ZBrushCentral

Designing a zbrush model to animate somewhere else.

ZBrush Artworks
#1

I’m wondering if there is an easy way to export models from zbrush that animate well in other programs?

Thanks for the input,

Ben

#2

bholtzman
I hope this help you
Upham ZB export obj to 3DMax
Thanks for your attention

#3

Yeah…really easy.
The export button in the tools palette. Exports obj format. As for animating well, thats actually up to the modeler and rigger. Making sure its edge-looped well and has the appropriate bone rig for whatever is required by the storyboard. :wink: No problem. :+1:

#4

Thanks for the info. But aren’t there problems with the mesh that exports from zbrush being wrong for animation? I’m fuzzy on the idea of what a good mesh to animate would be.

I thought that the way the mesh was constructed has a lot to do with how well the model deforms in animation. Anyone care to help me understand this better?

Thanks,

Ben

#5

You’re best bet for modelling with animation in mind, would be to use adaptive skinned ZSpheres rather than Unified Skinned ZSpheres.

Adaptive Skins have a much lower poly-count and the polygon arrangement is good for animation.

The disadvantage is that Adaptive skins are a little trickier to work with, but with a practice you’ll be able to do what you want with them.

Also, when using Adpative skins, don’t forget the benefits of using Magnet ZSpheres.

Check the ZBrush ZScript tutorials on adaptive skins that come with ZBrush for more information. There are also some adaptive skin ZScript tutorials that you can find via the QuickLinks link at the top of this page.

#6


I have to add that Unified is excellent for static images. Its all in how you feel really Also, edgeloops are like contour lines in a drawing. Basically, if the mesh flows naturally, then so to can the animation.

I’ll find a link…

#7

The denser mesh is bad for animation because of the way rigging generally influences the translation of points? Or is there some other reason that it’s bad for animation?

Thanks,

Ben

#8

Yeah, well more over when considering the deformations to the mesh during animation.

Creases, tearing.

Here is some info on edgelooping.

#9

Yeah, that is basically it, at least in regards to animating dense Zbrush objects such as heads modeled from 3Dspheres and Unified skinned zsphere models. In addition the unified skinned object in Mahlikus’ picture does not contain any of the organised structure of the adpative mesh. For simple animation(like waving a tentacle) this is not a problem, apart from the high poly count that slows down the animation process. But as soon as you want to do something a bit more complicated like animating muscles flexing it can be highly beneficial if your polygon structure is already set up to accomodate that.

So apart from having a low poly count(quick when animating), edge loops or polygon structures that follow the contours of the most important animatable parts of your object, phew, are the most important.

#10

Unified skins were basically created for use in ZBrush. They allow you to create a “custom primitive” which you can then refine and incorporate into your ZBrush scenes. The polygon count is too high and arrangement is wrong to be useful for animating. In short, they are ideal for 2.5D art, where you’re not worried about polygon counts or placement.

Adaptive skins are especially suitable for animation. They have edge loops built into them, and a low enough polygon count that other programs won’t choke. :slight_smile: They are also very useful in ZBrush as yet another way to create the models that you require for your 2.5D scenes.

Hope that helps a bit!