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Can't see polygroups when unwrapped, can't control paint after deleting UV?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

So what I’m trying to do is this: I have a very high poly mesh with UVs that takes forever to export. I wanted to break it up into a head and body subtool so I could have only the head be highpoly and the rest at a lower res. For that I have to create a polygroup, then split that off into its own subtool. However I can’t even see polygroups while I have the mesh unwrapped. After deleting the UVs, I can’t control paint to create new ones. Why?

These are the steps:

  • Trying to create polygroup for head - Can't, because I can't see polygroups in wireframe while I have a UV active.
  • So I delete the UVs
  • Now I can create a polygroup/see them. So I create a new polygroup for the head.
  • Now I need new UVs because I had to delete them. Go to UV master to create new UVs
  • Can't see my control painting anymore, only if I go to color -> Fill object. Then I can see the mesh being filled red or blue, but can't paint it with the brush so I can't paint where the seams are.

RGB is on 100, polypaint is set to colorize. What’s going on here? What am I missing?

#2

I have a couple of questions.

Why are you working on a super dense mesh for UVs? Why not duplicate your mesh, Zeremesh it, subD up and project? Now you’ll have a lowres mesh that you can unwrap and be much easier to manage.

The rest of your issues sounds like they are coming from using layers. Are you using layers?

#3

Hey thanks for the reply.

I’ve already remeshed the mesh but to then get enough detail in the face I have to subdivide it up 5 times to 35 million polys again, so that doesn’t help unfortunately. That’s why I wanted to split off the head so I can only subdivide that till the details pop and leave the body at lower res.

I don’t use layers, no. I have no idea what’s going on there. :frowning:

#4

You should be working on a copy of your mesh at the lowest subD level for your UVs, not the highest.

#5

Yes and I am (“Work on clone” drops me down to the lowest level anyway, so of course I am. Maybe I didn’t word that correctly) but it doesn’t change the weird issue that I mentioned where I’m unable to see polygroups as long as the mesh has UVs (that I copied in from the clone) or where I can’t do the control painting on the clone after I removed them due to not being able to see polygroups.

#6

Does this happen on all meshes, or just this one?