I’ve attached some personal notes I wrote with regard working with layers some years back,
hopefully something in the notes will be of help.
NB: layers will record clay polish and polish deformations
NB: to unpaint/ remove/erase polypaint stored on a recorded layer - switch on that layer and hold alt whilst you paint. NB: Layers will not record polypaint blend modes found in Brush Palette >alpha and texture >polypaint mode - other than normal mode.
Layers are a method of storing mesh/ vertex modification information in a recorded layer be that polypainting information, posing or sculpting information. Layers do not record uv projection painting i.e texture map painting. This recorded information is projected on to the parent subtool layer but does not permanently alter the sub-tool itself until these recorded modifications are baked to the subtool parent.
Layers only modify and control information on a singular subtool layer only and not a subtool layer stack - e.g transpose master operations.
Layers offer many advantages when storing the development of your sculpt in stages , blending these controls as well as offering a convenient means to be able to switch a sculpt temporarily back to a stored symmetrical state before it was posed or modified.
You cannot use a layer as means to record the default state of the subtool itself - if you modify the parent subtool you cannot restore it by using a recorded layer - instead you can restore it easily by using a stored morphed target of the subtool in it’s default state i.e without any modifying layers applied - this stored morph target can be applied either to the subtool itself with layers switched off - or painted as a morph on a recorded layer.
NB to avoid distortion it is best to take a store morph target state and paint the morph back at it’s higher subdivision. If you store a morph target at a lower subdivision you will have to step down in subdivsion resolution once you are in record modet to be able to paint with a morph stored at this lower resolution. However this method creates some transfer issues I’ve noticed so store morph targets at the highest sub d level…
Layers are Additive
Importantly Layers can also and do modify other exisitng layers in a layer stack whilst always referring to their parent subtool. If the subtool itself is altered, these changes to the parent subtool telegraph throughout the layers.
Let me repeat the concept that layers are additive virtual modifications to their subtool parent as well as additive modifications to layer stack combinations - their position in the layer stack is of no consequence to their relationship - think of the subtool as your neutral starting point - if you change your actual subtool the layers are merely additive to this hence why you cannot record a layer as a frozen snapshot of the original subtool as previously discussed in utilizing a morph target in a record layer.
A new layer can be created to control layer modifications to existing layer stacks - or - an existing layer itself can be switched back in to re-record to make further changes - similarly a morph target can be used in this manner i.e by creating a new recorded layer or recorded on an existing layer by reswitching on it’s record button.
Note: Layers are not applicable to vertex/polygonal alteration methods such as dynamesh or turning a mesh into a shadowbox object, using the slice tool etc.
Note: layer information is stored with a saved subtool, a duplicated subtool with layers and or a cloned subtool - it doesn’t require to be saved in a project file.
Subdivision and layer options:
If a subtool has multiple subdivs when using layers then the higher level must be selected before all layer options become available.
if you start using layers with only one sub d level then fine - however if you then add sub d levels to the subtool - you must choose the higher level before the layer options such as merge, record etc will become available.
New layers must be created at the top subdivision level. Once in Record mode, you can sculpt or polypaint on any level but you will need to return to the top level to turn off Record mode. You cannot subdivide higher in record mode.
To add a further level of subdivision 1,make sure you come out of layer record mode - subdivide at your existing highest level of subdivision then press record on
-
or - 2, similarly subdivide then transfer to the top subdivision level by simply adjusting the Intensity slider or by turning the eye icon off and then back on. . Once a layer has been transferred to the top level it may not be sent back to the original creation level - you can however delete the higher subdivison level and return to working at lower subdivsions."
Layers themselves do not store subdivision information as a recordable state but rather are modified by the global application of the subdivision.
How to pose a single subtool in it’s lowest subdivision state
You cannot pose or sculpt on a layer at the lowest subdivision state only at the layers highest subdivsion state but you can use the Zbrush plugin Transpose Master to achieve this instead even with a single subtool - transpose master works only with two or more subtools so to do this you can cheat Transpose Master by duplicating your singular subtool then hiding this temporary duplicate as Transpose Master works only on visible subtool layers.
Caution with pinched meshes - very low sub d’s - and tools with poles
avoid working with overly distorted or pinched meshes -particularly if you intend to use layers to pose such meshes - if you have a sculpt that is pinched etc -zremesh for integrity or dynamesh to avoid issues of vertex distortion -
Again it is always preferable to make your sculpting progress additive i.e sculpt define and develop the main features on layers -from this point - further add posing layers or assymmetry layers where you pose and fine tune the sculpt after the main features have been developed - this is better than posing too early with a layer and avoids unexpected results with meshes distorting.
Think of the sculpt layers as the initial construct of harmony and the later posed twists between the head, trunk hips etc as the touches of contrast to bring greater attitude and sense of inner life of character
Transpose Master and Layers
In the case of a recorded layer exports from a transpose master operation ( remembering transpose master temporally combines multiple subtools layers as polygrouped objects - each layer exported is done so per it’s original parent subtool and contains the information to control that subtool’s sculpted adjustments and position. After a Transpose Master export the saved layer controls mutiple subtool layers individually not collectively - therefore in the circumstance of mutiple subtools that later must be turned on or off per each subtool.
Finally: further tweaks
You can use the timeline to record layer states for quick access or use the timeline to morph between layer states on marked keyframes - this can be useful for comparing.
Place a marker on the timeline to record a position
- Create Rigid key frame – Alt+click on an existing key frame dot to turn it back tio an ordinary keyframe alt click again
rigid keyframes are useful for judging comparative differences compared to ordinary keyframes that can be used to smooth blend between selected layer states on marked keyframes
ordinary keyframes morph between 1 layer state and another or similarly a camera view and another
Timeline keyframes are very useful for recording layer states after using transpose master’s export to later option - this becomes useful when you may have created variations of poses as layers. this saves time because layers created after a transpose master operation have to be switched on or off per subtool -( just as they are when a zsphere rigg is used with a multiple subtool model within transpose master before being saved to a layer)
Morph Target
if you wish to paint back a stored morph target using layers create a new layer and record the painted morph -this applies for smoothing etc when you have a layer stack
Saving Masks
Layers can store newly created masks but not masks before recording layer was created . A layer with a newly created mask state must be switched back in to record mode to recall that mask.
See Also Video By Glen Southern , ‘Developing facial shapes using layers in ZBrush’: https://vimeo.com/119635906