ZBrushCentral

exporting uv mapped models with high fidelity features

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hey Forum!

First poster here!

I’m just starting out, but I think I like texturing my zbrush assets for video art stuff I’m doing in Substance painter and rendering stuff out in c4d or unreal (I’m not necessarily looking to create games at this point - substance painter just seems easier for the aesthetic i’m after).

So this means I need a workflow which gives me UV mapped models exported from zbrush…here is my best attempt:

  1. model in zbrush (dynameshing, sculptris, IMM kitbashing)
  2. duplicate and Z-remesh to a low poly (once I’m finished modelling/happy)
  3. (hard part) use subdivisions and projection to get that duplicate to look like your original
  4. UV master on your lowest subdivision level

Would be cool to just UV master and export out after step 1 - however it seems Zbrush freaks out when I try and UV master my 326k poly model. Am I right in presuming that it is just too many polys for uv master to handle?

So steps 2 &3 are a necessary evil. Which leads to my main problem - I cannot get the zremesher/projection workflow to get close enough to the original model.

Here are some close ups of the details I’m trying to preserve.
2a.PNG

And here is what is happening to them on a 2.6mil poly surface that I’m projecting the details onto…

3.PNG4.PNG

There is a noticeable loss of fidelity, as well as some (annoying) artifacting. Experimenting with the distance setting on ‘Project’ tool I turn it high for more detail but also more artifacting.

Why did I lose a whole day on this lol!? Maybe my workflow doesn’t make sense!?

Is there something else I can do to have both my highres details and the lowres UV map together in harmony? Perhaps I need to zremesh and work with a subdivided model much earlier in the process…

#2

You might want to store a morph target before running the projection. This video might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxMYYsyJt3o

#3

thanks dilster, but unfortunately this did not help my situation.

it seems zremesher is just too destructive of my model, as well as being very inefficient with polycounts (when combined with project).

Even projecting on base model of around 4million I’m getting poly stretching and many missing details (base model around 360k). Going up to 16 million base polys seems to get me there, but the artifacts are intense, everywhere and this technique seems only somewhat effective for removing artifacts.

however, it seems I have found a solution that works better in my case:

instead of using zremesher and lowpoly/highpoly workflow I use dynamesh which seems much better at keeping my details.

I then decimate the model and UV master it…

anyway, wish i could figure this out but at least I can push on with a temporary solution for non-realtime assets.

#4

At least you have a solution. So far, Dynamesh then ZRemesh usually works for me, but I suppose different meshes might give different results.

#5

Yeah, for sure.

Thanks for your help :slight_smile: