ZBrushCentral

2 questions: avoiding lines and snapshotting

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

  1. how can i avoid a line around 3D objects when painting? (see picture below) say, i have drawn a 3dsphere, then i choose the paintbrush. if i try painting a line on the sphere and continue onto the backround, the shading from the sphere still shows through. how can i draw a solid line without the sphere affecting it? i m thinking for things such as hair.

  2. what exactly does the snapshot button do? doesn’t a 3d object automatically get converted into pixols when u choose another tool? i was reading through the eye tutorial by ztevie-rae and he said “snapshot” after painting a stroke. the only thing i have used snapshot for is to diplay various angles of models.

hopefully someone understands what i mean, it is kind of hard to explain. thanks for your help!!!

artboy

#2
  1. The reason why you’re getting shading there is that every pixol retains information about its depth and orientation. When you paint strokes over a 3D object, the new pixols are being applied on top of the existing ones. As a result, they are also rendered by the 3D engine and you get the effects that you’re seeing. This is part of the power of ZBrush.

If you want to get rid of this shading, there is a post-render technique that you can use: After drawing your second stroke, you can bake the layer and then use the blur brush to blend away the shading from the sphere.

  1. The snapshot function converts the current object to pixols while still keeping an editable copy. You can use it any time you want to convert a copy of the model to pixols – such as to create multiple views of an object or when you want to apply multiple copies to the scene. It is most commonly used with the gyro so that you can easily position each copy before snapshotting it. Other things will indeed have the same effect, including changing tools or layers. But there are many times that the Snapshot button is very convenient.
#3

aurick, thanks for the quick answers! thats what i love about this forum. i will probably have more questions down the road since i just got the full version for Christmas. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:
i understand what u mean about baking and then blurring. that will probably work. is there any way to export and then import the document so that it is 2d and “flattened” (have the pixols lose there depth)? or can u “flatten” a document in zbrush itself? hopefully u understand what mean. thanks again for your time and help!

artboy

p.s. what would be the purpose of snapshotting after painting a stroke? anything?

#4

Yes there is. Export the image, then import it into a new document as a texture. Choose a material (normally Flat Color), resize the canvas to match the size of the texture, and then fill (Ctrl+F).

Although I’m not sure what tutorial you’re referring to, the drag rectangle stroke can be transformed using the gyro after drawing it. In this case, you can use the Snapshot to keep reusing the same stroke. There’s a great tutorial by Zoid on this topic included with ZBrush. Third row from the top, dead center.

#5

yes i just watched that tutorial, and it was exaclty what i was talking about. now it all seems to make more sense. i didn’t realize that a drag rectangle paint stroke could be transformed and moved.
about the importing thing, what is the advantage/difference between simply importing a document, or importing a texture then filling the layer with it? does importing a document just simply fill the layer with the document?
thanks again for your help! it is really helping me understand the way zbrush works!

artboy

#6

Importing a document will resize the import to match the current document. It also will retain the current depth in the document.

Importing the texture allows you to resize the canvas, and filling the layer with it replaces anything on that layer.