ZBrushCentral

Changing the underlying basemesh of a nearly finished Sculpt?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi All,

Say I’ve got a sculpt that I’m nearly finished with - I’ve sculpted it up to sub-d level 5 and nearly everything is how I want it to be. But after client review, I need to completely rework the structure of the feet only. These new feet will look nothing like the old ones, so basically, the underlying low poly basemesh is going to have to be remodeled (at the feet only, rest of the model stays the same).

How can I preserve all the work I’ve done on the rest of the body, while being able to bring in a new low-poly basemesh where I’ve only changed the feet?

Thanks!

#2

its quite easy, and there are a few ways to do it. Following are two examples of techniques I use in productions.

  1. generate a disp map using the native zb disp menu (not the plugin).
    This will get stored in as an alpha in the alpha menu.
    Import the new mesh and subdivide, hide the feet and set the disp intensity (usually around .33) then hit apply. This technique is texture based therefore both models will need matching uvs where you want to regain the details.

  2. Import the new mesh, subdivide and append to the orig mesh. Use a combination of project all and the zproject brush to regain details. This technique compares the position of vertices and requires both models to be relatively similar in proportion.

#3

I would go with the second approach since completely reworking the feet will also most likely change the UV’s which would in turn make the displacement map unusable. And since only the feet are changing, the Project All and ZProject features should work great on the rest of the model.

#4

Thanks for the suggestions Morph Division & Aurick.

I’ve been experiementing with the ‘Project All’ method these past few days and it basically does what I need but it also has some problems with a few areas of the mesh that are more complex, and have very pronounced folds.

Ideally I want everything but the feet to stay exactly the same.

Is there a more accurate way to get what I need done? Or any tips to get a more acceptable result from ‘Project All’?

#5

The issues your finding are pitfalls related to the technique or rather using a single “fix it” button solution…
So my tip would be;

  1. Set a morph target on the target mesh after subdividing.

  2. Generate a native disp map from the source mesh. (if only the feet have changed the rest of the uvs on the body will be fine)

  3. Project all, then using the morph brush relax the problem areas.

  4. Using the zproject brush bring back the detail of the problem areas.

  5. Mask all except the areas you need to fix.

7.Now set int of disp and hit apply, this will bring the detail back in those areas.

Alternatively this may work

  1. export your orig mesh at lowest level
  2. change only the parts you need to i.e replace the foot
  3. re-import the new mesh into your old mesh, make sure ‘mrg’ is on

This is the same as the first technique I suggested without the ‘disp’. If it doesn’t work subdivide the mesh then apply the disp.

My personal preference is the method above, the alternative was more a ZB2 work around.

#6

You can change the geometry of your level 1 base layer and re-import it and still keep the changes you made at higher subdivisions?

#7

How about redoing your foot entirely in zbrush by adding the appropriate edge loops you need then exporting it out to your modeler where you can move them more precisely then reimport back in and you should be set.

Check out this tutorial.

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v15840398pjSAR83W?source=embed

You can modify base geometry with edge loops. Then export it out to say 3d studio max and move the verts to the position you want.

Reimport back into Zbrush at the lowest level of sub division and you should be good to go.