ZBrushCentral

Mapping And Baking Anything With The Zproject Brush

Here is a fun way to bake anything in Zb3 :crazy skin details,occlusion, specular,
anything really,even details made with the new HD dividing feature.
:from your Zb3 SuperHighres model to the same model at a lower res
that you can use in 3ds and co.

This method is for those who find their sculpting details are too elaborated to render well using only a displacement map or are unsatisfied by the way Projection Master 's Shaded option pick up details.
It can also somehow help you wait for Zmapper.

                             Alright,let's Begin!
                               
                                                         First of all you'll need those 2 awesome plugins:
                                                                                       
        <b>                                                                               Marcus Civis</b> incredible<b> ClearOffset </b>plugin for Zproject from: [http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/sh...ght=ClearOffset](http://showthread.php/?t=46700&highlight=ClearOffset)
            or
                                                              (for this one you actually got to <b>copy/paste</b> the link because

clicking on it will lead you to an error page(maybe it’s just me))
http://aminuts.0catch.com/z3_plugs.htm

                                                                                       And <b>GAME MASTER 770'S </b>amazing<b> Recallinfo</b> plugin from:
                                                                                       [http://www.mediabakers.com/files/Recall_Info.zip](http://www.mediabakers.com/files/Recall_Info.zip)
                                                                                       
 Follow install instructions for both(which are pretty simple)
                                                                                       
                                            Don't bother learning how RecallInfo works right now ,
                                      I'll cover the way it's used in this method in the step-by-step
                                      (I'm just trying to keep your head fresh for what is coming)
                                                                                       
                                                                                                   (<b>Basically you will just be exporting screenshots of your superdetailed model in the viewport and by combining  </b><b>RecallInfo and ClearOffset ,you will be able to Zproject'em</b><b> on your lower res model perfectly and that ,even if you're blind)</b>
                                                           
                                               
                                                                                  <b>     Dividing issue prior to the method:</b>
                                                                                        
                            Divide your model to the highest level your computer is allowed to display.
     
                                                           What matters is the texture resolution you'll use at the end.
                            Here's a little guide about the amount of polygons you're gonna need.
 (you can see the amount of polygons your model have by placing your mouse cursor over your current tool in the tool menu)
                                                                                        
 a 1024x1024 texture will need at least 1,048,576 polys
 a 2048x2048 texture will need at least 4,194,304 polys
                                                                                        
                            for anything above that,you're gonna need a mightymightymomo computer.
                                                       
                      NOTE:For more accuracy when Zprojecting maps one might want to use 
        <b>                            Sven</b>'s flabergasting <b>SmartDiv</b> plugin instead of the std Zbrush dividing method :
         [http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=26639](http://showthread.php/?t=26639)
         or
                                                              (for this one you actually got to copy paste the link because

clicking on it will lead you to an error page(maybe it’s just me))
http://aminuts.0catch.com/z3_plugs.htm

     <b>Step 1:</b>
     
     Sculpt your way to heaven until you're satified with the level of detail.
                            You can even use the amazing HD feature if you want some more extra details.
                                                                    
                                                                   <b>material tweaking prior to export shots with Document menu:</b>

If you’re happy with your sculpting, now start changing the materials until you find one that shows the amount of details you’ve put on your model “under a good light”.

  <b>Disable shadows</b> in the render menu and play with the settings of your material in the material menu: -modifiers.
                      I usually cut off some specular and I don't even play with the lights.

Note:Good baked cavities and shadows usually are the kind of shadows that you could believe being on a character under a white sun and at the same time under a moonless night.Such shadows are like the ones under the eyes, wrinkle shadows ect…Shadows that doesn’t make you feel like a light or darkness source is bursting from a specific direction and that allows the character to receive real lights and shadows without having already too much already baked on him.

And as in the comicbook world ,in CG,the laws of nature can be pretty wild and it’s amazing the amount of dark wrinkles and glittering metal pieces you can put on a model without having it look unaturaly lit.

Now you like the material you choosed ,settings are putting in relief all the details you made, but now you must get rid of the shadows of the neck ect…without killing the other shadows.

You could play with the lights but,notice that just moving,scaling and rotating you’re model around also changes the way it receive light!!
If you get your viewport(your model actually) to be to a certain angle under the chin all the shadows of the neck disappear. That is an example of a shot of the viewport that you’re gonna take.

 So basically here are some examples of shots I use for baking:
                                                                    
                                                                    -front face
                                                                    -side face 
                                                           -behind the head
                                                                    -under the neck
                                                                    -full back
          -full chest
                                                                    -under(between) the legs 
                                                                                       and so on...
                      If you got some items(shields ects you can mask and hide some stuff and shot those too)
          
          (Setting your model in the traditionnal T pose is recommended.)

