aliasing problems....

[chan1234]

hi everyone,
i'm just starting out using zbrush and i'm noticing some odd behavior. admitedly, i'm new w/zbrush, so the model looks a bit blobby and weird, but aside from that, it also seems like some parts of the mesh are very 'fuzzy', or aliased, when i sculpt on it using the standard tools while other parts stay very smooth. i thought at first that maybe i didn't have enough resolution in the mesh in that area, but turning on frames, i see that the wire frame in that area looks reasonably ( i think ) dense. i've attached screen caps...anyone have any ideas what i could be messin up? do i need to subdivide it again? is there a 'local' subdivision tool to get more resolution in just one area of the mesh?

any other crits and especially suggestions on what i can be doing better would be greatly appreciated! as i mentioned earlier, i'm new w/zbrush and it's pretty different than MAX ( my preferred package ), so i'm SURE i'm there's TONS of stuff i could be doing a whole lot smarter ;)

in case it matters, i've subdivided it 4 times and the poly count is roughly 743K polys. thanks!
-chan.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200407/user_image-1089088203ovf.jpg
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200407/user_image-1089088409ltw.jpg

[chan1234]

hmmm...no replies. was my question worded poorly? or am i asking an obvious noob question? please let me know if anyone needs clarification on my question. thanks again all!
-chan.

[aurick]

Actually, you most likely do need more polygons for the really fine detail. There is something else that should help, though:

Turn off the Quick3D switch on the top shelf and then set Tool>Display Properties>DSmooth to a value of 1. This will activate ZBrush's smoothing routines, which kick in every time the model is not being manipulated.

[abxy]

oh cool, you're in Chicago too! Anyhoo, to add to what aurick said, there is also a way to sub-divide locally. there are 2 ways (that i know of) to do it, but the mesh cannot be linked a zphere mesh( if it is). 1 - you can hide all of the parts of the mesh that you don't want subdivided, then just sub-divide the visible portion, or 2 - you can just mask every part of the mesh that you don't want sub-divided then sub-divide and only the unmasked portion will get sub-divided...both methods come in handy in different situations, but the result is the same, local sub-division.

[Svengali]

Nice model!

Why don't you just drop back a couple of subD levels and throw in an edge-looped area for each horn? At higher resolution, you should have both the poly count and the concentric structure you need for perfect horn formation.

Sven

[chan1234]

aurick: yea, i kinda thought maybe i needed more polys. i'll have to try turning off Quick3D and see if that makes for a smoother surface topology.

abxy: the nw burbs of chicago actually. thanks for the tips on locally subdividing...that'll come in really handy! nice to see another midwesterner....GO BEARS!! :)

sven: thanks....it's the first model i've touched up in zb and i'm really excited about the power of zb and getting disp maps into other apps. the model wasn't created in zb tho. it was a model i made in MAX and imported into zb...can you add geometry to non-zsphere models?

thanks a TON everyone for all the help!
-chan.

[Svengali]

Hi Chan,

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Can you add geometry to non-ZSphere models?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I sure hope so! :)

If you haven't downloaded the Practical Guide yet, please do. Then skim through the excellent Box Modeling Chapter, by Lonnie Sargent, starting on Page 322. It will "show you the way" to solve your problem with the horns. Yes, it starts out using ZSpheres, but by page 332 he pretty quickly shows how to create edge-loops in selected polygons to create HORNS. :rolleyes:

Sven