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Losing qmeshed detail when merging down subtools

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Ok so I am sorry that this may be a simple question but I am stumped and tried searching the usual suspects. This kind of thing has happened before but I obviously am not fully grasping my error yet.

So I have a full-body character subtool, the sub division count is not visible but it is a merge of several other previous pieces. I have a final peice, a face-mask subtool that is zremeshed and doesn’t show any visible sub division count. When I merge down I lose only this torso section detail. I treid zremeshing the main bigger tool and reprojecting the detail with not much success. I tried matching the subdivsions of the mask to to main body subtool with no success. What am I missing here?

Screenshot (37)
Screenshot (37)1920×1038 123 KB
Screenshot (38)
Screenshot (38)1920×992 122 KB

#2

Hi @ndsugi,

Do all the subtools:

  1. Have the same number of subdivision levels?

  2. Are all being merged at the highest subdivision level?

  3. Have actual subdivision levels and not dynamic subdivision levels?

#3

no dynamic subdivisions enabled, and I don’t see any visible subdivision level counts to be able to tell what’s going on. Its blank for both, but I know the main body subtool has subdivisions from prompts warning that certain functions are disabled while in that mode.

#4

I meant that the above is the best procedure when merging subtools with any subdivision levels. For the best results and least chance of lost levels or confusing results all the subtools should have the same level of subdivision and be merged at the same level.

I notice a number of things here:

  1. Live Boolean mode is enabled. If not using this mode to create a boolean mesh you should disable it to avoid visual confusion.

  2. I notice the UV option is active in the Merge menu. If you merge UVs you may have created overlapping UV islands and these do not work in ZBrush. A previous merge operation may have created problematic UVs. It would be best to delete any UVs and recreate them once your topology is finalized to avoid issues.

  3. I notice your mask is labeled as a recovered tool. If you are experiencing crashing issues with a file all subtools should be checked for problems with Tool> Geometry> Mesh Integrity > Fix Mesh. Any problem geometry should be fixed or removed from the file. If problematic geometry is involved in the operation you may experience unexpected results.

  4. The lost hard edges on the mid section may have been caused by a loss of crease tags. If those edges are marked as creased with dotted lines in polyframe mode prior to merging, and those dotted lines disappear after merging you may have lost your creasing for some reason. Assuming your geometry is sound, an optimal merging scenario (equal levels of subdivision) may avoid the issue.

Otherwise I can’t tell you what the problem is without examining the file. If you contact ZBrush Support and reference this thread we can look into it.

Thank you!

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#5

So I have found that the main body, everything but the mask that is one subtool is at zero subdivisions, and the mask is also zero subdivisions. Mesh integrity has been ran successfully on both, live boolean was on when I took the screen shot only because I was experimenting with boolean meshing, it wouldn’t be on otherwise. I do see that the creasing has been lost on the main body, which is apparent when I attempt a new subdivision as certain parts of the mesh are split. Z remesher is failing to operate properly, either failing completely or remeshing an unusable end result, so I cannot attempt to retopologize. Perhaps I did something strange when merging the main body subtools when they were in parts?

#6

As I said you would need to contact ZBrush Support and provide the file for examination. I can’t do anything else here but speculate.

Thank you!

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