ZBrushCentral

Import model as reference, like in Maya

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi all,

I’m not a zbrush power user myself, so I might be missing something obvious, but I’m looking for a way to import a 3d model as reference.
If you’re not familiar with the term, I’m borrowing it from Maya. Basically it means that the model does not get saved into the zbrush file itself, but that zbrush remembers where the model file was saved on disk, and loads it dynamically every time the project is opened.

This would be especially useful when working with scans or hi-poly meshes that are only used as reference, as they can be extremely big and don’t really change from version to version.
So assuming that a scan is about 3GB and that an artist creates 5 working versions for each project file - that’s an extra 15 GB per scan. As we usually work on multiple scans at once (ie for FACS), you can see how this number can quickly grow to hundreds of GB.

IMO referencing/instantiating the scans would be the best solution, but I can’t find any option to do it in zbrush, and google hasn’t been very helpful so far.
So, is there any way to do something similar? Or can anyone recommend a better workflow?

#2

Hello @nonlosao,

Here are some of the available methods for working with reference in ZBrush. They will all involve loading a file directly into the ZBrush scene.

http://docs.pixologic.com/user-guide/3d-modeling/reference-images/

If you would like to instance your mesh, that can be done with Nanomesh.

Otherwise, what you suggest is not possible in ZBrush. If you’d like to submit a feature request, that can be done here.

Thank you!