ZBrushCentral

placing a subtool precisely on top of another?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi,

How do I place one subtool precisely on top of another?

I have 2 subtools, which are basically the same, except one has detail on other side and the other one on the other side.

I was planning to use ZProject to copy the detail from one subtool to the other one, but how do I make them sit in the same coordinates?

#2

I’m new so there is probably a much better option that I’m also anxious to hear.

But I’ll take a shot at what I’d probably do.

  1. snap each tool to the same front, side, rear etc view with shift>rotate.
  2. In the Transform menu I’d set pivot on each tool. That should take each tool to the exact center position in the canvas.

My other option would be to take the two tools into my favotite polygonal modeling program, use that programs coordinate system to position them both in the exact same spot then reimport them into Zbrush and they’ll both come back in into CB in the same location as each other.

#3

Thanks for the tip!

I had figured out the shift + rotating part, but not the pivot point. Must try that next. Going back to another package (max in my case) would also be worth trying.

I’m not even sure if this placing things on top of each other and using ZProject is the smartest way to copy detail anyway. It would be easier to slash both subtools in half and weld the meaningful (=detailed) halves together - but that would require precise placing just the same!

#4

I realized, the verbal explanation is probably not the clearest. Here’s a screenshot of what I mean.

My goal here is to make a cube exactly like those two, but it has one side like in “cube a” and another (adjacent side) like in “cube b”. The actual work piece is a bit more complex, but this will demonstrate what I mean.

Clipboard01.jpg