quick tip u may not know

[LWTB]

after u skin a zsphere...a new tool is made that is the skin version....maybe u didnt know that.

gotta choose that tool if u want to further model it :)

[Stonecutter]

Good tip LWTB...
Here's another one...
If you save your ZSphere tool, without moving anything, you can bring it in, and use it as a starting point for a new 'skinned' version...You can also change the position of the parts...

(Hmmmm...Almost have the ability for 'stop-motion' animation with the help of some editing software... :rolleyes: )

[DeeVee]

Thanks for the tips.

[wenna]

SC, let me get this straight.. I've got my zspheres done, then save (without moving anything) unskinned, right? then I can then go ahead and skin the one on the canvas..cause I've saved the unskinned one.. hmm that's sounds right.. LOL

[Stonecutter]

Yep, that's right...And if you stay in symmetry while you make your ZSphere tool, and then save it that way, you now have a basic 'whatever'...What I mean is picture an artists' mannequin, with the arms and legs in a symmetrical postion. You save it like this...Now, do whatever you want with the one on your screen for the pose you're working on...Skin it, do what you want...

The next time you want a figure, load your 'raw' ZSphere figure, and treat it like a preformed starting model...See? ;)

One human base figure = As many different ones as you want... :D
And when you load it in, it will still be possible to work it symmetrically!

(And of course, it can be anything you can make in a ZSphere, that you think you can re-use later....)

[Nemo]

Also interesting is the fact that you may use non-continous adaptive skinning to skin a model, then texture it and then pose it everyway you want with the texture still intact (according to the tuts - didnt try yet).

This might be great if i can get the non continous skin to fit my expectations of the final model - i'll see about that :)

[Stonecutter]

The trick as I have found Nemo is to do the ZSphere, activate the preview, then notice where it 'dips' to form a crease...You then take off the preview, move the sphere where the crease is a little bit, then activate the preview again...Gradually, you can move the spheres, until it looks the way you want, at which time you can either make the skin continuous or not...

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1030518080pxs.jpg

That's how I tweaked this 'toon dragon' into the shape I wanted, in this case offsetting the torso parts...Also the skin has these colors because I painted the ZSpheres themselves, and then the skin picks up the colors...The colors will also naturally blend from one ZSphere to the next, across the 'link spheres'... :)

[Nemo]

Thanks for the information Stonecutter - oh my (head full of ideas and seldomly experienced anticipation but still a full day of work ahead).

It would be really nice if a skinned object would still contain the information where the zspheres reside - thus making it possible to pose the refined models(post skinned and then detailed).

Another idea would be context sensitive right-clicks. Here my favorite thing would be to be able to tell each zsphere-parent to use high density intersections or not (getting rid of the more mathematical approach now which affects the whole mesh) so i could just pick up a hand, tell it "YOU HAND YOU - BE HIGH DENSITY" and everything else would be low density.

Oh you see - i havent had more than an hour to play with ZB1.5 but my imagination is still doing a wild wardance.

Have Fun you all !