seond post 2d image

[unkindred]

null http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027955970hke.jpg

17.00 drew face.
17.30 still unable to decide on background.
17.40 Unable to properly do background due to lack of understanding of layers.
17.45 sent pic anyway asking very nice community for layerhelp.

how do i create two layers and switch between them.(slow explanation please, have failed to comrehend it using otherwise very clear manual)

[MrBraun]

Welcome to zBrushCentral unkindred!! Go to layer panel and from inventory button click on CREATE! For switch between them is necessary to click on green box that rappresent the layer!! Active layer is that have a orange box around it!! I hope this is helpfull!!!

[DeeVee]

Welcome :ex: I hope your stay here will be a pleaant one.

[robotalk]

Artistic style--very nice painterly look to this piece--call it done... :D :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

And WELL!!

[Vikki]

Hey Unkindred,

I don't know if this will help you but it's a little study I've been doing on working with layers. Layers in ZBrush are confusing at best if you're new to ZBrush. I'm not totally new to ZBrush but new enough that layers still elude me. They don't work like layers in any other application I've used. :D Here are two things I do to orient myself to layers in ZBrush.

The first one is three layers using 2.5d tools. When you paint in 2.5d or use the 3d tools layers are managed easily as things show up the way they are supposed to or how we expect them to for the most part.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027970842fai.jpg

As you can see all the painting on each layer shows up fine using the 2.5d tools.

However, when you paint with 2d tools, normal painting, flat painting, it's another issue. Below represents painting in 2d. At the bottom of this next image you will see three 2.5d dots. Each one of those dots was placed on it's own layer. I do that because it helps to keep the layers in a viewable representation. I then went back and turned off all layers that I was not working on and painted a number. I switched to the next layer, turned it on and turned off the last one I worked on. I continue with this for all layers to orient myself.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027971072uwu.jpg

I could be wrong but I have found that by placing the 2.5d dot somewhere on the canvas on each layer it keeps them in a viewable area when painting in 2d.

For this example I erased the necessary sections on each layer so you could see the layers below the top layer. If you look at the small screenshots of the layers you'll see black areas on layer 1 and 2. That is where I used the eraser brush to show the layers below. As expected the layers are in an orientation that 1 is on top, 2 is in the middle and 3 on the bottom as represented by the layer palette.

Hope this didn't confuse you more. Using the layers depth slider has never resulted in satisfactory results for me because I can just never get the depth set correctly.

I suggest doing layer studies of your own until you get a feel for how it works and how things will show up. I am definitely not an expert on ZBrush layers and definitely less that adequate with ZBrush in general but this little representation helps me when I'm trying to 2d paint on more than one layer. I do layer studies of different sorts every day depending on what I'm trying to paint. I create my layers first and then do a study to find out where everything falls, then I start my painting work and adjust that to where Zlayers are. :D

Layers are one of the hardest things for me in ZBrush but doing these studies every day brings a little more understanding for me.

Everyone I think has a different way of dealing with layers. This is mine. :D

I don't have anything finished that I can show here but I'm working on some projects that I'll post at a later date using this technique.

Have fun!

[Stonecutter]

If you are doing a 2D or 2.5D painting, I would suggest not bothering to use layers at all...If you paint an Acrylic painting, you don't line up a row of canvasses, paint a part of the painting on each, then cut them up, and stick them together, so why would you paint that way in ZBrush? ;)

I use as little in layers as possible, and the 'Troll Hall' painting I posted, which I will have finished soon uses only three layers, in spite of having 40 + figures, walls, furniture, and two composited photos in it...Only add layers when you need them not to start would be my advice, and if you are painting, fill the default layer under Layers->Modifiers, then paint! :D

[unkindred]

thanks for all explications on layers (this includes stonecutters,not being able to draw with z-depth=0 directly,started me going on the ****-ing layers in the first place).
Vikki, you did confuse me even more, at first.
Then I went experimenting and figured it out in trying to recreate your pic.

Hereby included some of my first,pre-Texture Master 3d pics. http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027974907drc.jpg

[Vikki]

Unkindred,

Sorry about the confusion but, I knew it would happen. Such is 2d and layers in ZBrush. Confusing. It's very hard to explain in words but being able to do it opens some interesting possibilities for 2d painting in ZBrush.

Glad you got it sorted. :D

[Ron Harris]

very interesting last image there....love those colors and the presentation.... :tu: :tu: :tu:

[DeeVee]

My two cents which I find very easy. I use the picker tool and change the depth of what I am painting. I write the number down so that I can get back to it. This is not as efficient as the other method for for painting it works perfectly every time. I hope this does not confuse you more, but this works for me every time. You should try it
DeeVee,
Joe :ex: :)

[aurick]

I find layers to be very useful for making life easier. For one thing, they can help fix mistakes should you decide later that you don't like something. As an example, with the coral reef scene that I've been working on I did the rock formation on one layer and painted the life on it on a different layer. This allowed me to easily erase some of the coral that I didn't like without affecting the rocks, which I did like.

Another great use is when you want to add an object to a scene and then paint more details onto it or age it. If you put the object on a second layer, you can paint to your heart's content without affecting the rest of the scene. No need to stay within the lines! When you like what you have, you can then merge layers to permanently affix it to the rest of the scene.

As I believe DeeVee mentioned, the Picker palette is a very powerful tool for helping to control what you do with layers. I recommend reading that part of the manual, so you can really see some of the possibilities! The Picker was one of the last ZBrush palettes that I bothered to learn -- I'd written to Pixolator saying that I would love it if ZBrush had something that allowed me to control the depth that I was painting at. His response came very quickly, telling me that it was there all along in the Picker. In retrospect, I wish I'd paid attention to it much sooner in my ZBrush experience!

[Vikki]

And just to add to that, double DOH!, Master Aurick has written a most excellent tutorial for just this purpose and it is posted in the QuickLinks under layers complete with Zscript. My apologies for not tripping and skinning my nose on that earlier. It will make painting layers even easier. Shoot! and triple DOH! :D

[juandel]

ah, the profile one is awesome :tu: :tu: :tu:!!! cant wait to see more of your projects, unkindred!

- juandel