ZBrushCentral

3DS Max to ZBrush Video Game Character Workflow problem

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hello, I am new to this forum, and to ZBrush, but I’ve been a video game character modeler for a few years now. I was creating characters for some DS(which are very low-res) and PSP games, and now I want to create some hi-res(XBox 360, PS3) characters. I just started using ZBrush a few months ago, and its awesome! :eek:

I was wondering, can anyone give me any kind of tips to a good workflow? Preferably a workflow from start to finish. :smiley:

I started a model in 3DS Max, saved a lower res version, and imported it into ZBrush. I’m adding detail to the model now and I’m kind of at a block. :confused:

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

#2

I work in maya, but the basic workflow is the same. If the character is mostly organic and not too much hard surface, then just sculpt the crap out of it in zbrush. I usually start with zspheres and then retopologize the high res sculpt. You can retopo. in zbrush or in max. If you do it in max then you export a lower res version of your high res sculpt that still maintains most of your detail but is low res enough for max to handle it. After you retopo it then you do the uv’s. Then you can extract the data for normal maps through zbrush’s zmapper or in max. I think you probably know the rest from there.

Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck!

#3

Hey, thanks for the help! One more question. OK so, after I retopo it in max or zbrush, and I want to use zbrush to extract the normal map, what version of the model do I bring into zbrush? If I use the retopo-ed model, wouldn’t there be not enough detail to extract from? Or do I use a higher res retop-ed version? Alright, I guess that was more than one question! :slight_smile:

#4

After you retopo the high res mesh you have a high res bad topo mesh with all the detail you want and a low res good topo mesh with uv’s done. Now in zbrush you make the good topo mesh a subtool of the bad topo mesh and crease then subdivide the new good topo mesh until it has a similar # of poly’s as the high res bad topo mesh. On the good topo mesh at its highest subdivision you “store morph target”. Then while both subtools are showing and you have the good topo mesh selected, do a “project all” found at the bottom of your sub tool pallete. Usually from here you’ll have some wonky areas on the good topo mesh, but since you “stored the morph target” you can now use the morph brush to smooth out the bad areas and the zproject brush to reproject in the trouble areas. It’s not magic, it’ll take some back and forth with this process to get it right. Once you’re done with that you can now extract all the high res data from the bad topo mesh to make your Normal Map using zbrush’s zmapper. You then can edit the NM in photoshop and apply it to your low res game mesh in max. It might be easier to email me directly if you have any more questions. Remember zbrush by default flips your maps, you can change that or just flip it in photoshop.

There are some variations to this process depending on what your sculpt consists of, but in general terms this should work.

Lots of info, good luck. :slight_smile:

#5

Awesome! I’ll be giving it a try as soon as I’m finished sculpting, and if I have any other questions I’ll email you. Thanks again for all your help!