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ZBrush For Poser/Daz3D Models

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I searched around a bit on here and Google, but I keep getting conflicting opinions. I have messed around with Maya, 3D Studio, Motionbuilder, and Mudbox. Mudbox hit the spot, I loved to model with it. I came across ZBrush and the 2D/2.5D drawing is exactly what I need.

Currently I started using 3Ds (Modeling/Animating) with Photoshop (Painting/Editing). After I used ZBrush on my friends computer I am in love with it, but when I read that you could use ZBrush models with Poser - I got excited.

So…
If I created a model of…let’s say…Godzilla, would I be able to import it into Poser, rig it (Is Poser capable of rigging?), and then animate it? The reason for me asking is some people complained that their models get messed up in Poser.

A simple yes or no will suffice for me - you can explain if you want (No pressure!) :smiley: Thanks!

#2

>> would I be able to import it into Poser,
Yes, as an .obj, within 100K-300K polygons. You will want to generate displacement or normal maps for higher levels of detail and texture maps for color.

>>> rig it (Is Poser capable of rigging?),
Yes, Poser supports built-in rigging, but its challenging and not very similar to other approaches. You’ll want to get your hands on B.L. Render’s “Secrets of Figure Creation in Poser 5” (even if you’re working with more recent versions such as Poser 7 or 8). His book is the most lucid I know of on the topic. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Figure-Creation-Poser-5/dp/0240519299

>> and then animate it?
Yes, within Poser’s simple framework.

More extensive rigging and animation would be available to you in a more general purpose packages such as Maya or C4D.

Poser figure creators do a lot of work with hand painted UV maps. You will also need a tool that lets you name polygon groups for rigging (sometimes called “parts”) and other groups called materials for surface texture management. This will necessitate a tool like UV Mapper Pro, Modo, or Silo. (I recommend Modo if your budget can support it, otherwise, UV Mapper Pro is a good all-around UV and polygon tagging tool.) http://www.uvmapper.com/index.html

Almost any good polygon modeler will do as long is supports both poly groups “parts” and “materials” (some only support materials, which is inadequate for rigging poser/daz studio models.)

-K

#3

Thanks! (ALOT)

#4

As an aside, if you’re interested in learning how to animate characters, a good starting point are Jeff Lew’s tutorials: http://www.jefflew.com/index.html

He uses Hash’s Animation:Master (A program I do NOT recommend to my own students, but Jeff likes it) but many of the concepts will translate easily to Poser, Lightwave, C4D, and Maya.

I didn’t mention this earlier, but one of your editing/animating choices you should consider (either separately or as an adjunct to your poser work) would be the Blender program. It has a novel (to be kind) interface, but lately they have been doing a lot of work to make it more accessible to a wider audience. It’s a no-cost option worth looking at here: http://www.blender.org/

The version 2.5 is just alpha at this point (2.49 is current) but its shaping up to be a great release of their system.

-K