questions from a newbie

[drawingtroll]

Hello everybody. I am new here.
(please,excuse my bad english grammar, it is not my own language)

I am maybe near to finally buy Zbrush. It's absolutely cheap for what it offers, but have little money and have to choose one only tool.

So, got some important questions, if anyone could answer them it would help me a lot :)

- Is there a way in which Zbrush handles UV Mapping? i mean, I have read threads here before registering, and see that it can texture imported obj models. It does it well, but ...Can Zbrush modify or create uv mapping coords and then export them included in obj model?. If so, does it allow to make complex UV Mapping? Something like "analytical uv mapping",(think of Tru-V or deep Paint with Texture Weapons (specifically, Mercator module and projection painting, as I read in PDFs)) I mean, adapting mapping coordinates to specific geometry, and not only spheric, planar , box or cilindrical mapping. For my gaming production needs, it would be important, that it allowed to export (already know it exports model and texture) that modified or created uv mapping coords embedded in OBJ exported file, so it could be reworked with no loose of uv-mapping info, and used in other softwares/engines.

-Can Bump channel be worked also in direct paint mode and exported as a bmp or such format?

-So...if I have understood well...I can import into Zbrush an obj file. Then I can remodel it. I also can model in zbrush an arm -for example- an attach it to the imported obj , and can do it also inside zbrush. I suppose I can them soften the joint to make it seamless, and continue this way. And then I could (here comes my big doubt) beguin to put mapping coords into it...or is Zbrush so wonderful that it does calculate itself the needed mapping coords for -let's say- a full human body ? :o ...that would really impress me. Then I could beguin to paint with no typical problems of streching or overlap of map coords (produced for bad mapping coords proccess) , and finally I could export my obj file -also modifed in modelling- with its new uv mapping , and besides, I would export the texture I had just created, besides bump texture.

Well, somebody wake me up if i am just dreaming, because if all this is this way , then I have found the tool that completely covers all I need.


Oops. Sorry for the long post, but it is more than important for me to clarify this...it is not only a matter of money (well, which is not) but of time and effort I will beguin to put into zbrush in case all, or at least, more esential of all written here can be made with Zbrush. I mean, then I would inmediatly buy this software, and beguin to work on it like crazy.

Thank in advance if someone is so kind to answer this...


However, this tool is simply great!

[william]

Hi drawingtroll,

Sorry that I can't answer your questions.

I did notice where you stated that you are new here, so I wanted to say Hello and welcome you.

I hope to see some of your work posted here!

From the type of questions you ask I can tell you produce some Great work!!!

P.S. your english grammer is very good.

So again Hello drawingtroll. :)

[upham]

Hey drawingtroll. Hey, I can answer this ... but I'm super-super-SUPER busy until Friday. I'll repost then.
(I need a couple of hours to prepare my notes. 2 hours I don't have!)
Till then...


Hey! has anybody tried the UNWRAP script yet??? Groovy isn't it!

[drawingtroll]

:) :)

Hey! Thank you a lot both , William and Uphan...

Wow...never had so quick, cool and warm response/welcome in a fourm. Thank you a lot, truly.

William:

Yes, I would really enjoy posting art here,(er..my group don't let me post my game art anywhere, but I will be able to put personal things made by me on weekends ) mostly because as I knew before registering, this is a great forum. I have read lots of threads which tell so much about Zbrush.

I have decided that, although it is crucial for me reading Upham's answers, the fact is that even in case he would tell me on friday (just if he has time (you both are really cool)) that , well, main uv mapping things can't be done...well..even so, Zbrush would be incredibly useful in game interface creation.

So, I am buying it, and would backup all said in friday post.And then beguin the whole thing. I am really going to have fun with this tool... I know. :)

Upham : Hey , Upham, don't do it if you find it too much laborious to answer my post, however, thanks a lot because in case you do it, it will be the most useful info about Zbrush for me. What I asked yesterday is -In my opinion- the key for videogame models creation. So I guess you will also be making happy dozens of game art producers, out there. :)

Wel...It is not the first time I put an eye (seems now I've put both ;D ) on Zbrush .er... I am a comic creator,2d retoucher, 3d organic modeler-texturer(don't know a word about inorganic modelling), and ilustrator/painter. I also really love to model game characters in terracota (I mean, with my hands, no computer there ;D ) but never have time, now.

So, I have to buy Zbrush! :)

Thank you all, and 'see' you all in next post. :)

[Emmanuel]

Hi Drawingtroll,

I can't answer all of your questions. I'm still a newbie here. However, You can directly paint a 3D object and you can convert the result into a texture you can export. So I believe UV map are handled by ZBrush.

I've never seen (but once again, I'm not the most experimented around), any problem due to bad UV-mapping coord process when working on tools completly built in ZBrush.

When you export in OBJ, you export UV-mapping as well. Therefore, you can use your mesh and textures in other 3D applications. I've used this when working with Poser and ZBrush.

Now, I don't think you can change a UV map within ZBrush. You would have to use another application like UV-mapper.

Hope this helps.

Emmanuel

[drawingtroll]

Thank you, Emmanuel. :)

If you are working with poser models...perhaps they are being exported from Poser and imported into Zbrush. That way, models would already have uv mapping info into them. I was wandering if Zbrush can create those coords from scratch and modify them, because for games my worst pain is a good uvmapping for a character...

Even if it doesn't do it, it is still enourmously useful for me, so I am buying it. :)

Hope in the future to put here things I will make with it.

I totally agree UV Mapper is useful here. I do use it a lot. Also beguining to use LithUnwrapper (it has more game formats support, I don't know which util is better.):

For those who do not know the urls:
www.geocities.com/lithunwrap (http://www.geocities.com/lithunwrap) www.uvmapper.com (http://www.uvmapper.com)

However, it would absolutely better to have an uv mapping system inside Zbrush, and if it would be as intuitive as whole software, then ...great. :)