ZBrushCentral

Import/Export and Smoothing issue

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi All!

This is my first post here at ZBrush Central. Looks like a cool place to share knowledge and ask for help! Asking for assistance is exactly what my first post is about! :wink:

The question that I have is about the smoothing that happens when I export a model from Zbrush to Maya. I am attaching two images. In Zbrush the detail in the nails is clearly visible. However, when the same mesh is imported into Maya all that detail is gone (smoothed). The entire mesh looks smoother than it should be it at level 1 or at higher levels, as in the attached images. So is there a way to export a mesh EXACTY as it appears in ZBrush?

Is it something that can be fixed at all or it inherent to the way OBJ handles geometry?

Any help would be greaty appreciated as this is driving me up the wall!

Thanks!

#2

it’s the way Maya handles smoothing. I’m not a maya user, so this might not be much help…but do a search in the help menu for Smoothing groups, or smoothing…it should tell you how to change the smoothing angle, or just a check mark to turn it off.

someone else will help you probably…but it is a Maya issue for sure, not Zbrush.

#3

Hi goast!
Thanks for your reply. However, I do get the exact same result when I export/import the thing into XSI 7, which I am also extensively using in my pipeline.
I am pretty sure it is ZBrush’s fault. I tried different settings in ZBrush, OBJ, DFX - the result is always the same.

#4

No, it’s not ZBrush’s fault. Most other applications apply a smoothing modifier to objects. That smoothing modifier normally has settings like the smoothing angle that was previously mentioned.

Basically, the other apps are not displaying the pure polygons. They’re displaying the polygons after having applied a smooth routine to them. ZBrush isn’t doing a smooth routine, which is why it looks different.

All you have to do is adjust the smooth routine in your other app.

#5

Ok, here’s what I found out. Say, for instance, I have a character that I want to detail. I import it into ZBush and bump it up to level 2 or 3 for instance just to add some tweaks to the face. I do not touch the fingers as in the image above - just delening with the head. Once I’m done with my tweaks I take the mesh to its lowest level to export into another app.

What I am experiencing is that at this point my level 1 is no longer the same compared to what was brought in originally. Therefore when I bring in my model into another app, I lose detail even in the areas that I did not touch in ZB.

However, I noticed toay that if I take the mesh into ZB and make some broad basic tweaks only on level 1 and then export it, the original detail remains intact. So my conclusion is that as soon as you subdivide your mesh in ZB there is no turning back and the mesh will remain slightly different from the original. This is what I am trying to understand… :confused:

#6

What you’re experiencing there is the result of subdivision smoothing.

If you don’t want level 1 to be affected in that way, turn off Tool>Geometry>Smt before you divide. This will give you more points, but won’t smooth the mesh.

To view how the mesh would look when smoothed, set Tool>Display Properties>DSmooth 1 and turn off Transform>Quick.