I am beginner in zbrush and i need to do folds on leather pants, but no matter how hard I try to do it with cloth brushes and Transpose Cloth, I can’t get it right, only curved folds are obtained. I just need advice on how best to do these folds and I apologize for my english!
Hello @Farmose
This is difficult to explain to a beginner, because it requires knowledge of many fundamental concepts in ZBrush.
To start, I would not choose to employ Dynamics for this situation. There’s always going to be trial and error involved with Dynamics, so it is best used in situations where the amount of work it saves you overcomes that trial and error. For such a small spot application it would be many times easier to just sculpt those folds in. In a few minutes you can be done and on your way, vs a half hour of trying to coax just the right results out of dynamics.
Lazy Mouse can let you sculpt long, smooth flowing strokes. Or you could paint the folds you want to inflate with masking lines, invert the mask, and use a Tool> Deformation> Inflate operations to inflate them outward to the desired degree.
To answer your question however, to get good results out of Dynamics in this situation, you will need well-drawn topology with well-shaped, square polygons, precise masking, and the Transpose Cloth manipulator aligned at the proper angle. You will also most likely need to do some touch up with a low intensity smoothing brush.
- In the image below I have oriented the Transpose Cloth/Gizmo manipulator along the exact axis I wish the folds to compress. However, my topology is a poor fit for the situation. Not only are my polygons slightly stretched and non-square, but the loops aren’t flowing in the correct direction to get the best results. They should be perpendicular to the axis I have defined.
- Proper topology is especially important in this situation because with Dynamics you always want to keep your mesh as low poly as possible, while still getting the results you need. Trying to compress the existing topology in the manner I wish will create results like you’re getting, where the folds are jagged where the fold jumps from one loop to another. If they were flowing in the correct direction, there would be less opportunity for this to happen. Think of it like an accordion–keeping all the folds in line so it expands and contracts in predictable fashion.
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To correct my topology here , I quickly draw out some loops in the proper orientation with ZRemesher Guides, and give it a quick ZRemesh. You can cause a guide curve to wrap around the mesh my holding down Shift after you start your curve, and dragging off to the side of the mesh.
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I give the target mesh a quick ZRemesh at default settings. It draws the loops near the knees in the direction I need them to go, and also redistributes the polygons of the mesh so that they are evenly distributed and much closer to square shaped ( ideal Zbrush topology is square-shaped quads).
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I mask my target area, then invert and soften it with mask blurring.
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Then with the Transpose Cloth/Gizmo manipulator I slowly compress that area with the scale function aligned along the green axis. You will need to experiment until you find a level of subdivision that produces the size folds that you need. Too much mesh resolution, and the folds will be too fine, as well as producing unwanted additional wrinkles. Likewise different Dynamics settings may produce better result–experiment until you find the best approach. Concentrate on the quality of folds you are getting, and don’t be concerned with minor artifacts. You are going to smooth those away.
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With a smooth brush set to low intensity, I go over the area and remove the minor surface distortion, as well as smooth the appearance of the folds in places where they are too extreme. With a bit of artistry you could improve the appearance further, for instance with a pinch brush set to low ZIntensity you could compress the wrinkles further in the crease of the joint.
Good luck! 
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Thank you very much! It looks hard, but I will try to learn how to work with topology. You are my savior. I’ve already started to create folds with ClothMove, but I think it will be faster and better with this method.