ZBrushCentral

How to use zbrush with 3ds max?

hi all,

i am new here and have just started using zbrush, and man i am so glad i have, what a great piece of software.

My main 3d app is 3ds max, and i understand you can make a low poly model in max, export this into zrush and make a highly detail displacement map in zbrush, then use this map in max, my question is can anybody help with this subject, i would love to learn how to do it.

if anybody has any help of advice or even links/tutorials, this would be a great help.

thanks all

Hi there. A nice topic that you’ve picked up there. Actually there are quite a lot of tutorials out there describing this method…so I’m only gonna rough this in:

  1. Build up a very (!!) basic mesh in 3ds and export it to zbrush as an .obj
  2. After loading up your model in zbrush go to Tool-Geometry-Divide and add some more polys
  3. Start sculpting and further dividing as you wish until you’re satisfied
  4. Now switch back to Subdivision level 1 (Hit Ctrl-D)
  5. Tool-Texture-GUV-Tiles
  6. Go to Menu Texture and create a new one (4096px)
  7. Finally go to Tool-Texture-Normalmap and hit “create normalmap”
  8. To export both mesh and texture to work with 3ds you gotta flip the map vertically. To do so go to Menu-Texture-FlipV. Then hit export and save it as .bmp or whatever
  9. Last but not least Menu-Tool-Export save as .obj

Thats for the creation of a normalmap/displacementmap

Fire up 3DS and import your mesh. Go to your material-editor and apply a normalmap as bumpmap choosing your previously created texture. Check on “Local XYZ” to be selected. Apply your material to the model and render.
Should work fine.

NOTE: In need of further information check on the local texturing quicklinks

Peace-out

Welcome nathy-d,

I have just started to reap the benefits of using this AWESOME app myself, and have spent a month on and off (I must be slow) working out how to use ZB with Max. Most of that time doing testing to see what works and what doesn’t with Max, using Brazil and fR Stage 1 (forget using fR).

This explanation is going to be long, sorry!:cry: But I hope it helps?

This is how I would do it:

1: Build a low poly mesh in Max: (See pick below, taken from the “ZB Practical Guide”). You can easily do this in Max in no time. Or learn to use ZSpheres which gives very nice results.

Low-Poly-Mesh.jpg

It is very important to change the # of digits to 6 (in the file section), the default is 1 otherwise your UV map created in max will not transfer into ZBrush correctly!

Attachments

AlphaExport.jpg

CS2-Colour-Settings.jpg

Import-Export.jpg

OBJ-Import.jpg

OBJ-Settings.jpg

Now to ZBrush.

4:

a: First open ZBrush & set these options in the preferences menu in ZBrush before you import your Max mesh. (see pic below).

Import-Export.jpg

Ok so this is pretty obvious:roll_eyes: .

This is the part where you have to check out the “ZBrush Practicle Manual”, many, many kudo’s goes to the people who made this invaluable manual available:D :smiley: :+1: .

You can model/deform your mesh to your hearts content. The “ZBrush & Other Software” & the “Character Modeling” section’s really come in handy and are a must for any Max user. Hey, the whole guide is a must;) !

Another great thread here on ZB Central is this:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=20310&highlight=vray

Thanks to all that contributed, this is a fantastic Q & A:D :+1: .

One of the BEST for Max is this one collected by andreseloy:

www.artmed3d.com

His site is being rebuilt at the moment, so hang in there for his compilation of Max & ZBrush issues and fixes to hopefully be up again soon.

andreseloy you are a legend, the info you have gathered has taught me so much. YOU ROCK:D :smiley: :+1: :+1: !

After your finished modeling, deforming and bumping your mesh in ZBrush you need to export the displacement map and model out:

Attachments

Tool.jpg

Edit-button.jpg

5: Steps to do to Export your Mesh & Displacement map out of ZBrush.

a: Go to the lowest subdivision level 1.

b: Next you want to create your displacement map in ZBrush. Expand the “Displacement” rollout in the “Tool” menu. Change the DPRes to 2048 if you want a fairly detailed deplacement map (you can choose for higher if your computer can handle it). Personally I leave all the other settings alone as I have not seen any notable difference in ramping these up or turning them on with the 3dsmax Displace Modifier. I’ve tried rendering out with DPSubPix at 4 but have not seen any difference in my renders from Max.

