Your image as custom mesh

Summary

Created by @manavortex Published August 2023

This guide uses the following tools and versions:

Step 0: Make or find an image

Start with an image. We're aiming for our own neon sign here, and we'll aassign the colours later in Wolvenkit, so make sure that it is something with clean lines and good contrasts. I'll use this:

Step 1: Convert to SVG

I started by following this guide, but I'll write you a TL;DR

1. Open Inkscape and create a new document

2. Select File -> Import and import your .png from step 0

3. Make sure that your image is selected (click on it if you're not sure, it will have that resizing handle)

4. From the menu, select Path -> Trace Bitmap (it doesn't have to be a bitmap)

5. Pick your options in the right-hand panel. I won't cover them in detail here, check the linked guide or noodle around until the result looks OK.

6. Press the Apply button at the bottom

7. Your new traced path will be auto-selected for you.

8. Select File -> Save As and save it as an *.svg file.

Time to switch to Blender to turn it into a mesh!

Step 2: Making a mesh

For this, I've originally followed this guide, but here's a TL;DR for you again:

1. In Blender, select File -> Import -> Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG)

2. Import your SVG. It will show up as solid black:

1. With an active selection, find the curve properties panel in the bottom right (the green icon).

2. In the "Geometry" section and find "Extrude".

3. Set it to something like 0.001 — play around with it until your mesh is appropriately extruded.

   1. Do not bevel it! We want the corners nice and sharp, we can always make it round l,ater.

4. Once you're satisfied, transform the curve into a mesh: Object -> Convert -> Mesh

We're now leaving the previous guide.

Step 3: Fixing up the mesh for Cyberpunk

Scale, rotate, and move your curve to the centre of the viewport

1. Fix rotation: Press R -> X -> 90

2. Fix scale: Press S and move the mouse

3. Fix position:

   1. Press G -> Z to move the mesh up and down

   2. Press G -> X to move the mesh left and right

   3. You don't need to move it on the y axis

4. Apply transformations: Press Ctrl+A -> T

Cleaning up the geometry

Let's reduce poly count and clean up our mesh. For a detailed guide, see here, I'm going to give you a TL;DR again:

Remesh modifier

1. Switch to the "Modifiers" tab in the sidebar panel on the right (the wrench, below the one highlighted in the screenshot above)

2. From the dropdown, select Generate -> Remesh

3. Your mesh will be a black box now. Don't panic, we'll fix this by setting the modifier proprerties:

Switch back to Object Mode (press Tab) and apply the modifier. The result should be something like this:

Now, triangulate: switch to edit mode, select everything, and press Ctrl+T. It's necessary for the Cyberpunk reimport.

Creating an UV map

Switch to the Object Data Properties in the right sidebar, fold out "UV Maps" and click the + button. This is necessary for material projection, and Wolvenkit won't let you import if you didn't do it.

Naming

Rename your original mesh to submesh_00_LOD_1 — we need that for the import in Wolvenkit.

Optional: More submeshes for more colours

You can assign one material per submesh. To split off a part of the mesh,

1. Change back to Edit Mode

2. Turn on X-Ray (Alt+Z) and select the shape that you want to split off

3. Press P -> S (Split -> Selection)

4. Rinse and repeat until you have all the submeshes split off

Creating a Wolvenkit project

Time to pull up Wolvenkit.

Assuming you have Wolvenkit installed, you can now create a new project. Let's find ourselves an in-game neon sign to replace by searching in the Asset Browser for neon > .mesh and scrolling through the entries until we find one that we like.

I'll be replacing base\environment\decoration\advertising\signage\sex_shop_neon_sign\sex_shop_neon_sign_b.mesh, the heart-shaped ad banner.

1. Decide on a mesh and add it to your project.

2. Export the mesh

3. In the project explorer, right-click on the exported file (sex_shop_neon_sign_b.glb) and open it in the Windows Explorer. We will now overwrite this file in Blender.

Exporting

In Blender,

1. select all the meshes that you want included (in Object Mode)

2. use the Cyberpunk Blender Plugin to overwrite the file from the previous step.

In Wolvenkit, use the Import Tool to import sex_shop_neon_sign_b.glb. The preview in the File Information panel should update.

Assigning Materials

Open sex_shop_neon_sign_b.mesh in Wolvenkit and open the appearance on (as this is the one they're using on Jig Jig Street).

ChunkMaterials

At the very top of the mesh, we'll need to change the chunk masks as follows:

MaterialEntries

Now, we register the materials:

1. Find the array materialEntries

2. Add four new entries (or duplicate one four times, or…)

3. Name them according to the entries in the ChunkMaterials step

4. Make sure that their indices match the array positions

LocalMaterials

… and finally, we actually add the materials.

1. Find and expand the array localMaterialBuffer and its child materials

2. Copy the second entry, sex_shop_neon_sign_emissive_red_on via right-click menu

3. paste it into materials

4. Duplicate it three more times

5. In the new material entries, find the property ColorOneStart and change it in the side panel.

6. Repeat for each material, then save the mesh.

Let's pack the project!

In Wolvenkit's top bar, select Install and then boot up Cyberpunk. Let's hit up Jig Jig Street to look at our sign…