GAME MASTER 770’S amazing Recallinfo plugin will be able to recall only 10 camera angles,but you can comeback and make other ones in another session.

Usually 2 shooting session (which gives you 20 shots) is quite enough.
(Diform characters,Accessories and weapons,are the ones
that eats a lot of shots)

So move,rotate and scale your superdetailed model around like a maniac photographer and think about the details you’ll want projected on your lower res model.

 Think of it like chopping down your model with your eyes.
                                               
 Try to pretty much plan all shots you're gonna take and Zproject
                                                            (write your ideas down if you like).
                                                            It takes about 3 or 4 minutes.

Anyway, you had your model in your face long enough(you sculpted it)
so ,you know it well.

                                              ALSO TRY TO KEEP YOUR SHOTS IDEAS UNCONFLICTING

(EX:a nose shot and a face shot is conflicting but not if you scale your viewport right under the nose…basically you musn’t have the same detail from a similar angle on 2 exported images of your viewport)

                                                                    Done??
                                                                    
                                                                 Then now is the time to do all the crazy coloring you want,
                                                            using every brushes and alphas you like.
                                                           
                                                           Want more fun?
                                              Be sure colorize is on in the texture subpallette.

and now ,you can even use all of Projection Master’s great brushes!!!
You can paint metallic stuff!!! (armors,jewels,anything you like…)
Or, alternatively you can just keep your super
highres sculpting details as they are.

                                                                                       Now let's begin shooting!!!
                                                                                       
     <b>Step 2:</b>
     
                                                                                       Go to the Zplugin menu.
                                                                                       Recallinfo should be there.
                            For each shot you're gonna take you just need to press the Add button.
                                                                                       The Auto Recall is gonna store them.
 By moving the slider above the Recall info button you can cycle through them..
                                                                 (<b>you have to be in edit mode</b>) 
                                                                 YOU DON'T NEED TO PLAY WITH ANY OTHER OPTIONS
                                                                   
                                                                 -So Rot,Pos,Scale your model to the camera angle you want.

(don’t use transpose’s Rot,Pos,Scale because Recallinfo don’t understand them and anyway the standard r,p,s is easier for us since it’s more like a camera)

                                                                   Press Add in Recall info.
                                                           
                                                                 Rot,Pos,Scale your model elsewhere press Add again.
                                                           
 Play with the slider above the Recallinfo button and there you go!
                                                           You got a nice set of camera angles.
                                                                                       
                                      <b>         HERE IS THE NIGTHMARE TO THIS METHOD: ANY REINIT ZBRUSH WILL MAKE YOUR STORED POS,SCALE,ROT DISAPPEAR!</b>
 (and even sometimes when you disturb ZB....)

It’s not that bad when you’re just saving them but if it happens when you’re ready to Zproject them it makes you want to scream!

     <b>Step 3:</b>
     
                                                                                       Now let's generate our maps!
     
                                                                 For each of your stored camera angles,
                                                                                   go to the <b>Document menu</b> and export the viewport in psd or bmp. 
 To whatever resolution you feel like would be good for that shot
 (in relation to the distance you've put your model from the camera:far shots will need higher resolution).

It doesn’t matter if those bmp are highres the texture you’re gonna have at the end will still be the size you decided earlier.
(see the Dividing issue prior to the method section at the beginning)

                                          <b>  Note:Before exporting a shot you can launch preview HD geometry if you want your HD details in your shots</b><b>.:)</b>
                                                                                       
                                               When you're done taking your shots you're ready to Zproject!!!!
                                          (assuming you didn't loose all your stored info)
                                                                    
                                                                   
 So now one would think that you just have to import those background images and start Zprojecting them. 

But, Zbrush don’t want it to be that way(at least not on my machine)

Because when I import a Psd or Bmp as a background image with a model already on the canvas the image just get ghosted in the model!!!
(If you don’t have that problem you’re blessed)
So you’ll need to import the bmp as background image BEFORE
drawing the model.

                                                                 In order to do that you must get rid of your model 
                                                           without INIT Zbrush
                                                           (which would make all your saved camera angles disappear)
                                                           
                                                                                       To do this just  <b>Save your model as a tool

Go to the layer menu.
Press Fill then Clear(Ctrl+F and then Ctrl+N).
(Or Exit Edit mode and just do Ctrl+N)
And when you draw your model back on the canvas all your pos,rot,scale shots will still be stored in RecallINfo .

