APE (my first zbrush stuff)

[jubei]

I must say I am really getting impressed by this amazing peace of software called ZBrush I had som initial problems with it( mostly 3d navigation stuff and loosing my models ocasionally ) I am glad I tried it :)

This was my first attempt at modeling a head in ZBrush:
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995850462and.jpg

That was done in about 6-8 minutes... I am quite happy with that result, it just showed me how fast I could do things in ZBrush... if I was to do this in a 3d program that I use it would have taken much longer just to come to this point if I was modeling it from the scratch...

Now today I was just playing in ZBrush and instead of modeling a complete head in it, I just decided I'd bring in my litle low-poly model I modeled in max, and see what I could do with it in ZBrush...
Here is the base head model I started with:

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995851333whr.jpg http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995851378uad.jpg

After playing with the base head for a while I ended up with this bad boy:

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995851495ued.jpg http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995851479jzk.jpg


I must say I am really impressed with ZB...

[juandel]

and i am impressed by your first contribution, jubei! :D what a super-cool-gorilla that is! more please!

- juandel

[upham]

Hey Jubei.
Good to meet another "Maxer". Hey I like your Ape! It's damn cool.
I've been meaning to do a ZBrush<>Studio Max tutorial and below is the start
of one, but I've ran out of time to finish it. Here I've made a figure in ZBrush
and exporting it to Max to put bones and
stuff in it to animate it.
Let's call this Part One. The Phantom Nuisance.

1. Righty. The secret to modeling and exporting in ZBrush are 1: setting up
the sphere so it unwraps cleanly, and 2: making sure the polygons are spread
evenly around the model.

To set the sphere up correctly just type 90 in the ZSphere's X-rotation so the sphere
is drawn with the poles facing North & South. If you rotate the sphere you'll see
the Sphere's seam (fat white line) which is the start and end line where the bitmap
wraps on or off the model. (to see wire frame read step two).
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995871891ptx.jpg

2. When I model I ALWAYS have the wireframe visable. To to this I use the DOTS button.
I keep the DOTS button on my floating palette.
I do this because I NEED to see how the polygons are distributed across the mesh.
See picture below.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995876031vgr.jpg
(wee note: this is how I have my ZBrush interface set up. All the palettes
are down the left side except the tool palette, which is on the right. The
tool palette is so damn big it needs all the space it can get! I put my most used
Z-features on the floating palette)

3. To begin I throw a default Zsphere into edit-move mode (with low Z-intensity) and
start pushing the sphere around to create the limbs.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995872610zui.gif

4. When I'm modeling I "RAKE" the polygons around the model, pulling them out
from the middle into the limbs, making sure they are distrubuted evenly. This is
really important as it stops creasing in the model and gives a smoother painting result.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995876306hgy.gif

5. Keep modeling ...
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995873110abb.gif

6. And as you are modeling it's a good idea to keep a check where the seam of the
sphere is.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995873228swr.jpg

7. Now spend the next hour twisting turning, pulling & pushing, until you are
happy. You'll need to divide the mesh as you go and want to add more detail. If you are
unsure about dividing the mesh up check out THIS (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000864)thread.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-995873318bfg.jpg

8. Now color your model. Choose a color from the color palette (your model changes color)
then click fill object. FILL OBJECT basicaly activates the bitmap (turns-on). The
resolution of the bitmap is depentant on the resolution of the mesh underneath it.
A denser mesh, means a bigger painting
surface. Don't worry about painting
materials on the surface as you can only
export color and none of the shiney-fun stuff.
(note: the above is my own theroy on bitmaps and ZBrush models. I'm proberly wrong!)
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-995873849xub.jpg

9. Now in ZBrush version 1.2 upwards you should find a ZScript in the Utilities
folder (where ZBrush is installed). This lets you unwrap the skin off the model.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-995874681pyr.jpg

10. Wrap the bitmap back onto the model. This will also make a copy of the
bitmap in the TEXTURES palette. Save a copy of this big picture via the
TEXTURES>INVENTORY>EXPORT subpalette.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-995875108fie.jpg

11. Of course you save your model every five minutes, but if you haven't, then now is a
good time. Export the model as a .OBJ file.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-995875205stp.gif
When you export a model as a .OBJ format it saves the model AND a -SMALL-
unwraped bitmap of the model. When using using a ZB-model in another 3d package it's
best to load the .OBJ and exchange the default bitmap with the one you exported in
step ten.

