ZBrushCentral

Combining two meshes

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I’ve box modelled a head mesh and a body mesh seperately in 3DS Max, looking to join them together and then Z brush them as one mesh. However, the head mesh has a proportionally higher poly count than the body, i.e. it is more detailed.

While this doesn’t stop me joining the meshes together in Max, I’m concerned as to what the effect will be in ZBrush. Obviously I want to achieve the same level of detail over the entire mesh, but the head will divide much smaller than the body will as it is currently.

Is there a way to sculpt the head and body seperately, and then attach them to each other after Zbrushing? Or should I give the body a higher poly count in Max just to match it to the head, then attach them in Max and sculpt away?

Also I’m concerned that the resulting model will be so big that my computer won’t be able to handle really high subdivisions, but I’m not aware of any methods of breaking it up without having any seams as a result. I want this to be all one complete model, without covering any gaps or seams with clothing.

The body isn’t actually complete as I show it here, but it gives the general idea.

woman head wip 4.jpg

Attachments

woman body wip 5.jpg

#2

I’d use Max to combine the low res meshes and then split the model into multiple UV spaces.

Back in ZBrush, import the model as a new Tool. Use Tool>Polygroups>UV Groups followed by Tool>SubTool>GrpSplit to break the model into multiple SubTools based on the UV’s. Now append the sculpted head model to the new version. Hide everything except the two heads, and with the new head selected use Tool>SubTool>Project All to copy the details across.

Ultimately, you’ll generate separate normal or displacement maps for each SubTool. You’ll be able to work in ZBrush with higher polygon counts than you could get with one single SubTool. And you won’t have to worry about the difference in polycounts between parts of the model.

#3

Sweet good advice. By multiple UV spaces do you mean create seperate UV Unwrap modifiers for different parts of the mesh?

#4

He means you actually have to move all the uv’s 1 space across for every separately uv’s object. So that at the end of individually uving all parts that u wanted to. if u selected them all and looked at the uv’s together none would be overlapping.
Zbrush calculated uv’s like as if they where on one big page. The Orginal uv space being it the top left corner of this page.