Well after 10+ years of an idea of a world sitting in my head it has finally come time to get the beat out into the real world.
Here is a pic of the current work, but in all truth I have a lot of work to go as I am still deciding the stylised style This is basically untextured apart from a displacement map.
[attach=187591]render_01.jpg[/attach]
As I have had to go about relearning my workflow I have found some interesting tidbits for Max > Zbrush > Max workflow that have tripped me up in the transition from Zbrush Old to ZBrush 3.5 that I thought I might share with you all. In particular exporting displacement and normal maps.
SO far I am making a template character that many other characters will be based off. So I needed a base mesh in max, with a set biped to base any morph targets from. So I made a good, hopefully solid, mesh in Max with good poly loops and highly modifiable in the future to other shapes and sizes.
As far as I know, if I want to use the same model to make many character through morph targets, yet use the one rig I am restricted to the biped staying set (it can’t be scaled without weird effects to the skin) so I had to future proof that as much as possible to cover as many bases as possible, in this case a super muscly and a super fat version as a quick draft model.
By trial and error I made a first version, took what I learned and started again…the following is my current workflow so far. However for ease of use I will take out the extra details in regards to making a character generator for a complete world (I think big!) :
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Sketch on paper then model or straight up model a rough concept in Max. Personally I use the Symmetry modifier to save time if applicable. Things to note are good edge loops, trying VERY HARD to not have any tris (quads are best) while trying to keep to the basic silhouetter of your character.
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Once you have finished you half / full character, collapse the stack and export as an .obj for zbrush. DOn’t worry about UVW Mapping yet as you will no doubt change the base mesh as you sculpt and you will just need to tweak it later anyway.
NB: From what I understand ZBrush does NOT support multiple Material ID’s. meaning that if you are using them, make them different objects and import them into zbrush as different subtools. When you have finalised EVERYTHING, you can join it all up again later.
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Import each .obj into Zbrush, then use the Append button in the subtools section to load in seperate elements if you are using multiple material ID’s or just want some reference (eg. eyes to work the eye sockets around)
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Divide your mesh and start sculpting. There are many tutorials on this, I’m not the best sculptor anyway, so your best off checking out the web and the forums and all that to brush up on thoise skills. Its OK, I’ll wait.
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Once you have finished you model 100%, you can export the lowest subdivision that would have no doubt changed since you started sculpting. You CAN keep your original if you want however, its up to you. Either way, export the lowest division as an .obj to import into Max.
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Unwrap the model. DO NOT apply ANY other modifier to it apart from Unwrapping related ones as this may change the vertex numbers and everything will go to hell when you take it back to Zbrush. And Zbrush hell is not fun. That said, unwrap you model as you see fit. Try to keep seams in hidden areas however this is not always possible. Still, its a good practice to TRY.
I believe Zbrush has an unwrap tool now, however I have not used it as yet. I’m used to Max’s now anyway.
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Once Unwrapped to your satisfaction, cpllapse the stack once more and export as an .obj to take back into Zbrush.
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Import your newly UVW Mapped model into the SAME level you exported it from. If all goes well it should do niothing really, and therefore sliding the divisions up should work flawlessly. I like to check to make sure.
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Key element #1 - Tool > UV Map
A lot of details are found in this section that is very important and is a new thing in 3.5. This section will have what size map you will export out at (such as displacement, normal etc). It also has the UV Map Border slider which is AMAZINGLY IMPORTANT I found as this affects seams. The default was 2, and when applying this to a model the seams were very clear as there wasn’t enough overlap / Bleed and therefore the detail didn’t carry across the seams correctly. As soon as I slid this up to 10 (maybe a bit much however) the seams disappeared. I believe this is a replacement for FS Border and / or Fix Seam in older versions of Zbrush.
Other options I don’t use as I don’t use the standard ZBrush UVW Options like AUV, GUV etc. I’m sure its all kinds of shiny for those who do so this is where you do that too.
SO, first thing is open Tools > UV Map and set the resolution of the map you want to export AND slide the UV Map Border up to something reasonable.
- Key element #2 - Tool > Displacement map
This is where you export the Displacement Map, obviously. Many of the options that used to be in here have been moved however to the UV Map section in Tools (See previous point).
Once you have done Point 9, Slect Adaptive (Quality over quantity), and Flip V (to suit Max’s texture direction). I usually put the DPSubPix up to 2 (OK, so I’m not ALL about Quality over quantity) and then hit Create and Export Map. With your UV Map settings applied you should have a map exported at the required size, reasonable size bleed/Seam/Edge and generally good times all round.
Some people use Smooth UV, however I have found that sometimes on lower poly meshes the smoothed area will be SO smooth that it curves within the UVW Map edge. Which is no fun. So I don’t put this on myself.
- As noted I don’t use normal maps generated from Zbrush. It has tangent/flip issues I haven’t got a workaround yet. BUT if you DO want to do it. Then it is pretty much the same as Displacement map. Only tweak is turn Tangent on (as thats what game Normal maps use, however this is the thing that flips polys across seams I believe, and gives unwanted results in max).
I also put Adaptive on (again with the quality).
Now the Normal Map section does NOT have a create Normal Map and export like Displacement, so you have to create it (note the Tools > UV Map rules apply here too), and then use the Clone NM button to send the generated map to the texture 'slot. Then go to Texture > Flip V button (Once again to correspond to Max’s texture direction) and then export your map from the Texture section.
- Have a coffee. You are now OFFICIALLY a genius.
ANYWAY, that said, this is how I do it. I THINK I remembered all the key points. I fI have missed anything or you think I should add something feel free to say and I will update this post. The main thing, and frustration, for me was the new way that 3.5 exports maps, in particular seams etc. Relearning where all the little buttons are that do amazingly important things is always the trick when a new, albeit fantastic, update comes along. Love you work Pixologic! Keep up the good work.
I thought other people could learn from my escalated return to Max / ZBrush worflow. Hope it helped.