ZBrushCentral

FBX Import Issue

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Okay - what am I doing wrong here. I exported a fairly simple model from Max 2016 as an FBX. I want to import it into my Zbrush scene so I open the scene file, click on a different tool in the tool palette , use the FBX import plugin - the model comes in perfectly - all the different objects are subtools - great! So then I click back on the main tool and go to Append - I chose the FBX import to append and only one of the subtools is appended. :confused: Not the entire model as would normally work with any other import. I can use an obj export and it works fine except it doesn’t retain the object names.

Any idea what’s up with the FBX import shenanigans?

Thanks

#2

That’s nothing to do with the FBX plugin. If you append a model which has subtools you always only get the selected subtool appended.

If your original model only has one or two subtools then do it the other way around: select the model you imported as FBX and append the original model to that.

Alternatively, SubTool Master has a Multi Append function which will append all subtools in a ZTL. To work though the ZTL must be saved to disk, so you would need to:

  1. Select the model you imported as FBX and save as a ZTL through the Tool palette.
  2. Select your original model and press SubTool Master>Multi Append. From the file dialog, select the ZTL you saved at (1).
1 Like
#3

Not sure about your point but append only appends individual subtools. Weird enough Zbrush has not a multi append system except the one from subtool master that is not very practical for subtools as it looks for files in order to multi append.
It would make sense to have a multi append for internal tools but I cant find it. Does it really exist?

There is a script to do so but half of the times doesn’t work. It would be cool to have a solid implementation of this as it is a very normal operation.

By the way this is the script, that as I said it doesn’t work always:
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?194504-Copy-Paste-all-visible-subtools&p=1172677#post1172677

#4

If you select a ZTL it will append all the subtools in that ZTL. You can select multiple files if you want but you don’t have to.

#5

Yes, I know, and it that sense it is useful.

But the most use that everybody would do of multi append is for existing tools with subtools in the current project. Saving it as ztl and using the plugin is a too long workaround. We have now so many copy subtools, copy tools and clones that this seems really missing as none does this basic function in few steps.

#6

If you append a model which has subtools you always only get the selected subtool appended.

Doh! I actually knew that and forgot! Thanks, marcus and Altea! I’ll try the multi-append in the subtool master. :+1: