ZBrushCentral

3.5R3 (Import/export Scale issues with subtools and transpose master)

I agree with the above sentiments. And this has also cost a significant amount of money in production time lost dealing with this issue.

I’d prefer to see less ancilliary innovations like paintstop, lightbox, 3d printing exporter, etc. and more fundamental fixes to the core program in the future. I.e. fix the scale/offset bugs, fix the crashiness of the lazy stroke, etc.

-kip

Hi,

I had the same problem with sub-tools and changed scale then importing OBJs. I’ve solved that by cloning all sub-tools and re-attaching to sphere primitive. I allways kept that sphere selected before attaching new sub-tool. I’ve exported OBJs for UVs and imported back and this trick helped me.

Please throw in another ‘this is a massive pain’ from me. Trying to export a character with multiple subtools & it’s a HUGE headache to manually fix everything.

My hat is in the ring on this one too, support.

I exported my models as OBJs from Maya, imported them and assembled them in 3.5R3 as subtools, did some sculpting, modeled a new subtool in maya, imported it in 3.5R3… and the scale is is way off (almost 10 times bigger).

When I export the differently sized tools (3.5R3) and import them in Maya, they are the same size.

Ugh… Where did the scale get messed up and why is it different in ZBrush and THE SAME in maya???

100% agree, I think stability of core features should be given a higher priority.
I was hoping a hotfix or the sort would have been released by now, as this impacts many people’s work.

It might be right around the corner. I am testing a solution from Pixologic. We could have it solved shortly.

Good to hear Martin, this problem has been bugging me too.

Just to remind everyone about the work around. There is a step-by-step in this thread and also found here, http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=78040&page=2.

Paul

Maybe this will help someone.

1 Before exporting subtool, make sure the scale is 1 and offsets 0,0,0
2 Do whatever you want with the mesh, after importing it back to zb set the export values again to 1,0,0,0
3 Import the same mesh again without dropping the tool.

Works 4 me, but i have test it only for a while.

Cheers.

100% agree, I think stability of core features should be given a higher priority.
I was hoping a hotfix or the sort would have been released by now, as this impacts many people’s work.[/QUOTE]100% agree 2

i am working on a terrain. I am facing few problems.i am sorry guys If you already discussed about these issue before. but I couldn’t find this.

problem no 1- translation and rotation while exporting back to maya as .ma

  • I exported the base mesh as .ma file did all the details in zbrush.After detailing I export the base mesh back to maya.
    -Did some Uv Changes, importing back into Zbrush .
    -After working on the detail , If I export the base mesh to maya as .ma file . the mesh has some translation value and rotation value y=90.If i make all 0. it come to the proper position. this is not happening with obj.

problem no 2-UV breaks

  • I exported the base mesh as .ma file did all the details in zbrush.
    -After creating displacement map when i export the base mesh to maya as .ma file UVs of individual faces break.
    -If i export from the same mesh from zbrush as an obj. the uv looks fine. In this case i have to connect the displacement node and settings again in maya.
    PS: I checkd the mrg button while importing and exporting.

We have two version of Zbrush both Mac 3.2 and windows 3.5r3 in the office.Ztool which is created in mac 3.2 is not opening in window 3.5. Is that a common problem or am I missing something?.

sahaya ramesh.
http://www.ra-mesh.com

Sahayaramesh

Yes currently you can not open a mac tool in the PC version. This will change with the update. Just export the obj at the highest level and do a reconstruct of subdivision levels for now.

If you are going into Maya do not have the Mgr on. I have no rendering issues with .ma files.

Paul

@ Mikademius, any word on the tool you’re testing from Pixologic?

This issue has made a couple of tight deadlines a little tighter and cost my time and money. The band-aid fixed mentioned in this thread have been lifesavers (thank you!) but I agree, a Pixologic sanctioned fix would be great.

I’m sorry. All information is at this stage confidential.

thanks guys for the reply…

Any idea about the rotation and scaling issue??

sahaya ramesh.
http://www.ra-mesh.com

Fist off I want to say thank you nickZ your awesome.

I experienced the same issue myself and I found that yes I can switch tools and import the problematic mesh to find out what its scale and offset values are. I can then export it in the correct size and space as an OBJ. The problem I am having is when I create an object outside Zbrush in another app and try to import it, it is the incorrect scale and position than where I previously modeled it, based on the correctly exported subtool as reference.

So in short, I cannot import objects to match my mesh. Any ideas on how to fix this?

Aberrant,

Can you try this and let me know if it works:

  1. Clone the top subtool by pressing Tool>Clone.
  2. Switch to the clone.
  3. Go to the lowest subdivision level, then delete the higher levels by pressing Tool>Geometry>Del Higher.
  4. Without switching tools, import the OBJ. It will replace the clone.
  5. Switch back to the original model and append the imported mesh.

Thank you marcus_civis for the reply. I gave it a try with no luck. I see what you were trying to do though. By cloning the top sub tool you ensure the scale is correct, and then by importing at the lowest subD level is another way to ensure that, since it is using the original tools scale.

I am not sure why, but it is still extremely large. I used the deformation tools and scaled it down and offset it by hand, but if this needed precision, it would not be possible to fudge it in place.

Another thing I noticed is that when I clone, it does not select the clone, it renames the current tool and the past tool (the one you were on when you pressed clone) is the one that loses its subtools. I tried both ways but I found it was best to switch to the clone and then delete and import so I could switch to my ztool with subtools and append without having to re-load tools.

Thanks again for the reply, I will post back if I find any solutions.

I found a reason for the translation and rotation values in the .ma file while exporting back to maya.thought of sharing with you guys

-I did the base mesh in maya. -Imported in Zbrush and started blocking. -After blocking Exported the base mesh to maya as .ma file fixed the UVs and saved as .ma file and imported back in to Zbrush. -Now if I export the base mesh as .ma file. When I open that file in maya It gives a translation value of x=100.1, rotation Y=90. -In different files I used to get different values. This was the problem I was facing so far. Now when I was trying to save these files to send them to pixologic support , I found another issue. -I Exported the base mesh and gave a file name as follows zb_win_3.5r3_translation_rotation_issue.ma . I got a surprise. -When I opened this file in maya ,The object was in the place where it has to be. It is not having any translation or rotation values. But in the outliner I am getting these two nodes. 1.zb_win_3_5r3_translation_rotation_issue : which is a empty node. 2._UNKNOWN_REF_NODE_fosterParent1 : which is the mesh node.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sahayarameshb/Zbrush35R3windows_issue#5440412741306008050

Again I exported the .Ma file and gave the name zb_win_3.5r3.ma(just for testing). I get the same nodes. if I give any other file names, It gives the translation and rotation values. See

http://picasaweb.google.com/sahayarameshb/Zbrush35R3windows_issue#5440412760674331202

One more thing I found out is The translation and rotation values I mentioned before in the particular file is the default side camera translation and rotation values of maya. see [http://picasaweb.google.com/sahayarameshb/Zbrush35R3windows_issue#5440412685507983858](http://picasaweb.google.com/sahayarameshb/Zbrush35R3windows_issue#5440412685507983858) In another file I got some other value See [http://picasaweb.google.com/sahayarameshb/Zbrush35R3windows_issue#5440412776908393026](http://picasaweb.google.com/sahayarameshb/Zbrush35R3windows_issue#5440412776908393026) Doubt: -why does the file name zb_win_3.5r3 affects the object values and nodes. -how maya camera information affects the import export operation.

Did any one face the same problem?. please share

You can download this Ztool and snapshots from my website http://www.ra-mesh.com/zbrush3.5R3windows_issue.htm

sahaya ramesh. [http://www.ra-mesh.com](http://www.ra-mesh.com/) Looking for Work

For my particular needs;

Exporting correct scale in relation to your top sub tool.

Importing correct scale in relation to your top sub tool.

The solution posted by aurick fixes the exporting scale issue (correct porportions in comparison to your top sub tool).

The solution posted by marcus_civis fixed the importing scale issue and export scale issue.

I feel the solution posted by marcus_civis is the best one because it seems to fix both issues for me on both import and export. Thank you both for your help with this. Now lets see how UV’s work out, if I can import the new base mesh without it exploding. :confused: