ZBrushCentral

beginner - saving a file question

Hello All!
I’m a brand new Zbrush user and of course I have lots of questions at this point :slight_smile:
You may be seeing me in the forum a lot until I start to learn more about the program (you have been warned :wink:

Perhaps this is so basic, that it seems the tutorials I’ve been watching (and reading) tend to skip over this, and I’m a bit confused…

Saving a file.

So I open Zbrush, and double click on the “default sphere” in lightbox.
Lets say I create an awesome sculpt (some day!).
What’s the best way to save all the work I just did.
Do I save it under the “tool palette” (on the right) via the “save as”?
Or do I save it under the menu bar at the top under “file> save as>” and then choose the “project” format.

Basically I’m a little confused over “tool” vs “project” and when to use one vs the other.

I appreciate any advice on this simple basic workflow.
Thanks!
J

PS> I assume this is the correct forum to post beginner questions like this? Correct me if I’m wrong please.

<edit> Has pix released a user manual document? I looked in my “documentation” folder and really just see a series of “whats new” based on the versions. I’d like to have a searchable PDF where I can look up some of these basic type questions - am I missing the obvious? thanks.

Has pix released a user manual document? I looked in my “documentation” folder and really just see a series of “whats new” based on the versions. I’d like to have a searchable PDF where I can look up some of these basic type questions - am I missing the obvious? thanks.

http://www.pixologic.com/docs/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/homeroom/
http://download.pixologic01.com/download.php?f=Documents/ZBrush_Getting_Started_4R4.zip

The best and most reliable way is to save as a ZTool (Tool > Save As) which will save only the tool and any ploypainting you might have on it. Saving a project file (File > Save As) does save a lot more information like any material modifications, render and lighting setups etc… There have been issues however when a project file grows in size (up around 4 gig), and it can do so before you know it. So, always keep an eye on that and always save the ZTool as a precaution and backup.

Fantastic advice and explanation. Thanks zber!

Also thank you Richard for the links to the documentation.