Alpha Skinning

[Brian Healy]

I could use a little help here and maybe someone could be kind enough to point me in the right direction.

I'm using zBrush 1.55b and have seen a number of magazine articles and pictures posted on Pixologics site showing various objects either created in ZBrush or imported that have been turned into lego like structures through "alpha skinning".

I am having a heck of a time trying to find out how to do it. I do know how to take mrgbz grabber and grab a alpha mask and apply it to a plane and inflate it but that doesn't seem to be the same thing as "alpha skinning".

There was even a review of ZBrush in Design magazine this past issue that contained the following language --- "Starting with an alpha map, you can model out hard-edged objects by extruding the skin from the grayscale image. Cubical skinning is not limited to alpha skins, it can also be used with any 3D object to derive a model that looks uncannily like those huge Lego ones at the toy fairs."

So where do I go to find out how to do this? I've searched the message board and can't seem to find a tutorial or description of how to go about this. I know I must be missing some crucial link.

Thanks.

Brian :confused:

[Gary Komar]

in the tool >inventory>smt(skin smoothness)set this slider to 0 then make unified for cubic effect or in the alpha pallett msm(mesh smooth) set to 0
and make 3d.

[Brian Healy]

Gary,

Thanks. About the time you were posting I finally found the Make 3D button on the alpha pallette and started to figure it out.

Your comment about the tool>inventory>smt with the make unified skin seems to open up even a different path. I haven't figured out how to make that one work though. I tried drawing a sphere then setting the smoothness to 0 and pressing make unified skin and didn't get anything except a smooth sphere. I also tried importing a 3d Object, setting smoothness to 0 and makie unified skin and it looked just the same afterwards. What am I doing wrong here?

BTW thanks for your quick response it was helpful and I think I understand the alpha part now I just don't follow the make unified skin part.

Brian.

[Gary Komar]

after you make unified skin look in tools for its usually right beside the original with name like skin_(name of object)

[aurick]

For Alpha skinning, use the skinning options in the Alpha palette. To reskin any 3D model with a Unified skin, use the options in the Tool>Inventory. For this technique, you can also use the smoothness slider to get a Cubic skin.

[Frenchy Pilou]

Hi Brian
I have made a little tut about this and example to realize :)
Clic here :) (http://www.renderosity.com/homepage.ez?Who=Frenchy%5FPilou&ViewArticle=2671)
Have happy Zbrushing :cool:
Pilou

[Brian Healy]

Thanks everyone you've been very helpful.

Brian