                                                           Voila!

(You’ll have to do this each time you change your background image.)

     <b>Step 4:
 </b>                                                          Here is the process,
                                                           once you stored all your shots in RecallInfo and in Psds
                                      :it's pretty easy actually(as long as you don't upset ZB3!!)
                                                                                       
                -<b>Save your model as a tool</b>
 -Do that layer-Fill then Clear thing(Ctrl+F then Ctrl+N).
 -Be sure the 2 color swatches in the color menu are set to the standard
             black and white .
                                                                                       -<b>Set material to FlatColor.</b>
                                                                                       -Go in Document menu set the resolution corresponding to the bmp or psd  you're gonna  start with.
                                                                            -Import that viewport image.

-Draw your model on the canvas anywhere.
-Now go to Zplugin menu -to the Recall Info plugin.
-Cycle through your saved camera angles with the slider
until you find the one corresponding to the shot you imported as a background image.
(don’t forget you have to be in edit mode)

(If you get a problem like: the model you have drawn on the canvas leaves a ghost in the image background go at the end of the tut I’ve found a solution to that.)

                                                                    Zproject Time!!!
                                                                   <b>
 -Prior to this be sure to MASK AND HIDE the back of the model's parts that you're going to Zproject because, 
                      sometimes,when you use a large brush size, the image get projected on both sides of the model. 

Just mask+hide them,then use RecallInfo to call back your rot,pos,scale.If you want your model to be projected on both sides then don’t mask+hide it (ex:the 2 sides of a character’s face )

     Step 5:
     
                                                                   </b>                    -Select the Zproject brush and press W to go in transpose mode.
 -Draw the transpose line anywhere on your model
 -PRESS CTRL+W which gonna activate Marcus "TooGoodToBeTrue" Clearoffset plugin or go to Zplugin- Marcus Tools- Clear Offset
                            (You'll know it's workin since the transpose line is gonna Disappear)
 (it's still there actually,it is just a zeropoint)
                                                                                       -Select the Zproject brush
                                                                                       -Get in Draw mode ,be sure <b>ONLY RGB</b> is on (zadd ect..will mess it up)
                                                                                       <b>

And be sure you’re at the highest sudivision level of your model and that you’ve pressed disable uv in the texture subpalette previously.
(polygons without UVs store more color info or something like that I think)

Then just paint that baby!!!
Whou hou!!!
You can even be drunk as hell it doesn’t matter!!
(You can paint only parts of your shots if you like
but,personally, I like smearing it like a pig)

Repeat steps 4 and 5 until your model is covered to your satisfaction.
Always taking great care in not disturbing Zbrush3.

When you’re done:

     <b><span class="font4">Step 6:
     </b></span>
                                                                    -Go to texture menu set the size of the texture you want
                                (usually:2048x2048)
                                                                    (<b>you don't need   to press new or anything</b> )
                                
                                                                                       -<b>Go to subdivision level 1 of your model</b>.
                                                                                       -Go to the texture subpalette .
                                                                                       -Press enable UV.
                                                          -Select Guvtiles or Auvtiles mapping method or import 
             the Uvs you made in your favorite 3d package.
                                                                                       -<b>Go The highest possible level your machine can handle</b> and <b>press the    Color-To-Texture</b> button
                                                           
 <b>                                                          Shazam!</b>
                                                           
                                                                 Just blend and smooth your applied shots here and there, 
                                      using projection master's smudge or blur or any brushes.
                                                           
 Delete the higher subdivisions that you know 3ds won't handle and
                                and now you got a fully mapped n' baked superdetailed model.
                                
                                You can now just export that amazingly detailed  texture
                      along with your model to 3ds Max or any others 3d app.
             Mess with Vray and all.
                                Do your usual stuff.
                                                          
                                                                                       Have fun! :sunglasses:
                                                                                       
 Troubleshooting Simulation(if you had this problem):

Question:When I draw my model on the canvas after I’ve loaded my background image it leaves a ghost of itself on the image(it’s only after I’ve drawn it,when I use the Recall Info it don’t leaves any ghost) but the first one is still there and it even get painted on my model when I Zproject the background image!!What can I Do?!!!

Answer: Drawing it tiny like an atom in the most remote unpainted part solve that issue,and if you’re using a shot that covers the whole canvas you can always wipe that pea with a brush when you’ll be in texture mode later on.It doesn’t matter if the model is tiny like an atom,because when you use Recall Info to load your camera angle it’s gonna be scaled,rotated and positioned exactly as was your shot,without any ghost.

Sounds cool. Thanks for sharing.

