ZBrushCentral

Importing Issues and Remeshing Issues

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I use a modified version of SpaceClaim for making jewelry design and recently picked up ZBrush. However, I’m having problems with the OBJ files that I’m exporting from SpaceClaim. I’m not sure if the exporting works differently because it’s more of a technical CAD program than something like 3DS Max, so I’m not sure if it’s the way the OBJ files are being exported or if I’m not using the most optimum settings or whatever.

When I’ve looked at the geometry in Blender or ZBrush, it’s all triangles. I’ve tried using the Import thing from the Tool Menu (the one down at the bottom with the additional settings.) The thing to convert triangles to squares has helped some, but it doesn’t convert everything over, so it’s still messy.

I’ve also tried Remeshing, but that isn’t reproducing it entirely accurately and it also fills it with wavey lines like melted wax. I’d really rather avoid smoothing it out because that will screw up areas where I want crisp details.

Not sure if it’s my export settings, import settings, remeshing settings or what. So any help would be great.

(I have a massive headache right now, so I have no idea if I’m being clear or not. I can provide more information or images if needed.)

#2

There should be an option in SpaceClaim somewhere that will export out Quads instead of Tri’s. But I could be wrong.

#3

Unfortuantely, I haven’t managed to find anything like that. Maybe they added something like that in 2010 (no clue, not sure exactly what’s new in that yet), but I’m running 2009+ :\

So far, I’ve found if I export at some fairly crazy export settings, I can get a pretty clean, smooth model to import. But some of my intersections have nasty triangulated areas. But unfortuantely Re-Meshing still gives me a melted wax like surface and I loose all the crispness and hard edges. Tried Project All, but because of the wavy surface, the hard edges and smooth surfaces don’t come out right.

SpaceClaim unfortunately doesn’t naively support importing OBJ files so it’s kind of one way for me since I don’t have Rhino and can’t convert it to one it will read. Was thinking about keeping the original model broken up so I can just Re-Mesh the parts I want to sculpt on and leave the others alone, but I haven’t tested the merge options so I don’t know if it does kind of a re-mesh job or what. Haven’t even tested that multiple parts in a single file will come out correctly when imported since I haven’t had the time.

Really hate figuring out stuff in new programs.