If I have a displacement from a high resolution model, is there a way to “paint” it onto a model in Z Brush, and have the geometry actually deform based on this displacement, so that I can export actual geometry?
Yes. The tutorials built into ZBrush and the Practical Guide tell you how to display a displacement map on a model. Once displayed, the Apply Displacement Map button becomes available in the Tool>Displacement Map menu. This will convert the mapped results to actual geometry, with the quality being dependent upon the number of polygons that the model has.
This topic has also been covered in previous posts here at ZBC. You should be able to find them quickly with a simple search.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
Troy.
Being able to displace verts in a mesh based on a map is very useful. Zbrush supports this feature. But here agin is another reason why Zbrush needs float
map support. Zbrush should be able to output float data in maps and be able to import them. If you had a float map you would be able to import your displacement maps into Zbrush then displace verts in a much more accurate way. With the current 16 bit support the user has to guess how much of a displacement value to use in order to re create his original details because of the limited color space of the map.
It would also be very useful ( since Zbrush can output multiple maps ) for Zbrush to
support the import of multiple displacement maps ( or any texture maps ) to be used to displace geometry.
I think I’ve kinda got it working, but it doesn’t look very good. I followed the steps in one of the tutorials. It’s adding geometry but it dosen’t even “sort of” resemble the displacement map. I’m wondering if there is a way to “paint” it on instead of just clicking the “Apply DispMap” button which gives you almost no control over it. Hope I dont sound too stupid… :rolleyes: pretty new to Zbrush.