[Beginner question(s)]: Model definition/divide trouble

[system]

Hi all!

First of all, sorry for my unperfect english, i’m french & miss lots of words !

I’ve just discovered Zbrush (been playing with the trial version for a bunch of days now), and this tool and it’s amazing features really attracts me !

I’m still very newb at the using Zbrush, i’m at step 1/50 on L2UseZbrush :o

I’ve already played with the 2.5D part of the tool for a few hours, then went for some basic sculpting, still discovering features as I go deeper in the interface examination.

Then, instead of starting for scratch, I’ve decided to import a random model from a popular 3D game and rework it, ideally to make a screenshot of some sort or something else.

I first convert my game model to a *.ms3d file, then in MilkShape3D, export it to Wavefront OBJ, which I then open into Zbrush.
The model shows as low-poly (normal i guess since it’s RT3D), and i’m willing to raise the polycount to smooth it, and this is where I fail.

Since a small picture is better than a long text, here is one:

I’ve been unable to use the Geometry > Divide function without causing those holes & fissures, even after using crease tool (~15).

I then though about filling the model (since it’s an empty enveloppe) with material so the cracks would dissapear but couldn’t find how, neither into Zbrush itself, or by looking on the web/forums…I’ve used the search function !
Either am I retarded or get really bad luck, any suggestions, directions or ideas concerning this issue are welcome!

I’d like to apologize for this newbie post (first :ex: ), I bet this kind of questions / issues has already been asked & solved many times, but since I couldn’t find it on my own, I request your help. :rolleyes:

Thanks in advance for your help, and good days to Zbrushers.

P.S: It’s my birthday in 3 days, and know what ? I asked my parents ZBrush for present

[aurick]

You’ll get the best results if the model is all quads, and the points are welded. The pull-apart effect is caused by non-welded edges/points. The reason why crease doesn’t prevent the effect in some places is mostly due to the fact that the model is triangles.

[system]

Hi aurick.

Thank you very much for your answers, and eventhough you didn’t tell me how, because of you I was able to fix it:

I couldn’t find a way to go from triangles to quads into ZBrush; so I focused on your other sentence: “The pull-apart effect is caused by non-welded edges/points.”

Eventhough it must be a very common ‘issue’ that any experienced ZBrusher wouldn’t even face, I’ll share the work-around here just in case others read this topic and find it usefull for themselves:

In MilkShape3D, before exporting the model to *.OBJ, I pressed CTRL+A (select all) to take the whole model, then pressed CTRL+W (Weld together) twice (maybe once is enough, but I noticed a change in the preview if I pressed it twice , so that’s what I did ) and finally, exported it to Wavefront OBJ.
I then loaded the model into ZBrush, applied a Crease then pressed Divide…:

Yay

aurick, once again, eventhough you didn’t give me a step by step solution, thank you very much for pushing me into the right direction!

Good day to ZBrushers

[aurick]

I’m glad you got it figured out. Since I’m not a Milkshape user, there was no way for me to provide step-by-step instructions. All I could do was point you to the cause of the problem so that you could hopefully find the solution… as you did.