I’d love to see visual step-by-step of this or a time-lapse. Anyone? :wink:

I wanted to, but in the tutorial forum section it says that it musn’t be too much plugin related and in the zscript forum section it says that tutorials should be posted in tutorial section.

I’m new to Zbcentral and those are my first posts ever on the whole net so I don’t want to mess with the well kept order here but if an admin tells me where I can post a step by step method for this,I’ll gladly do it.

It would take me like 30 minutes to do it and in fact ,a step-by-step method is pretty much needed since you must do things in a specific order ,there are a lot of traps in zb3 for this really fun method that can make you rip your scalp of you’re own head.
(which I don’t know if they are bugs or the software’s “way of thinking” )

I wouldn’t worry tooooo much about where you post it. Many people post things in the wrong places and moderators simply move them to the right place.

Seems like the tutorials forum would probably be the best place to post your steps… and you could repost your info and steps there in a new post.

It won’t have images but I’ll make it noobproof.
(I’m the noobest noob)

Should be there in around 30 minutes

Here it is! Didn’t put it in the tutorial section because there are no image and don’t want to mess with other more professional tutorial.I made it long but (I think) it covers every problems someone could come across so, there shouldn’t be like a thousand distress replies.(But you never know with Zb3)

Just looking for some grammatical jerks that might have slipped in and it’s on in a few minutes(I’m french canadian)

Maybe it will help people wait t for that zmapper thing,who knows.

Have fun!Drink beer!

If anyone dare using this seems-to-be tedious process people might enjoy seeing your results.The baseline should be a Zb3 shot of your “up to one billion polygon” model with polygon count writen and a 3ds max shot your “up to 400 000 polygon” model beside it.
With Vray madness or any rendering insanity(But no Photoshop tweaks please)

I’ll post mine in a few days! :smiley:

.

Moved tut at the beginning of thread

Wow, what a thorough post… I look forward to trying this out when I get a chance! (Will provide specific feedback, too, once I do). Thanks for posting this!

thanks for this Christian. I had alot of fun reading it.

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=46700&highlight=ClearOffset

^link to the clear offset page
thankyou for your work here

Hehe… a few new elements there.

There's a little script callet Store Cam that allows you to store your camera positions externally(at last!!) so you can load them in further baking sessions instead of trying to keep Zbrush open and healthy until you're finished. It got a few minor problems so they've put it in the Zbrush Zscripting Help Forum section instead of the Zscript Utilities section, so not a lot of people are aware of its existence. The minor problems being that it seems to loose its data when using another plugin,but since I'm only using Clear Offset

I didn’t have any problem so far.

You just have to save your camera pos externally THEN use Clear Offset then Load back AGAIN your stored cam position. Also Store Cam won't recall properly position of models with hidden parts which is somehow a problem with Zbrush 3.1 (it requires masking and hiding for superscaling)but again I didn't have any problem baking even small fingers without superscaling. Also there is a tremendous error(among surely many others)in my newbie tut(first one ever):I tell people that they don't have to press new when defining a new texture size which is totally false: YOU HAVE TO press new when setting anything but 1024x1024 (I thought 256x256 was the default and was using 1024 until now (which is the REAL default setting) so I didn't notice this error until I tried working at 4096X4096.) For newbies:the texture is gonna cover your model but you're zprojection will still be hidden under, and pressing the color-to-tex button will make it show itself. ALSO: here are important elements regarding quality issues. 1-You need UVS from hell (auv or guv won't do) 2-I need to Zproject on models that are above 10 million polys (I know it's stupid and standard polypainting doesn't need that much but it seems zproject works differently,there must be something that i don't understand.) If you only want to bake your shader and it doesn't got any fine details you might be able to get OK quality with less polygons. 3-(very important)setting a texture at 4096X4096 before color-to-tex and scaling it back in Photoshop to 2048x2048 gives far more better results than setting them at 2048 in Zbrush.

Tips:To get a continuous lighting on your model using
Projection Master’s Shading Enhancer and Highlighter brush really
do the trick to make your baking seamless.

Then once your diffuse is baked ,you can turn it in Photoshop in a good specular base and do your specular all in 3d right on your model using again Projection Master’s Shading Enhancer and Highlighter brushes.

That’s it!!Happy baking!

(I know I said I would post some models but I'm a weirdo on medication and I did 13 models at the same time so they should be all there as examples before the first week of november)

Why don’t you post the tutorial as a PDF file with the post so that we can download it and see the images as well?

I don’t think that would violate the rules.

Rev. :stuck_out_tongue:

I i would like to se some pics of this theory