Answered: Photoshop to Zbrush (and Back)?

[system]

I am very new to ZBrush. I am an expert in Photoshop. I am testing ZBrush it to see if it is something I can use incorporate with my Photoshop workflow. So far I haven’t had any luck opening or importing files from Photoshop. The file I tried to import was squeezed into some pre-determined ZBrush default screen size, and the layers were all merged into one. Also to colors… Nothing like the original Photoshop file.

I tried going through the menus with the thought that I could find an option that lets me size up a blank document before I import. But I only found “Width” and “Height” when I clicked on the Document pull-down menu. How do “Width” and “Height” relate to Photoshop (like pixels, for example - which, in Photoshop, are directly related to RESOLUTION)? Is Width and Height in ZBrush pixels? If so, at what resolution? Am I looking at this the wrong way?

Is there a comprehensive way to create a simple workflow between Photoshop and ZBrush?

Thank you for any instructive suggestions!

[aurick]

ZBrush is 72 dpi. But the pixel size of the image is the dimensions of the canvas that ZBrush will use.

To import an image into ZBrush as the canvas you have two options:

A) Resize the canvas (Document) to match the dimensions of the image that you’ll import. Select the Flat Color material. Now use Document >> Import to load your PSD.

B) Use Texture >> Import to load the PSD. Select the newly imported texture. Select the Flat Color material. Press Texture >> CropAndFill to resize the document automatically and fill it with the image.

The reason your colors are changing is because ZBrush is powered by a real-time 3D rendering engine. This means that the color you see is influenced by both the RGB value AND the underlying shader (material). When you import an image to the canvas or do a CropAndFill, ZBrush uses the currently selected material. Since the default material at launch is the Red Wax MatCap, that will have a dramatic impact on the rendered color. This is why my steps specified the Flat Color material. That one is immune to the shading system, giving you the pure colors of your image. Of course, since it’s immune to shading that also means it will not receive shadow. If you want shadow to end up being cast on your image at some point, you would want to use a different material and then adjust that material’s values to keep the colors unchanged.

Regardless, ZBrush does not support Photoshop’s layer system. All PSD’s loaded into ZBrush will automatically be flattened.

[system]

ZBrush is 72 dpi. But the pixel size of the image is the dimensions of the canvas that ZBrush will use.

To import an image into ZBrush as the canvas you have two options:

A) Resize the canvas (Document) to match the dimensions of the image that you’ll import. Select the Flat Color material. Now use Document >> Import to load your PSD.

B) Use Texture >> Import to load the PSD. Select the newly imported texture. Select the Flat Color material. Press Texture >> CropAndFill to resize the document automatically and fill it with the image.

The reason your colors are changing is because ZBrush is powered by a real-time 3D rendering engine. This means that the color you see is influenced by both the RGB value AND the underlying shader (material). When you import an image to the canvas or do a CropAndFill, ZBrush uses the currently selected material. Since the default material at launch is the Red Wax MatCap, that will have a dramatic impact on the rendered color. This is why my steps specified the Flat Color material. That one is immune to the shading system, giving you the pure colors of your image. Of course, since it’s immune to shading that also means it will not receive shadow. If you want shadow to end up being cast on your image at some point, you would want to use a different material and then adjust that material’s values to keep the colors unchanged.

Regardless, ZBrush does not support Photoshop’s layer system. All PSD’s loaded into ZBrush will automatically be flattened.

Thank you, Aurick, for the helpful tips and also for the welcome to the forum. I saw a brief video on GoZ on here. It was showing a user switching between Photoshop and ZBrush at ease. Is GoZ useful for importing PS into ZBrush? I looked for instructional videos with steps on how to do it; except for that short video I could not find anything. I also saw a “Zapplink” download in there. It mentioned Photoshop integration. It has a brief PDF manual with it, mostly about how to install it. Is Zapplink the thing to look into for importing and working with Photoshop files as well?

Thanks again,
Tochak

[aurick]

GoZ requires CS5 or above and the Extended version. Its function is to let you send a textured model to Photoshop and paint on the texture there in full 3D.

As for ZAppLink, it comes with ZBrush and I’m guessing you haven’t read the ZBrush4_ZAppLink_documentation.pdf file found in your ZBrush installation’s Documentation\Plugins folder. It has 8 lines of installation instructions (which can be ignored, since it’s now included with ZBrush) and the rest of the 6 page document is how to use its various features.