ZBrushCentral

Help with Subdivision Levels

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hello all,

I am new to Zbrush and I am having some issues with subdivisions. I am also very new to forums too so I apologize if I am not posting this question in the right place.

I am currently following along with a series of Pluralsight videos that teach Zbrush to beginners. Currently we are making a pedestal for a character to stand on.
So far I have sculpted a patch of rocky terrain with no issues. Now I have created the basic geometry of the pedestal itself, which will encase the terrain. — See Picture 1

I want to increase the subdivision levels of the pedestal, and be able to slide between the levels, so I can follow along with the videos, but I can’t seem to do this.

If I press ‘Divide’ under the Geometry Menu I get a result with undesirable topology, the hole becomes filled, and I there are no levels of subdivisions that I can scroll through, no matter how many times I press Divide. — See Picture 2

If I press ‘Higher Res’ a window comes up saying I have no ‘Subdiv Levels’ and asks me if I ‘want to auto-activate Dynamic Subdivide instead?’ — See Picture 3
If I press Yes, ‘Higher res’ becomes greyed out. If I then press Divide I am once again presented with bad topology, a filled hole, and no levels of subdivisions. — See Picture 4

I have no idea why I am having issues with something that I have done easily in the past, but I just cant figure it out. Especially because I am following along with the tutorial step by step and the teacher has none of these issues.

Any help would be much appreciated.

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#2

Hello William!

:warning:Be sure to upgrade to the most recent version of Zbrush. This is completely free for registered users, and comes with new features and fixes. Obsolete versions aren’t officially supported.

It looks like you are partially subdividing a mesh that is partially hidden. When the “divide” button is pressed for a subtool that is partially hidden or masked, it will only divide the unmasked or visible portion, and not add any levels of subdivision. This can be used to quickly add some more geometry to part of a mesh when topology isnt a concern, because it is likely to create some awkward geometry where the newly divided portion joins the lower poly portion.

In this case it looks like the center of that portion of radial geometry is hidden. Shift-ctrl click in empty canvas space to completely un-hide your mesh prior to subdividing it. Also clear any masking in Tool > Masking > Clear.

Dynamic subdivision is a separate mode where the the object is subdivided virtually without changing the geometry. This is intended to be used when modeling at low poly to preview what an object will look like subdivided. It can be switched on and off at will, but it comes with a performance impact, and works best with lower poly meshes.

#3

Hi Spyndel

Thanks so much for you speedy reply. You were totally right: I had a section of the pedestal hidden (not deleted, as I thought it was) and I also had two face rings masked unintentionally which was causing the triangles to made when dividing.

My subdivision slider is back and my topology is perfect now!

Many thanks, I really appreciate it!