen Shot 2023-02-01 at 11.58.46 AM.png

[octomber]

Hi Dr. Sassi,

thanks again for this crucial advice - that does the trick! I learned a lot from the Hands-on-Maxon Videos ... I love them! But every time I think I understood, there's one little detail depending on model or other circumstances etc. and there are so much options and dependencies in C4D ... it's still overwhelming in its possibilities.

How ever, thank you very much and sunny regards, Tom

[Dr. Sassi]

Thanks a lot for the feedback, octomber!

Yes, there are certainly a lot of tiny little tricks that need to be shared. Having done the timestamps for the past 11 episodes for the Hands On Character show, I believe we can quickly fill a third season with tips and tricks while going deeper into the tech. But I fear those solutions are more interesting when needed during a project, not presented in a more extended series.
With that being said, I hope to fill those gaps that are naturally left and learn from everyone's questions I got over the past nearly two decades.

My best wishes for your project.