Texture Process

[pluv]

Hi all! I just starting using this fantastic program about 4 days ago, and I must say I'm very impressed. I've got the modeling down sufficient for me, but I need a little guidence on textures. I'm modeling a sabertooth for a co-worker but the "fur" is giving me issues. I'm looking for a way to make that "tiny" fur on the the muzzles of cats and dogs. Any suggestions?

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1016471236dkr.gif
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1016472885onz.gif

[Kaluman]

hello pluv

Have you tried to use the fiber brush?

[pluv]

Yea. I tried a few methods of applying the fiber brush, but I was never satisfied. Does anyone think an alpha and deformation would be the way to go?

[jaime]

Hi pluv,
Welcome to ZBC ;)
Here is a quick tip using the fiber brush you may want to try on your 3D model:

- select a sphere 3d (as an example, or your 3D model in this case)

- GO To RENDER palette window and select shadows, click the Shadow icon in
the Render/modifiers menu, then press 'Best Renderer' in the Render menu.

- Press Ctrl+b to bake your 2.5D image with depth (everything retains its color, but the material is set to Material 0 - Flat)

- Select Fiber Tool

- Select Material 0 (Flat)

- Paint on your sphere 3d. (or your model, face, eye brow etc...)

OPTIONS
- Tool/modifiers (density=10%) which will make the fiber "less bushy"

Hope this helps
jaime ;)

[aurick]

The fiber brush is definitely an art form in and of itself, but well worth the effort. Even when you're really used to it, it takes a bit of experimentation to get the exact effect that you want for each piece.

But there's nothing that can match it for realistic hair!

Going the route of a deformation wouldn't really work well, because you'd have big trouble getting the mesh to behave or even to be fine enough. In addition, the polygons would get stretched, making it hard to texture the hairs, and they would get in the way of the rest of your texturing.

Use a combination of the Fiber Brush and the TextureMaster. Drop the object, bake the layer (or paint over the object with the Flat Color material, only), paint your hair on using the Fiber Brush and the Flat Color material (this will give you fine hairs), then pick the object back up again. The fiber brushed hairs will transfer to the texture.

Now if you're talking about the whiskers, those would best be modeled separately from very thin Cylinder3D's.

Hope those tips, along with what Jaime said, give you some directions to go in!

[drjjwow]

welcome to the z pluv... you ask visit the thread in the quicklinks called texture made easier...its a wonderful thread to learn texturing.. but your most important tool in zbrush is the texture master...just go nuts with it..