I’m having a problem where the model that I’ve imported to zbrush from max seems to change position. This becomes evident when I import the altered version of the model back to max and compare it to the previous version(it’s a very small change, but it completely destroys the workflow)… Now , this could’ve been easily fixed by repositioning the mesh or snapping it to the previous mesh, but zbrush seems to have scaled the mesh from an arbitrary pivot, so I have no way of realigning the mesh… keep in mind, this is a very small change, about .004, normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but in this case I need the model to be in the exact position it was before, with the exact scale. Any help is highly appreciated.
Could you show examples?
It’s possible that what you’re seeing is the effect of multi-resolution subdivision editing. When you divide the mesh, the smoothing algorithm causes the mesh to contract. When you later return to level 1, that smaller size is translated back to level 1 as well. So now your level 1 is smaller than what you started with.
This is why if you’re going to be working with displacement mapping or reimporting the model in any way, you should store a morph target before you subdivide. Then when you return to level 1 you can switch to the stored morph target and restore the original size of the model.
If this is indeed what’s happening and you did not store a morph target, what you can do is go to level 1 and store the morph before you import the new version of the model. You’ll see the change in size. Then switch to the stored morph target before you return to the higher levels. Otherwise, the change in size made at level 1 will affect all the higher levels. (Changes to one level affect the other levels only when you change levels.)
Thanks for the reply… That’s not what I’m talking about. All you have to do is export a sphere into zbrush and import it back to max(don’t need to create subdivisions in zbrush). Now zoom in to a vertex and compare the position of the previous model with the new imported model… If you look closely you’ll notice that it’s a bit off. This is a problem that’s happening with everyone in the studio, so it doesn’t seem to be specific to my machine/zbrush.
bump
Which version of Max are you using?
I’m using max 2008 with zbrush 3.1 on windows xp… I don’t think this is a max problem because I can export and import OBJ files and they stay exactly in the same place. Did you try exporting to zbrush and importing back to max? You’ll notice that the mesh has changed a small amount in scale/position. You’ll see this if you zoom in to a vertex. I’d like to know if anyone else is getting this result.
I’m having the same issue using max 2009. I exported my lowest level of subdivision from zbrush, i take it back into max delete out some edge loops to bring down to bring down the poly count but when I export back into zbrush the mesh is moved to the side compared to the original placement.
bump
Yea, it’s a big problem, though, as far as I know, what I’m experiencing seems to be a global issue rather than a problem with my settings/mesh. In other words it happens with every mesh I import/export on any computer(I don’t know if wdcstudios is having the same problem with every mesh he imports). There’s always a small tiny bit of difference between the original mesh and the one imported back from zbrush.
I found out my issue is with how I imported my model. It was asymmetrical because I planned to mirror parts once back in max, my miss alignment was only happening in zbrush. it seems that when I append my sub tools to a tool with a pivot point set to what I consider to be the center of the my issues seem to go away.