Has anyone try to animate there high detail model , then render it in Redshift renderer. I’m looking around but everyone seems to disseminate there models for static rendering. It would still be a lot of poly count for animation project.
It seems for animation there’s options like displacement and vector displacement maps. So far I’m not getting all the details I have in my sculpted models from this method. I’m just wondering if anyone got this right.
To get all of the details from your ZBrush model into any other renderer, you do need to use displacement and/or normal maps.
In order for this to be successful, you must keep in mind a few things that are common sense when you think about it, but easy to overlook when you’re new. How many polygons are in your model and what is the size of the map that you’re creating?
These factors are important because no map can hold more data than it has pixels. A 1024x1024 map has ~1 million pixels. That means if your model has more than 1 million polygons, a map of this size just won’t cut it. A 2K map is about 4 million pixels. A 4K map is around 16 million pixels.
But even then it’s not totally straightforward because it depends on your UV mapping. All UV mapping has wasted space that is outside the UV shells. On average, 25% of your map is simply wasted space. So in real world terms, a 2K map is only good for about 3 million polygons and a 4K map is only good for around 10-12 million.
If your model has more polygons than your map can hold, it’s time to split the model into more SubTools so that it can use more maps. (Or you need to use more complicated UV mapping that spans multiple regions across a single SubTool. This kind of mapping can’t be created by ZBrush but you can create maps for it via MultiMap Exporter. For most users, it’s easier and faster to just use more SubTools instead.)
If you are using the right size map for your model but are still getting poor results then it is one of two possibilities:
- You are following bad workflow in creating your maps. An example of this is to not restore your base mesh prior to creating your displacement map. This results in “puffy” displacements in your render.
- You are creating your map properly, but applying it incorrectly in your rendering engine. For that you would need to talk to other Redshift users rather than ZBrush users.
I hope that helps!
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