Anyway, that's where I'm at with this tut.
I'm off for a two day mountain bike trip to catch up on some SERIOUSLY lacking R&R!

I'll catch up with this thread when I get back.
Catch ya then.
Upham :)

[Kathy]

GREAT tut!!

Thanks Upham. Those are so time consuming to create and write, you are very generous. :D

[juandel]

imho, a quicklinks must! thank you upham! :D

[Kathy]

Most Definetly Juandel!!

[jubei]

Hey upham nice to run into Maxer :) Thanks for the nice tutorial as well, Its just what I need. I think the best way for me would be to model some low-poly stuff in max, I mean define the geometry there and give it the basic shape with polygons placed very carefully for the best effects in ZB, then bring in the model into ZB and continue working on it there, since basically it would take me much longer time to the same stuff just in max alone, ZB allows for fast experimentation, thats what I like about it, modeling feels very natural in it :D

Now to some question, let's say I bring in my model from max, I do some heavy work on it, paint a texture using just colors as you pointed out, since the materials won't be exported, is it then possible to unwrap this map easilly (since this is not ZB's native object) and export it out for further work in lets say photoshop...

Okej now I got one question about ZB's "devide" function, when I devide my model the edges don't smooth out, I got the tool/modifiers/smooth = 1 and t/m/devide = 3, and the mesh looks okej when dots mode is off, but when I turn it on then it shows what it's really like, I mean how do I really smooth the polygons so it doesnt look so edgy as I divede mesh further, here are the bitmaps so you can check what I am talking about:

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995931707zga.jpg http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-995931737tfw.jpg

[upham]

Hey Jubei,
Sorry I haven't replied sooner. I've been nursing the girlfriend with a broken ankle (thanks to our unsuccessful mountain bike trip) and working like mad on a work project with a couple of hours sleep each night! I've been meaning to get back sooner and finish this thread!!
Since time is precious I'll answer your question first...

"when I devide my model the edges don't smooth out".

Well, I've played and played with this question and ZBrush, and concluded it can't be done! Sorry. I guess this'll have to be a future-feature.

You'll have to mesh-smooth your model out in Max before you import it into ZBrush. When you import your low-res model into Zee-Bee, and divide the mesh, ZBrush ... well, DIVIDES the polygons and not "mesh-smooths" them. There is a Smooth in the deformation pannel, but this smooths out the angle between the polygons. I'm also guessing that the strenght of the smooth depends on the size of the polygon. Big polygons smooth more noticably, while lots of small polygons require a lot more smoothing to make it noticable.
I've illustrated your problem here with a Max-teapot.
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-996494291orj.jpg

Thinking about a conclusion,- ZBrush's strong point isn't importing a model to paint it and then exporting it again. There are already a number of mesh painting programs that do that already. The power of ZBrush comes when you import your model to further manipulate it to give a more organic-feel, and also you can paint it at the same time! Max is good for creating your "Base model" and then "naturilising" it with ZBrush. (your ape as a good example!)

The only thing I'm going to truely conclude is that "I" haven't thought about this enough. It's a BIG subject!! Give me time!
Hey, I'll be back to finish this thread!

Maybe Pixolator can shed some light on this topic?

[jubei]

Actually I've found smooth that works on the polygons them self, here is the model after it has been heavily devided:
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-996610189rrt.jpg

That doesnt look too organic, so to get it more organic you'll have to:
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-996610248uxq.jpg

Drag the smooth to the right, more for the better effect, I think it even goes to do it more then once for even more smoothness, so you might end with something like this:
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-996610468ovm.jpg

Now what excites me about ZBrush is that first it allows me to import object, and since I am really good at modeling in max, I wound't have trouble modeling ape like that in max, it's just that when you get at the level of points and polys that the models above show, if you are workin in max or any other 3d program that I know, it gets blody, it's hard as hell to work with mesh with that many points and polygons, forget about adding new details once you meshsmooth your mesh and delete history so you can't go back. In ZB I can still add anything I wish even with very level of points and polys seen in the model above, it gets only easier to work on the mesh :D

[upham]

Well, blow me down! Version 1.23 has Mesh-smooth! Sorry I don't have version 1.23 yet! Just 1.2c! Damn. :( Version 1.23 has a MUCH better smooth controls!

Forget everything I metioned in the recent post above!

Upham :(

[Xion]

I have a question for ya Upham, what do you mean by "raking", eventhough this is an old thread, could you show us tthe technique step by step?

Thanks in advance.