AlphaExport.jpg

b: Next you need to convert this displacement map (TIFF) to RGB colours (this stops Max and most other apps from stepping your Displacement map (no jagged edges)). The instructions are as follows:

Image>Mode>RGB Colour.

c: While your at it you might as well Flip the canvas, this will prevent you from having to set the V coordinates in the Max Material Editor to -1.0.

Image>Rotate Canvas> Flip Canvas Verticle

d: Save this adjusted image out as a TIFF to a different name, just incase you want to use the ZBrush TIFF again.

Now back to 3dsmax.

Updated 12/06/05

Attachments

Geometry.jpg

Export.jpg

7: Start Max up. If your are using Max 6 and below install the “Habware” OBJ to Max import plugin to your 3dsmax Plugins Folder (Max 7 has this as a standard export option).

a: Import the OBJ file from where ever you saved it. File> Import etc.

b: You will be promted with this dialog (See pic below):

OBJ-Import.jpg

Use these settings above.

c: After you’ve imported the mesh. Rotate your model 180% on the X axis & position how you like it in Max.

d: Convert the mesh to an Editable poly (if your using Max 7 you can stick an Edit poly in the stack, but for me this just creates an extra memory issue for no need.

e: Place a Mesh smooth or Turbosmooth (Max 7 again) with as many iterations as your computer setup can handle (don’t forget that you are using a modified mesh, exported from ZBrush. This mesh, most likely has many more subdivisions than when you first exported it from Max to ZBrush, thus much more detail).

f: Place a Displace modifier on your mesh above the Mesh/Turbosmooth Modifier in the stack. Check these boxes:

f1: Luminance Center (controls bloating) & Use Existing Mapping (your UV map).

g: Open up your Material Editor and select an empty Material Slot. Click on the “Get Material Button” (Not the Diffuse, Bump or Displacement Map buttons/slots), the blue sphere icon with the arrow on the left of the Mat Ed. Here you choose the Displacement map you modified in PS (it is loaded in the MAT Ed as a flat map).

h: Next you instance copy this to the map slot of the Displace Modifier in the stack (the one below the bitmap slot that says map).

i: Last you adjust the Displace Modifier Strength and decay to suit. I have found setting the Decay amout to 1/10th the Strength works well. You Can render off test renders and compare them in PS by combining both the images on seperate layer’s and dropping and increasing the top layer’s opacity (you do this to check for bloating & adjust the lumine.

Well that’s it, what a mouthfull:roll_eyes: !!

If you haven’t fallen asleep buy now you deserve a medal, me, I’ve downed quite a few ale’s doing this in between things:p !

I find this a great way to use displacement maps made in the AWESOME ZBrush, with Max. Because I can see the diplacement in the viewport (with some test renders to check out the the Luminance amount to see if the mesh is bulging at render time & adjust it accordingly). It helps me if I am doing any cloth sims or fine animation (hand touching face) etc, you don’t have to guess where or how much the mesh will bulge (hands don’t penetrate through the skin etc).

These settings work with Brazil (as it doesn’t support MTD as yet), Mental ray without MTD & Scanline which is surprisingly fast.

If you have a large mesh and start to run out of memory and Max crashes you can net-render the scene in Backburner, with the “Initially Suspend” option. Close down Max and render from the Backburner Monitor.

Any corrections on what I’ve posted most welcome:+1:.

Hope this helps?

Scratchy:D

Shouldn´t you store a morph target when you import your model, then sculpt it, switch to your origional mesh with Switch MT when your done, and then make your displacement map?.. or am I wrong…

And if you want to do a bump map you don´t witch MT, go down 2-3 subdivs on the sculpted mesh and then make your bump?

Howdy Numse,

Well, as I said I’m new also & I really appreciate any more help. What I’ve described above is just from my limited experience with ZBrush and Max, gleamed from info on this forum. It works for me.

You have obviously tried doing this, do you notice impoved results? I’m really interested to nut this out. So are many other’s by the sounds of it.

Can you give a detailed/step by step description of what you do and how it affects your mesh in Max please:).

Cheers,

Scratchy:D

PS: I haven’t got as far as making a bump map, I was planing to investigate this further in the future, any info on how to do this correctly would be most valuable:+1:.

Hi. I haven´t used ZB that much so I don´t know how this works, but I´ve heard and read that this is the right way.

Import you Obj.
Store Morph target.
Divide and sculpt.

Lets say we have divided the model 6 times and allready have UV:s

Displacement:
Delete subdivision level 6 and 5. Go down to level 1 and switch morph target. Make your displacement map.

