Just a newbie question...

[ChadC]

Hi all,

Just purchased ZBrush at Macworld expo in New York City. Watched ofer do a demo and was amazed.

Here's the question. I draw a sphere. Then draw some tentacles out of it with the snake hook brush. How do I go back and select the object again so I can go into edit mode with it?


-ChadC :confused:

[buzzwizard]

hey,
well, the sad thing is...you can't. when you first draw a sphere, you then click on edit mode. if you switch to another tool (the tenicle tool for instance) than you will automaticly switch of edit mode. when you are in edit mode, if you select the 'move' tool, you can morph the sphere, and if you have a smaller tool size, you might be able to make a tenicle to your satisfaction. good luck and welcome to Zbrush Central. i hope to see some of your work soon.
buzzwizard

[ZBC Moderator]

Hi ChadC, and Welcome to ZBrush Central!

When you are 3D sculpting or painting an object, there are three conditions whereby ZBrush will convert a copy of this object into your image with depth. ZBrush will "snapshot" your object if you change tools or layers, or if you select the Snapshot icon (or press Shift-s).

Snapshotting a copy of your 3D object into the document converts what you see to part of your image with depth (2.5D image). At this point, you have two options:
First, you can enter Edit mode (press "t" or the Edit icon in the Draw or Floating palette) or a Transformation mode (press "w" for Move, "e" for Scale or "r" for Rotate - or click on the appropriate icons in the Draw or Floating palette) to sculpt, paint or move/scale/rotate your 3D object.
Second, you can continue painting your image (as normal). If you change tools or layers, the copy of your object you snapshot will become a permanent part of your image with depth (unless you Undo the operation - by pressing Ctrl-z or Command-z or pressing Document/Undo). Regardless of what you choose to do, your 3D tool remains in the selection window for you to later re-select for further editing or transforming. To continue editing or transforming your 3D object (so you can re-snapshot it into your image, or Export it), you should make sure this object is selected in the Tool palette, then click and drag in your document to create a new "active" version to edit or transform. Then you should enter an Edit or Transformation mode as described above.

So why doesn't ZBrush simply keep the 3D object floating all the time? ZBrush snapshots a copy of your 3D object into your image so you can continue editing on a pixel by-pixel level (which a 3D object cannot allow for). In order to have this control, you must be working with pixols (pixels with color, material, depth and orientation information) - the foundation for ZBrush's speed, flexibility and power.

Check out some of these QuickLinks:

Newbie Modeling Tips (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000215)

Newbie Model Painting Tips (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000519)

Also, check out QuickLinks... It's available as a link from the top of every page.

I hope to see some of your images posted at ZBC soon! :)

-ZuZu :)