ZBrushCentral

rigging with zspheres, deformation

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

hello everyone

Recently i started rigging in zBrush. I watched several tutorials, but i have come across some problems.

First: When i insert a new zsphere in draw-mode and then try to move it to the place i want that zsphere to be,
the one that i drew the new zsphere upon moves also. This is a little annoying for i have to do the work of
positioning the zspheres several times. Is this the way this process is meant to be?

Second: Rigging a model is often a trial and error process. So basically i draw, delete, move, scale and rotate the zspheres around.
I do this when the mesh is not bound. But when i bind the geometry firstly the alterations are where i wanted them to be. However unbinding the mesh puts the spheres again in the places and sizes before i changed them. Sometimes the spheres go even completely wild and are suddenly criss cross connected. Is there a way to alter a rig that is more practical? For I find it very time consuming to start from scratch every time the described behavior occurs.

Third: Deformation. I suppose the whole process is designed to quickly pose a geometry and then continue sculpting.
But the better the deformation the less work with sculpting. In one of the above mentioned tutorials, which is already two years old,
i was introduced to some techniques. I consider the demonstrated deformation as insufficient. Basically bendy arms and legs.
I have experimented a little and i post some examples for the knee, pelvis and the elbow. Both are not sculpted after rig-deformation.
Has anybody also experimented with zsphere-rigs in order to achieve anatomically more realistic deformation?
I would be very pleased if you could share your results.

Forth: When rotating the elbow of my rig, the upper body moves slightly. How can that be?

Thank you for your interest.

sincerely
theo

p.s.: to define the first zsphere, which in the tutorials is referred to as the center of gravity, as the pelvis bears problems
when rotated. The whole structure behaves strangely. Therefore i insert one zsphere below this so called center of gravity and
build the spine on top of center of gravity. This allows better pelvis rotation. (The zsphere below the center becomes the origin of the legs)

Attachments

elbow_def.jpg

elbow_rig.jpg

knee_def.jpg

knee_rig.jpg

pelvis_def.jpg

pelvis_rig.jpg

#2

first, may be draw size and or where you are dragging
second, did you start with the rig>adaptive skin in T pose?
third, more zspheres = more control; mesh needs to be dense enough so points are there to move
fourth, maybe moving a different part of the arm would give better results

#3

Hello Doug

Thank you for your reply.
Sorry for answering so late, i live in another timezone.

Thanks for the hint with the draw size. I didn’t know that this radius has an impact with zspheres.

I work with a single tool.
I started with a zsphere and then chose the mesh in the rigging palette.
I didn’t use transpose master.

It is quite evident that the more zsphere you apply the more control you have.
But the question is rather how to apply the spheres in order to achieve the best possible results.
Besides the density, i suppose the topology has some impact on how the mesh is deformed.
And then humanoid forms all follow more or less the same patterns, that is why i am sure that
there is a way to optimize rigging.

theo

#4

[QUOTE=timholz;]

I work with a single tool.
I started with a zsphere and then chose the mesh in the rigging palette.
I didn’t use transpose master.

It is quite evident that the more zsphere you apply the more control you have.
But the question is rather how to apply the spheres in order to achieve the best possible results.
Besides the density, i suppose the topology has some impact on how the mesh is deformed.
And then humanoid forms all follow more or less the same patterns, that is why i am sure that
there is a way to optimize rigging.

theo[/QUOTE]
All of the limited things I’ve done with rigging have involved starting with the ZSphere armature and creating an adaptive skin from it before going into the rigging panel to bind mesh. Haven’t watched enough videos on to to become proficient yet.

#5

hello Doug

Thanks for responding.
That’s right, creating an adaptive skin from an armature is another feature.

good luck to you
theo