I’m using ZBrush 3.12 OSX.
I can’t use any jpg file as an alpha. ONLY .psd files !
is this a bug or is something wrong with my system ?
Aurick please
OK I just read this thread :
http://209.132.96.165/zbc/showthread.php?t=24101
but dated from 2005. Is it still updated ?
JPG should not be used as an alpha.
JPG is an 8-bit format. ZBrush is optimized for the use of 16-bit alphas. The reason for this is that 16-bits give much smoother transitions in the grayscale values, which result in much cleaner effects in everything you use an alpha for.
JPG is also a compressed format. This means that by its very nature, it has noise in it. The more compressed it is, the more noise. You know how when you “Save for Web” in Photoshop, you’ve got that quality slider? It’s exactly what it implies. Lower values result in smaller files, but also a loss of quality. The more compression that’s been used, the worse the file looks. And as I said in my previous paragraph, the Alpha palette is extremely susceptible to the effects of that noise.
If you absolutely must use a JPG, you can do it. Just not directly. Import the JPG into the Texture palette. Then use Texture>MakeAlpha to convert it.
Thank for your help aurick.