Zbrush exports flat, grey, low detailed displacment maps - help!

[jeos]

Hello together! I am very new to this page, but i have a really bad issue with zbrush 2018 for a few days now.

I sculpted a character, did the usual steps with uv mapping and projecting and now i want to export the displacement map through the MultiMapExporter for maya as exr file. But all i get is just a really flat, grey image with really rare details!! Does anyone had ever this issue?

If i create a new project and make a simple sphere with skin texture (just to simulate my “problem project”) i get good displacement maps as usual. But i have problems with my character file!

If anyone can help would be great!

Thanks!

[Spyndel]

Hello @jeos,

Displacement maps are the difference between the highest subdivision level, and the level of geometry you are generating the maps for. If there’s not much of a difference–for instance if you were generating the maps for the second highest level of subdivision–there won’t be much of a map.

In situations where there difference in detail is very slight, it is entirely possible to generate a map with elevation changes so subtle, you may not be able to perceive them with the naked eye. It would look like a mostly grey map, and you would have to apply the map to see what kind of difference it actually makes.

[jeos]

Hello Spyndel,

thanks for your fast reply! Theoretical i know about that.

I export the displacement map from the lowest subdivision level (1)
and my high-resolution-mesh has 6 subdivision levels - and as the pictures shows, there should be enough dirffrences.

What I explored in the last hours, is that when I scale up my mehs or click the button “get scale” in the multimapexporter menu - i finally can see the displacement map in the exr file, when i open it in photoshop!!

Do you have an explination for that? Could be a too small mesh create the issue?

[zber2]

HI @jeos

@jeos

i have a really bad issue with zbrush 2018

The latest version is ZBrush 2021.5.1. You are missing out on a lot of bug fixes and awesome new features. You really should upgrade. Upgrades are still free to registered users. Just follow the Upgrading From an Earlier ZBrush Version instructions to upgrade.