ZBrushCentral

Character Collectible (or high poly), symetry, posing

ZBrush Usage Questions
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#1

Hey ZBCs first time i post in here, so yayy! :slight_smile:

I like to improve (or even create a good) workflow while working on collectibles.

The workflow for a character collectibles is i think:

  1. Body (Basemesh, sphere, what ever) in symetry (incl. details like skin, scars)
  2. Clothing (im MD create the bases, in ZB detailing it)
  3. posing (with transpose master)

after the posing is done,
clothings will be stretched, wrong folds on places, creating new folds
muscles will has to be deformed to if visible etc etc…
(which will make some stuff i made in step 1 and 2 redundant)

What is your workflow to prevent that redundant work?
Should i do in Step 1 and 2 only the super basics because if i have to touch it either way later?

Can you share some tips in here?
I mean can live with that, but also i want to be effective regarding time constrains etc. :slight_smile:

Thanks so much!

#2

Hi @BenjaminGoek!

There’s a lot I don’t know about how you’re working. I can only offer general advice with limited information.

The biggest tip I can give you for posing a mesh, is to make sure you’re posing a low-enough poly version of your model, in a subtool with multiple subdivision levels. Transpose Master is built around the idea of posing a combined low poly mesh, and having those changes reflected in the high poly versions of your separate subtools.

Low Poly meshes:

  1. Perform better. Both Transpose and ZSphere rigging will be slow with a high poly mesh.

  2. Are easier to pose with fewer points to manage, and minimal distortion to the surface.

There will always be some sort of touch-up work necessary, but if you’re posing a low enough poly version of the mesh, it should be easy to correct. Moving a few points around at a low level of resolution wont produce the same kind of distortion as trying to move around many points at a high level. So you want subtools with a low poly base, and multiple levels of subdivision, rather than a single level of subdivision on a high poly mesh. If posing multiple subtools, this would ideally be true for each of them, so character mesh and clothing meshes all need a low poly base.

Click here to read about how to create a low poly base with multiple subdivision levels from a high poly mesh.

If your mesh doesn’t currently have a low poly base, or multiple levels of subdivision, you can create these by using ZRemesher on a duplicate of the subtool to create a low poly base mesh for posing. Subdivide that mesh sufficiently to hold the incoming detail, and project the detail from the original mesh via one of the two methods on this page.

Once you have a mesh with a low poly base and multiple levels of subdivision, you should be able to use transpose master to create a merged, low poly version of the all the subtools, pose that with whatever method you prefer, then transfer those changes back to your original subtools. It will be much easier to correct issues at the lowest level of subdivision, reducing the amount of re-sculpting.

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