For Blender 4.2+ for older blender versions, please use old versions of DrawXray
Addon for Blender 4.2+, that will show retopology overlay on top of your mesh.
Pros compared to build-in Blender retopo overlay:
easier to see which parts of your retopo mesh protrude out of your hipoly mesh, and which are below hipoly surface (build-in retopo overlay makes it impossible to see – if your mesh it above or below highpoly surface – see image below)
more customizable
faces overlay color, opacity, edges opacity,
supports drawing in various modes: Sculpt, Edit, Paint, Object mode,
option draw with-or without modifiers
Cons:
slower – it is coded in python, so it wont be as fast as native C++ code.
With Blender build-in retopo overlay it is impossible to tell if lowpoly mesh is under or above highpoly geometry. DrawXray makes it is easier to tell which parts of lowpoly mesh have to be pushed in or out.
Paid version comes with snapping features:
better approximation of high-poly mesh – thanks to taking into account mesh curvature (sink lowpoly mesh into valleys, push outside on peaks and keep retopo mesh close to flat surfaces) – see video below,
support for retopology with subdivision modifier – DrawXray will negate mesh shrinking effect caused by that modifier,
quad stroke drawing feature (new in DrawXray 1.7.0)
linking pairs of hipoly and lowpoly meshes, etc
How to use:
Install DrawXray like any other Blender add-on – see Blender docs
In 3D View Top Bar > Viewport Overlays press ‘Enable Xray’ – if you go to mesh edit mode, you will se new overlay rendered on top of your mesh
Depth Bias – will determine how much your lowpoly object will be rendered in front of other objects. Set it to 0 to get default blender behavior.
You can change Face Color and Highlights Color;
Xray Overlay can be enabled in following modes: Edit, Sculpt, Paint, Object (default – Edit; shift+Click to select multiple modes).
Video guide from Jayanam – showing the retopo Xray overlay
Paid version comes with snapping features:
better approximation of high-poly mesh, compared to blender build in snapping,
support for retopology with subdivision modifier – DrawXray will negate mesh shrinking effect caused by that modifier,
linking pairs of hipoly and lowpoly meshes, etc
Details about snapping features were shown in video below:
Update 2.3 Blender 2.8 only (23.08.2019)
fixed crashes on scripts reload, and other bugs.
by default per object snapping is now set to ‘Global’ . Saves few clicks: when you enable global snapping, all objects will use now global target. You can still change it per object in: ‘Object Viewport’ panel to: Disabled or Local (different snap target for each object)
Update 2.7 Blender 2.8 and 2.9 (19.11.2020)
addon draws more uniform edges now
more snapping options (based on shrink wrap modifier)
Simplified UI (there is no longer separate panel in object properties)
Update 2.8 for Blender 2.93 and 3.0 (01.12.2021)
Added compatibility with Blender 3.0
Update 2.9 for Blender 2.93 and 3.x (12.09.2022)
Added compatibility with Blender 3.3
remade snapping – only selected vertices will snap (in past – whole mesh would be snapped to high-poly obj)
Update 3.0 for Blender 2.93 and 3.x (17.02.2023)
Code refactor. Hopefully it will fix some random issues people are experiencing
Update 3.1 for Blender 2.93 and 3.x (1.04.2023)
added compatibility with blender 3.5
Update 3.3 for Blender 3.5 and up only! (1.04.2023)
moved whole open-gl drawing to new GPU module in blender 3.5
Update 3.4 for Blender 3.6 and up only! (8.08.2023)
option to draw in Edit mode and/or Sculpt Mode and/or Object Mode and/or Paint Mode
Xray will show now shapekeys on object correctly
Update ver 3.6 (for version with snapping (24.11.2023) :
improved snapping behavior on concave areas
nicer results when using subdivision modifier on your retopo mesh,
ability to snap to any object (not just mesh types)
new – snap to: selected object, collection of objects, all objects
ability to affect neighbors of selected geometry, for nicer retopo mesh interpolation
added new – projected snapping method
Update ver 3.8 (for version with snapping (2.3.2024):
Fixed ‘Projected snapping’ method when using Orthographic view
fixed not being able to snap in mesh edit mode, when Xray overlay Mode was set to Sculpt only display method,
other fixes and tweaks
Update 4.0.0 for Blender 4.2+ (for version with snapping – Released 9.10.2024) POSTED HERE
Added Draw Quad Strips option,
addon converted to extension,