In an attempt to develop a more efficient workflow, I started to test the idea of posing figures in DAZ 3, exporting an .obj file, and importing to ZBrush 4. My first experiment was with a bull figure, which I purchased from DAZ. Without posing or modifying the figure in any way, I simply brought it into DAZ, exported it as an .obj, and imported the .obj into ZBrush 4. I get some weird results, as illustrated in these images (attached).
- Bull_LoRes shows the .obj file imported to ZB. So far, so good.
- Bull_LoRes_PolyFrame shows the same mesh. Seam.jpg gives a close up of the “seams” that separate the polygroups. I don’t see these seams in a model created in ZB. Obviously, something is different here.
- BrokenSeams shows how the model breaks apart at the seams if I subdivide. Curiously, if I clear the viewport, create a new document, and import the model again, the model does not break apart. However, as illustrated in Bull_HiRes, the seams show as raised lines in the mesh.
- I thought it would be easy enough to smooth them out. No such luck. Even setting the smooth brush to an intensity of 100, I can’t smooth them out. In fact, if I sculpt a line in the model, I can’t smooth that out either, regardless of subdivision level. In other respects, the model seems to respond. For example, I can mask the torso and use transpose to move the tail.
- I get the same results if I export one of the DAZ default figures, like Michael 4.
DAZ does have an export dialogue box that specifies units of measurement for different target programs (e.g., for Maya, 1 unit=1 cm). The default is “custom.” I accepted the default since ZBrush has no real world unit. I don’t know whether that has anything to do with it.
Does anyone have any idea what is going on here?
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