Can Z brush do this?

[gunslinger]

Hi,

A quick ZBrush question, if it can do this....

We are currently looking at a stage whereby we have a 8500 poly model (all quads) in Maya, which is built to fit snugly to our hi-res scan when subdivided.

The next stage will be to add extra detail through a displacement map on our mesh, we want to get this displacement detail from the scan model (.obj)

Can ZBrush import in the hi-res scan .obj, also our model, apply a subdivide to it, and work out the displacement map needed between this and the scan, so we can then use it in external renderers?

Ideally, it would be awesome if we could touch up or paint on the .obj hi res scan using Zbrush and then calculate the map back on?

Thanks for any comments and answers

[aurick]

ZBrush requires that the high resolution mesh be the result of subdividing the low resolution mesh. This means that you can't take two unrelated models and compare them.

On the other hand, it may be possible to take your high resolution model and use the Reconstruct Subdivision feature to reduce it to a low poly version. You could then create a cage from this low resolution model, assign UV's, and create your displacement map. (You can also export the cage, assign UV's to it externally, and then import the cage back into the lowest subdivision level before creating the map.)

If you are able to manage it so that the ZBrush-created low resolution model and the model that you're animating with have the same UV mapping, then the displacement map created from the high resolution model will be able to wrap onto the animated model.

I hope that helps! For more information on displacement mapping in ZBrush, please see the FAQ here at ZBC.