Can't import Displacement Maps into Zbrush

system · July 3, 2019, 8:55am

I’m trying to load displacement maps exported from Photoshop but no matter what format I use it does not work.
I click on import and select the displacement map, it closes and doesn’t show the map in the icon display as it should. I have tried loading from the alpha menu and the same thing happens. However, displacement maps exported straight from Zbrush work. I have tried just saving these files as different files from Photoshop, but the same thing happens.

These maps are 32bit, I have tried all the formats and options that are available for export from Photoshop.

I’m really surprised I couldn’t find anyone with the same problem…

Any help would be appreciated.

marcus_civis · July 4, 2019, 4:41am

ZBrush can’t handle 32bit per channel images. If it does import them correctly then they will be converted to 16bit. (ZBrush can export 32bit but they are exported directly to disk.) Convert the images to 16bit and import into the Alpha palette. PSD format is reliable. Don’t try importing 16bit images into the Texture palette - they will either not import correctly or they will be converted to 8bit.

system · July 4, 2019, 4:41am

Thanks for the reply.

I’ll give it a try. I just find it interesting that it imports the 32bit files from Zbrush but not from a Photoshop export.
(In which case the file is actually imported as 8bit?)

system · July 4, 2019, 4:41am

Well, I tried converting to 16bit but the results aren’t accurate, and the masked regions are interpreted as some offset value.
Is there a way of masking areas to apply displacement in Zbrush, something like using Layers?

marcus_civis · July 4, 2019, 4:41am

As i said, imported 32bit maps are converted to 16bit, so long as they are imported into the Alpha palette.

You can apply displacement maps to a model through the Tool>Displacement map sub-palette. See here:
http://docs.pixologic.com/reference-guide/tool/polymesh/displacement-map/

If masking is essential for what you are trying to do, how are you masking? Give a step-by-step, so I can tell what might be going wrong.

system · July 4, 2019, 4:41am

Thanks for the help.

I just don’t understand that it loads other 32bit displacement files fine, but not from Photoshop (regardless of the images being converted to 16bit). It’s also a little inconvenient because I cannot assign neutral non affected areas. If I simply mask the unnecessary detail in the texture, they are interpreted as transparent and the displacement can’t be applied correctly (I don’t know how to word this properly?). Should I just paint a full black color for these unaffected areas on 16bit images?
If I’m not mistaken, the mid value shifts when the image is converted from 32bit to 16bit, (it’d probably be the same in Zbrush as well).
I’d just like to be able to apply a displacement as close as it is intended to be applied with some masking for areas that I don’t want effected.

Thanks again

marcus_civis · July 4, 2019, 4:40pm

When applying a displacement map in ZBrush the mid point is mid grey, with darker areas displaced inwards and lighter areas outwards. So pick the color from outside the UV area to paint out anything you don’t want to displace.

I’m puzzled that you can’t import maps from Photoshop. Can you post one so that I can see what might be wrong?

The image shows an applied displacement map in ZBrush. I exported the map as 16bit PSD, imported into Photoshop CC 2019, painted out the circle in mid grey and saved out, then imported into ZBrush and applied.