Bump:
Delete subdivision level 1-4. Don´t switch morph target. Make your bump map.

I’ll have to check this out. Strange that they don’t mention any of this in the Practicle Manual , the parts concerned with 3dsmax. If you can you post a link where it says to do this for Max in ZB Central this would be great.:wink:

I’m thinking this might be a step for Maya with Mental Ray, as described in the Practicle Guide, “The Hand” tute. Mental Ray for Max and Mental Ray for Maya are two very different renderers.:cry: Strange since Mental Ray is a AME product?

You have many more options in Mental for Maya, where the options for Displacement in Mental for Max are limited.

So do you create the bump map from the Alpha at sub-d level 4?

Numse, your help with this problem is very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Scratchy:D

Nice work Scratchy…:smiley:

AHHHHHHHHHH The solution!!! I was about to give up on that…

“b: Next you need to convert this displacement map (TIFF) to RGB colours (this stops Max and most other apps from stepping your Displacement map (no jagged edges)).”

Haha! Instantly my steps were gone. Everything else worked in XSI but I did not figure out why the @%$#@%$#@ are there steps. Wheeeeeeee.

Thanks a million!
LemonNado

PS:Doh, now it’s SO obvious…

Hey Buckie.

Good to hear from you.:wink:

Am I right with what I’m saying. I’d hate to give others the wrong impression that what I’m saying is the right way (with the instructions I’m giving)!

I’m just trying to get it right so I can save you the time of making a VTM for ZB and Max.

Mainly I just want to help others in using ZB (it has revived my enthusiasm in 3D), with Max. As you know I’m a wee bit on the slow side:o .

Cheers,

Scratchy:D

Update: well I’ve checked this out more, and applied this mesh to the mesh I started off with in Max, the displacement works, but not as fine as the method I’ve described above. I still have to apply the same amount of Mesh\Turbosmooth iterations as what the imported ZB mesh comes in at in Max 1,200,000 polys. But Max doesn’t run out of mem & viewport maniplulation is mush faster. The displacement isn’t as fine thought.

More testing I think is required.:wink:

Thanks for your imput Numse, you made me think about this a lot more.:+1:.

Still if your stuck on where to start with Max & ZB above is a decent start, just don’t think you can’t do more with both apps to get a better result.

Scratchy:)

Yeah I create the bump from a higher subdivision.

These steps should be the same for all apps. The problem is how to get your displacement and bump map from ZB, it has nothing to do with maya or max. To get the maps to work in max or maya is the easy part :slight_smile: and you don´t need ZBcentral to get that info.

Anyway. I´m pleased to help, and I hope we can figure this out because I´m not 100% sure of anything in ZB. It seems that everbody has there own workflows and ways to make maps. It sux that this things isn´t better documenter when it´s such a big part of the program.

Wheres all the pro´s anyway… :confused:

Well I’m glad at least I’ve help someone (well maybe).

Yes those steps get you where ever you go, to work, the gym:D

I’m not a Max user but much respect to you for sharing your knowledge.

Oh that would be nice… use ZB instead of your car… just make your displacement and you are at work, takes 2 minutes for a bumpy ride and 4 minutes for a smooth one… :cool:

Forgot to say that my method is from a zscript somewhere on this forum.

Talked to a friend of mine and he does it like this:

-Import obj and sculpt for displacement.
-Make displacement

-Import obj and sculpt for bump
-Make bump

thanks for your imput guys, I’m sure a lot of people will extract very useful info from that :slight_smile:

now…how to render displacement maps with Mental Ray 3D displacement without bugs and totally perfect like in ZBrush without sucking 2 weeks? :). (I know that Vray makes a near-perfect result :P)

Howdy,

Well I’m not quite sure how to do it in MR and keep the render times down. I have been checking out this script that helps get the right/efficient settings for MR, but doesn’t include the right settings for MR maps/shaders, just the render section/settings:

http://euqahuba.com/stuff/mr_prime/

Excellent script.:wink:

I will be investigating MR in the future, I’m sure others have some good settings for the MR 3D Displacement in 3dsmax. Hopefully they will share them:+1:

VRay bloats the mesh (from the tests I’ve done), and from what I understand this is very hard to rectify. This doesn’t really matter if your just rendering a head for a still or it interacts with nothing in an animation (like a log), but if you have a character that iteracts with itself or another character or has cloth, dynamic or hair sim, your in trouble. You will get intersections between your mesh.

Scratchy:D