I have not seen an example of this yet, just wondering if anyone has played with it. It seems like you could create animations using a script…
Move a tool along a path, or rotate it, and have ZBrush write a new PSD for each “Frame”. I don’t know ZScripts enough to explain further.
Anyway, any thoughts?
-kaz
Hi Kaz
Take a look at Zspin.txt in your scripts directory. It would be pretty easy to modify it to also move the object XY or Z while it is spinning. Maybe I will play with it.
I might add that Juandel has made some really neat animations using the MagicMarker tool, check them out here
it might be a animation Movie but i dont think it can be "exported as one i don’t see no export .GIF.
unless there a export AVI or mpg then you can convert it into a .gif… or it you could if it saved each frame as a bmp or psd but that would be time consuming.
sorry i havent realy look in this area on zbrush…
The ZSpin.TXT script was set up so you have the option to export each frame individually and automatically as a *.BMP. You can then use your favorite animation editor to convert those frames to an AVI or gif animation or whatever.
Thanks. If only I would have looked a little deeper… :rolleyes:
I’ll have to look and see if there is a way to program a “particle explosion” animation in a ZScript. It’ll be an interesting challenge.
Hey Digits/Davey/Pix, Yesterday I wanted to create an ATOM type animation in ZBrush, You know, an middle atom-sphere with two glowing rotating rings. Do you think it’s possible to create a script that can rotate two, or more, objects at the same time - in different directions?
(not a request, just a question! Is it possible??)
Hi Upham, just a thought, how about the MultiMarker tool?
Well … yeah… hmmm, this got me thinking…
Currently the multi-maker tool is used for grouping the seperate tools marker points into one tool (which is great!), but if this tool’s funtions are to be expanded in future updates, I would give multimarkers a the ability to apply scripts to each seperate marker, (ie a rotate script) Hence you could have a number of gears rotating on a zmachine you made, or my seperate atom-rings spining in different directions). This idea might involve creating a hierachy-system of markers in the multi-marker tool, but I might be getting in too deep there.
Currently Digits has created Position Marks in his Brilliant Widgets Scripts. These involve a crude-naming of markers as Select-Mark 1,2,3,…9,10, etc. Maybe this could be incorporated as a future update to multi-markers capabilities?? Also it would be cool if you can select one marker in the multi-marker group, and mask it’s tool or mask all the others and be able to apply a different material to just that marker.
Yeah, I know, I’m turning this into a wish-list, but ZBrush version 1.47d won’t be out until … ummm, next year (??) so no harm in shooting-the-breeze with ideas until then.
Upham 
You guys got me thinking, dangerous I know. I am working on a preliminary idea and will post it as soon as I am finished.
Hide the valuables, stow the kids – Digits is thinking!
I wish I’d joined this thread earlier, because there are a lot of great ideas in here.
First of all, Kaz, you’re absolutely right. You can create a ZScript that will output a sequence of images, then combine them into a GIF or movie using an outside utility. The ZSpin ZScript is a simple example.
To animate a number of elements (WingedOnes particles or Upham’s rings), you could either place each object, save the image, then press Undo that many times; or you could place the changing elements on a separate layer and clear the layer after each image save.
Several ZScript features come to mind here. First, the [TransformSet…] command. Draw a 3D object, then issue the command:
Substitute the complicated-looking algebraic variables in the above line with:
Xp,Yp,Zp = the X, Y and Z position of your 3D object
Xs,Ys,Zs = the X, Y and Z size of your 3D object. 100 means 100 percent size.
Xr,Yr,Zr = the X, Y and Z rotation angles of your 3D object.
You can use some mathematical formulas to arrive at the above, or use random numbers, or whatever strikes your fancy.
You can also experiment: place a 3D object somewhere in the canvas, and read all 9 of the above elements directly from the Transform:Info sliders. First, press the Transform:Move button, and the Info sliders display the X,Y, and Z position. Then press the Transform:Resize button, and the Info sliders display the X,Y and Z sizes. Then press the Transform:Rotate buttone and the Info sliders display the X,Y and Z rotation angles.
Another feature that comes to mind is the [FileNameMake…] command, combined with the [FileNameAdvance…] command. These are tailor-made to output sequential files with names like “Image001.bmp”, “Image002.bmp” and so on.
Another feature is List variables. By defining a list variable early on, such as
you can signal ZBrush that the variable MyList is intended to be a whole array of numbers, text-strings, or strokes. You can refer to each element by calling it MyList(n), where n is any positive integer less than the defined value.
In the above example, MyList can have 10 elements: MyList(0), MyList(1) through MyList(9).
Another feature is [StrokeGetInfo…] which can get data from any single brush stroke. Data such as: how many single points, the X and Y of any single point, the smallest X and Y, the largest X and Y, how many curls, and so on.
Another feature is [Interpolate…] which finds values within any two points or sets of points.
If any of this whets your appetite, let me know and we’ll discuss these elements in more detail.
Have fun,
dave
Kiss My Assmination!-er-Aspirin Nation–uh !
I told Ya De ‘Load’ don’t allow no ‘Ammunition’!! around the ZEbra’s… 
oh my load, robo, sometimes i wonder if you a really doing these on a loadapproved pee.cee. 
honorable Z-scriptors: right now, this sounds much like WingedOne’s Assembly Set to my lay-ears but i can hear some jingle-bells amongst the technical data and great things to come. all i can say is: i can’t wait for these scripts to take shape and: VIVA LA ANIMATION! 
Sorry, Juandel.
I’ll have to make a point of de-mystifying ZScripts, because they’re really lots of fun
dave
right on, davey… and sorry for the mystifications.
i was just making fun of myself/my incompetence or whatever imho, without fun on their authors side, no scripts like those i’ve tried out would be accomplishable. i love them and those neverending (and undreamt of) possibilities they obviously have. i’ve never doubted scripting to be mucho fun - it’s just that i’m much too busy experimenting with all your scriptors fantastico results to really get into it myself
Hey Davey, are there any plans for an in depth ZScripting tutorial? I’ve worked a little with other programing languages (VB, Basic) so the basic ideas make sense to me, but actually fitting together all the commands and figuring it all out is somewhat tricky, even with lots and lots of looking over the command list. So a tutorial of some sort which covered a lot of the stuff would be really neat.
