i am new to zbrush . i’d like to ask do zbrush accept subdevision or just poly, cause i prefer to work on maya subdevision and i’d like to keep it as it is. is that possible to add details in zbrush on subdevision
Are you referring to Maya’s render time subdivision?..
where-as it doesnt alter the mesh in the viewport but only during render outputs?..
Typically you create a low poly count “base” mesh with UV mapping co’ords…
export it out as OBJ and import it into Zbrush, do all subdivisions and sculpting at each Sub-D level in Zbrush…
When it comes time to export from Zbrush you export the new level 1 Sub-D mesh along with a Displacement map , normal map/cavity map and anything else you created in zbrush…
Then in Maya you import the new low poly base mesh from zbrush, and apply the displacement map to it so it will subdivide/displace your model during rendertime.
Perhapse if you post this in the Questions and troubleshooting forum, and attempt to be more clear on what it is you are asking you may get a better answer.
sorry if i didnt shed any light on your situation
thanx a lot for ur concerning 
i was mean that whole my modeling in maya accomplished by subdevision surface not polygon not nurbs , i love to work by subdevision surf.
i may convert my subd mesh to low poly mesh and export it to zbrush then apply whole the maps i generate from zbrush on subd. in maya but i am not assure of resault so i was ask if the new zbrush accept subdevision surface or just a poly
Ahh,
Well If you have a higher poly mesh in maya, you can export it to Zbrush and then further increase the subdivisions
and then apply the higher subdivision details to your already subdivided mesh without a problem…
you dont have to start with a real low poly mesh, you can start with whatever poly counted mesh you like, subdivided in Maya or max etc is fine as long as it maintains Quad polygons throughout
u mean if i convert the subd. mesh to level 4 or 5 polygon and export it to zbrush to add the tiny details then apply the maps on subd. mesh in maya
and the resault will b the same !
Yes pretty much,
you’ll have to read about the Maya -> ZB --> maya pipeline workflow to be sure im not a maya user
but If you take your Sub-D mesh, convert to standard quad poly’s
export it to Zbrush, do furthe subdivisions and sculpt it,
you should then export the new lowest level Sub-D mesh from Zbrush and replace your maya one with this one, and apply the Highest Sub-Division sculpt modifications from Zbrush onto that new mesh via Displacement maps, Normal maps, Cavity maps etc… within maya.
You could potentially just sculpt it in zbrush export the displacement map and use it on your subD mesh in maya, without re-importing your edited version from zbrush if the high detail sculpts dont drasticly change the base mesh you started with…
depends how much changing is going on in your sculpting in zbrush in comparrison to what you started with in maya.
i think it’s a usefull thread , i’d like to change the title for the other people ,wt it should b ?
but that may lead me to ask another question , when zbrush stop subdeviding the mesh , cause that happened with me once and didn’t know the reason
Zbrush generally has a set limit of subdivision levels set, so much much how many times you can subdivide a mesh… but how many polygons zbrush will subdivide the model into…
You can change this set amount in Preferences —> Mem and change the max poly amount… if you subdivide you mesh and it creates 1.5 mill polygons, if your mem preference limit is set to 2 million polys, you cannot subdivide it further… but if you change it to 5 million poly limit, it will allow you to subdivide it that much further.
Obviously the more you subdivide into higher polygon amounts, the more system resources are demanded of your computer…
so your limit is not set by Zbrush as much as it is by the computer running it. you can just set your max poly limit in the mem preferences to match what your computer can handle, and work within that limit.
by the way is that will demand reconstructing history in zbrush to make lower levels or the maps will b generated on the level i just imported in zbrush?
The maps will be generated based on whatever mesh you imported into zbrush ( so Zbrush’s Level 1 subD )
However if that SubD level isnt drasticly different from your lower level subdivision in Maya… it should paint the details onto it accurately from the maps you generate.
Best way to do it though is use the base poly count mesh from maya that you want to make use of in maya… and use that to start your sculpting in Zbrush
Dont use a higher poly count mesh to import into zbrush as it serves no real purpose to do that