To keep it simple, rigging department is driving displacement maps with compression/stretch vertex color data.
I can make a generalized “wrinkle” sculpt all over the face, but that doesn’t help with custom wrinkle formations specific to an individual’s face skin.
I have my “base” shape in zbrush given to me by rigging and also multiple other shapes (brow up, sneer, smile, for example) so I can replace the base mesh with to try and sculpt the specific wrinkles that happen in those facial positions. Easy enough.
Problem is with the layer system. I can bring in a fresh neutral face base mesh.
*Smooth it five times for resolution.
*Create a new layer, call it “brow up”
*While still on record, bring the smooth level back to 0
*Import my “brow up” facial shape
*Return to highest level, sculpt my brow up wrinkles/forehead creases, etc.
*Turn Record off, because I’m done sculpting my layer containing eyebrow up wrinkles.
*Return to level 0, and import in next shape, (for example), sneer shape
*Return to highest level, and BLAM! The details I sculpted for “eyebrows up” are partially there, but look shallow and completely not how they should look
Are the zbrush layers in record mode, recording the base shapes vertex positions completely or is it not able to hold deep changes to the current base?
I haven’t played around with the “import mdd” function, but maybe that is a workaround to this whole problem I"m having. If I can import an animation of like 20 poses over 20 frames and keep each pose’s sculpted wrinkle detail on a separate layer, that would be ideal.