ZBrushCentral

SmoothGroupImport for Max with ZBrush (Mac version available 11-20-08)

Shared ZScripts & Macros
#1

[attach=83334]SmoothGrp.jpg[/attach]

This plugin is designed for those who like to work with smoothing groups in Max or an app that supports them. It will import an OBJ into ZBrush and automatically crease the borders of any smoothing groups. If there are regular groups these are unaffected.

Update 11/20/2008:
This plugin is now available for ZBrush 3.1 PC and ZBrush 3.12 Mac. You can get it from the Download Center.

INSTRUCTIONS

Press the button and select an OBJ file from disk. You will have the option of importing into a mesh in Edit mode if you wish. The file will be imported and if there are smoothing groups defined the borders of each group will be creased.

To uncrease the smoothing groups after subdividing to the required level, SHIFT+click the Tool:Geometry:UnCrease button.

INSTALLATION

The zip contains:

SmoothGroupImport.zsc - the plugin file
SmoothGroupImportData - a folder which contains:
ZFileUtils.dll - the dll file

SmoothGroupImport_readme.txt - the readme file

Unzip the zip file to your ZBrush3\ZStartup\ZPlugs folder so that the structure is like this:

ZBrush3|–ZStartup|–ZPlugs
… SmoothGroupImport.zsc|–SmoothGroupImportData
… ZFileUtils.dll
Restart ZBrush. You should now have an Import & Crease button in the Tool palette (below the Import button).

I worked on this plugin while Anne-Lise was developing the ZFileUtils DLL, and the plugin makes use of several of the functions that the DLL provides. The ZFileUtils is available for all zscripters to use. For information relating to this plugin see here and for ZFileUtils see here .

I hope you find the plugin useful.

[attach=83335]thumb.jpg[/attach]

Attachments

SmoothGrp.jpg

thumb.jpg

1 Like
#2

Hi Marcus,

Just tested it out. Works Great!

Thanks,

TD

#3

Marcus is a very usefull Plugin. It work at home,with Max ,but at work i use XSI and it does not seem to import XSI hardedge? or am i suppose to import something else from XSI?

Thanks Marcus

#4

Oh man… That is REALLY cool!!!

I work with smotthing groups so often…

Thats frakin usefull…

thanks a lot marcus!!!:+1: :+1: :+1:

Should be top row…

#5

This is gonna be very useful! :+1:

#6

Thanks for the comments guys. :slight_smile:

supermanu,

Smoothing Groups are basically a Max feature, though I understand you can include the information when exporting an OBJ from Maya. Is it possible to include the hardedge data when exporting an OBJ from XSI? If it is, it might be possible to extend the plugin.

#7

You could use Maya’s Sets or Materials instead of Smoothiing groups.

#8

thank you marcus, too bad i havent got max :cry:

as with XSI, it uses “hard edge” in conjunction with the geo approx settings. I have no clue whether any of this info is stored in the exported obj.
My guess is no.

#9

Hello Marcus. I try everything that cross my mind in XSI… and i didn’t find a way to export smoothing group (hardedges in xsi)… :cry: .
Maybe there is a way by coding some kind of export from XSI… but, is way above my technical competences. I will ask some tech gurou friend of mine.

Anyway, is very usefull when I’m in MAX!

thanks again :+1:

Manu

#10

Sounds terrific. Anyone tested it regarding the exploding meshes?

#11

Wow, looks like a really useful plugin, I can’t wait to try it out. Thanks Marcus!

#12

great plug-in. thanks

#13

i dont really get it i guess my english cg vocabulary isnt enough. with this plugin can i for example import a house box modelled in cinema4d and it will keep it that way even though i subdivide? if yes that would be awesome. whats a smoothing group in an imported obj? like a hyper nurb?

#14

Gracias marcus. Siempre facilitándonos las cosas.

#15

Just to answer my question in case others are interested: it seems to work out fine. Note I only used it to import the initial model. Later imports (with changed UV) were done with the standard import function.

Thanks for the plugin! I remember wanting this back in the ZB2 days.

#16

this thing is freakin AMAZING! thanks for posting :smiley:

#17

Thank you Marcus, it works very well. :+1:

#18

What a shame this can’t be extended to respect edge creasing from other applications. If it could, it would solve one of my top 3 complaints about Zbrush (that native edge creasing operations are too hard to use for complex meshes, and all the time spent increasing edge geometry in an outside app soley for use in ZB is wasteful in time and polycounts).

So close, and yet so far. Still, thanks for your continuing work, Marcus.

#19

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. :slight_smile:

Scott,

It would certainly be great to extend this to other applications but with this approach I’m limited to what data the OBJ carries. For smoothing groups it’s straightforward in that they are much like ordinary polygroups; each group can be isolated and the edges creased. In theory it would be possible to extend this for other apps but only if they export relevant data with the OBJ. XSI, for example, doesn’t export hardedge data so there’s nothing that can be done.

#20

marcus you are my hero! thx for this. I love th fact that it asks if i want to create new on import! Can you change the regular import to do the same? :stuck_out_tongue:

good work!