Hi Grimbot,
ABOUT MULTIMARKERS:
I’d like to pass on some info on MultiMarkers that may help…
Multimarker use involves commands from several different palettes. A while back I tried to simplify the process with a set of MultiMarker buttons that were added to the MOLDY2 modeling tool.
First, a comment on Multimarker group operations in ZBrush 2: You may have noticed that the first element in the group disappears while the group is being manipulated, then reappears when the mouse button is released. The old version, ZBrush 1.55b, didn’t have this feature.
Note that the element that disappears is always the FIRST element in the MultiMarker group. You can simply reverse the order so that the last element becomes the FIRST by pressing the REORDER button on the MARKER menu. A neat little trick is to add a DUMMY object as the last object in the group, then REORDER. The dummy becomes the first object and the one that disappears during moves. Be sure to place the dummy relative to the other objects in the MultiMarker group since it becomes the CENTER OF ROTATION. After you get your MultiMarker elements properly situated and scaled, you can delete the DUMMY, then, if you want, convert the MultiMarker Group to a polymesh.
What the MultiMarker buttons in Moldy2 do:
Update MM - lets you fix the current relationships between the various elements in the Multimarker group in their Home Position. (note that the scale of the FIRST object in the group determines the scale of the entire Multimarker complex. When you Update MM the scale of the complex will change accordingly.)
Move MM - This puts the MultiMarker Group into the TRANSFORM:MOVE mode displaying the Canvas Gyro over the first element in the MM group. Move the group up,down,left,right and UNCLICK when done (note the little green LED also indicates when a button is in effect)
Scale MM - Lets you scale the entire MultiMarker Group, again with the canvas Gyro.
Scale 1 - lets you scale each element of the MultiMarker Group, individually.
Rotate 1 - lets you rotate each element of the MultiMarker Group, individually… however, the rotation is hard to control (as you may have already discovered). Sometimes it works best to rotate the element, then Update, then rotate it some more, then Update again and so on. The other thing to do is to get the elements positioned, Update the MultiMarker Group, then select the individual object for editing and rotate it outside of MultiMarker. (Remember to update the Multimarker for the individual object!)
SetNew MM - This lets you set a whole NEW orientation for the MultiMarker Group, as a whole.
Make Poly - Generates a polymesh for the whole MultiMarker Group and automatically assigns a 2048x2048 map that consolidates thetextures used by the individual elements.
That’s what they do.
ABOUT MOLDY - Moldy also provides OTHER BUTTONS useful when doing MultiMarker operations:
The axis orientation buttons let you turn the MultiMarker Group by 90 degrees , front, back, left, right, top, bottom. This makes adjustments of MultiMarker elements MUCH EASIER and more accurate.
You can also STORE and RETRIEVE transform information for the MultiMarker Group using the four buttons (with LEDs) bottom center. There are FOUR numbered buttons: press a number button to STORE the current orientation of the MultiMarker Group. press a gnumber button to set the MultiMarker Group back to the stored view. This can be handy for working up close or far from the Group or to temporarily view the Group from an oblique view.
The CENTER button repositions the MultiMarker group so the first element is placed in the center of the canvas.
To find Moldy2, click the link below my signature. Put the Moldy file in your ZScripts folder and load it using the Zscript menu.
Sven
