Bump Detail to Displacement Tutorial

[Grub]

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200404/user_image-1081445845gew.jpeg

For better performance on slower machines try this out:

When modelling your creation, don't worry about modelling high level details, which require further subdivisions with a performance trade off, just make sure the main areas of form are defined, such as bone, heavy folds of skin etc.

Bumping:

First create a new texture to use for a bump map, the larger the better. I used the max 4096 by 4096 and set it a mid grey colour, 127,127,127 (roughly half of 255,255,255). This colour will the base level that does not have any bump.

Select the bump viewer material, which is found in ZBrush 2’s default material directory.

Use Projection Master to detail out your model, for clean results. Use any brush with Zdepth off, and texture any protruding details (e.g. spots), with shades from the base grey to white and any depressions (e.g. wrinkles) with shades from the base grey to black.
To erase details select your base grey colour and paint them away.
Tip- use the roller and directional brushes to quickly create detail.

When your bumping is complete, convert the texture to an alpha.

Displacement:

Change the material from the bumpviewer to a basic material.

With the bump alpha in the alpha slot, create a new texture, which is active in the texture slot. (If no texture is selected then the displacements will not show).

In the Tool menu, open the Displacement options >>>

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200404/user_image-1081445891pjr.jpeg

Switch on the 'mode' button (for true displacements) and change the intensity slider to a low value – I found that if you divide your mid grey colour by 10,000 (which gets us 0.0127), it seems to be a good way to match the bump viewer settings.

Your model is should now be displaced correctly, and you can colour and texture your model, using the displaced bumps as a guide.

Tip- if you get any seams when texturing, go to the texture menu and hit the 'fix seam' button, to get rid of them.

Test out some cavity material settings to see how all the bumps are picked out nicely.

hope this helps,
Rob. :)

[Jaycephus]

Sweetness! :tu:

[Polaris30]

How cool! I was going to make a turtle today :)

Great day for turtles...

Your model is very likable charictor... Great work :)

[artboy21]

thanx grub! this will definetly help because imy machine is pretty slow. hopefully i will getting some more ram soon. nice turtle!

artboy

[boozy floozie]

A wonderful character elegantly realised with finesse. It's fascinating to see the process and how much these new capabilities now bring.
Thanks for posting.

[PeKa]

damn nice model, good capture i think of the cuteness in the character!

[Svengali]

Hi Grub,

This is one of the most useful tips so far to new users of ZB2. THANKS!

A technique that provides excellent detail and saves greatly on total poly-count, what could be better than that?

Sven

[wchamlet]

Excellent!

I figured out how to use the bump material to get the details I was looking for, all I was missing was the displacement tips.

Good job, and thanks for sharing. I'm itching to get to use Z2 this weekend. I wish I didn't have to work! LOL

[Bonecradle]

A top tip and terminally cute character :tu:

[Frenchy Pilou]

Cool tut and model :tu:
Pilou

[The Namek]

That is a very cute creature and nicely modeled ! :tu: :tu:

[Dan R]

awwww ... hes so cute :)

[theride]

Is he washable? My son would like to play with the turtle, but he's kind of messy :)

Thanks for the tutorial! You put all the pieces together for me with your method.

[gabrie]

this is the technique i`m just looking for!!!!
so nice tutorial!!!
THX!!!

[DM]

Thanks for the tutorial, very useful information. :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:
Dave

[Grub]

Thanks for your comments, Z Friends! Happy to have helped out. :tu:

[TuSo]

Thanks so much for this tut it is
really helpful. I know it took alot
of time thanks again.
Regards
TuSo

[havran]

Thanks, Grub! :)

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200404/user_image-1081843233vrm.jpg

[Grub]

Thanks for posting your lizard Havran :tu: I've got some more bump related juicies over here for ZBrushers interested in further exploration of the technique:

Egg Man Thread (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=015120)

[volk23]

what is the point to convert the bump texture to an alpha?




When your bumping is complete, convert the texture to an alpha.

[andreseloy]

Andreseloy

[aminuts]

That is so you can use the alpha as a displacement map to give your lowpoly model the look of a high poly model to both save on resources, let you create a color texture for it more fitting your character than bumpviewer texture, and be able to render it in a scene all with in zbrush.

[macaco]

Two qüestions about this method...

I have created my model, a bump texture and I have gone to displacement->intensity for the alpha (bump texture) to apply to the model. ok perfect.

But then I save my tool, I save it with the alpha (bump texture) then I close zbrush. After that I open Zbrush I load the model with the alpha (bump map) and go to displacement-> intensity to apply my bump map (loaded as alpha ) to the model. But it does nothing, I can't reapply my bump texture to the model, why ?!

Bye the way, using this method do you ever use ProjectionMaster->displacement?

Thanks for all !!

[Grub]

Hiya Macaco,

To answer your questions:

I have created my model, a bump texture and I have gone to displacement->intensity for the alpha (bump texture) to apply to the model. ok perfect.
But then I save my tool, I save it with the alpha (bump texture) then I close zbrush. After that I open Zbrush
I load the model with the alpha (bump map) and go to displacement-> intensity to apply my bump map (loaded as alpha ) to the model. But it does nothing, I can't reapply my bump texture to the model, why ?!


Ok, You have to also apply a colour texture to your model to see the results of the displacement map.


By the way, using this method do you ever use ProjectionMaster->displacement?


Well, not usually. When painting bump maps, you dont really want to alter the actual mesh, you just let the bumpviewer material do the work for you.
Hope that helps. :tu:

[zzagno]

hi all! in my experimets with the xsi-zbrush worklow (but i think is good for any software-zbrush workflow) i tried this tecnique to create nice result in create bump and displacement mapping; here it is:

first i create the basic displace in zbrush at a level 5-6 of subdivion (itdepends on base geometry); after i go to higher subdivision level (6-7 for example) and i detailed it with projection master with my own alphas; finally i delete previous subdivided level so i have only a differnce between 6 and 7; i create another displace map for these two level and i obtein only the details added with the projection master; hope u understand it becouse my english is not so good yet.

here are the two maps as an exemple (u can find the WIP here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=25397)


DISPLACEMENT MAP:

displace.jpg

BUMP MAP:

bump.jpg


bye all! :)

[p0rcupine]

sweet :)

[Andrew RaZ]

first of all, thank you Grub for this tutorial. i do have a question i am unclear on, however. when you have created your bump map, you have been using it as a displacement map, to circumvent having to sculpt all of the detail in the geometry. however, is it possible to combine the bump into the displacement map? i have been trying to do this, and as far as i know, following these instructions exactly, but with no luck. i can simply add the bump in an external renderer, but i would like to be able to get that extreme detail in the displacements. is this possible?

[zzagno]

it's possible and it's also easier i think; the problem of this method is that u need a very high-poly geometry to reach the original details

[Ti22]

Awesome Awesome stuff I've been wondering about this stuff too just didn't know how to do it :D now I do.

[korben]

haha.. nice one :tu:

[berco]

Great tutorial, thanks. The only problem I have is that I have to use a very high polygon count to pick up all the details when clicking 'Apply DispMap' under tools/displacement. If I use lower levels of subdivision (and thus fewer polygons) all the details get washed out. This means that in the end I'm back to using a high poly model anyway, which is what I was trying to prevent. What am I doing wrong here?


Thanks!
Berco

[MadNinjaCow]

thank you this information really did help out!

[--E--]

I have followed all the steps posted here and when I create my bump map in the projection master it looks fine and really detailed and very high. But then when I apply it as a bump map in zbrush with the bump viewer material it is much lower in quality and resolution and looks like crap.

My map is 4096 x4096
I don’t have Quick mode turned on
My Display Properties are turned all the way up as well.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

[--E--]

I seemed to have fixed this. The problem seems to be that the uv layout that zbrush assigned to my mesh wasn’t ideal for the area I was doing tests on. I switched to GUVs and now it looks much better.

[artposer]

Great Tutorial....
Thanks

[yfchild]

anyone can made a short video with this method... i try it but no succes.

thx a lot.

[bisenberger]

Really good information.
Thanks


Wonder if this inspired the Gnomon DVD on Alpha Texturing.

[PRAMOD]

:mad: have to work! LOL