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Modelling with added objects or other 3D Brush

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#8

Thank you for all your reply. :smiley:

With a sphere or imported obj from “TOOL” into ZBrush and I want to use the “SnakeHookBrush” from “TOOL” on the sphere or imported obj to make hooks on it. When you select “SnakeHookBrush” it automatically converts into canvas and all your 3D depths are lost, you won’t be able to export modified object out of ZBrush.

I wish ZBrush had simple a switch button for canvas/modelling to avoid accident.

Anyways there are button somewhere in ZBrush that are designed for modelling but require some learning curve and be more carefully because ZBrush have multiple canvas traps in buttons. I want to learn some more about multi-markers with button by button instruction.

Some members just put name of buttons and did not say where to find it and some did not give complete setting. :confused: ZBrush are awesome :+1: program and all of you knows it. ZBrush have numberous of dials, buttons, and roots. It is almost impossible for newbie to find all of it. I spent 2 days looking for something and found it. With a book that should come with ZBrush or a red book from bookstore would save me 2 days of researching for a single thing. :roll_eyes:

Forum are good place to find information but there are too many threads, misleads, reading, reasearching. With the book for ZBrush would save members at forum some trouble. I spoke witm Matt known as Aurwick other day and said that they are working on book for ZBrush. It is a good news for all newbies. :slight_smile:

#9

i think i under stand your question now. your cunfusing 2.5d tools with 3d tools.after you select a tool look in modifiers if a window appears click and drag,
its 3d if no window its either 2.5d or 2d,these are for modifing scenes before or after 3d tools are set in place.

#10

Gary I followed your advice. I selected a 3D sphere in the “Tool” and then looked in tool modifier. Honestly, I don’t know what I am supposed to look for.

I posted a picture to give you some idea what I am trying to export it out of ZBrush. I used TOOL/SnakeHookBrush to make the hooks on a 3D sphere. When “SnakeHookBrush” are selected, you lose the ability to export it into OBJ. Is there a way around to it?

Washington

#11

That looks to me like a painted piece, You can’t export 2.5 d paintings out of ZBrush I’m pretty sure.when you used the hook brush, you were no longer selecting the sphere. The only way I can think of around this, won’t give you results exactly like you want. You could make a zsphere model and do a unified skin of it which would be ok, but not quite the same.

David

#12

play this script (save this.edit.TXT
) click on show actions and load in zscript pallete.also look in zscript utilities for start modeling zsc. load this and click and drag on the sphere changing draw size and try alt clicking. with these two scripts you will start to understand . have to practice!!

#13

Hi Washington,

You’re facing the single most common challenge that new users encounter in ZBrush, so don’t feel alone. Please read the second page of the Quick Reference Guide to understand what is happening and why. As Soquili said, the documentation IS there, in PDF format. His link will not only take you to the QRG, but also to the manual and a variety of tutorials.

#14

There is a .pdf manual that you can download via this thread:
http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=010736

You can’t export any alterations that have been made to the canvas with any of the 2.5d or 2d tools as an .obj file. For exporting, you need to stick with modelling with the transform/edit pallette, the deformation menu or polymeshing objects together with multi-markers.

If you need to export something with tentacles on it your best bet would be probably to model it from the ZSphere tool.

When running ZScripts it’s also useful somethimes to turn on the “Show Actions” button or adjust the “Replay Delay” slider in the ZScript pallette.

#15

Gary thank you for the script but you have not used “SnakeHookBrush” or other special 3d brush effect on it. Are we limited to modify sphere with TRANSFORM AND “Sphere3D” Brush?

Washington

#16

Perhaps a way to do tentacles in 3d would be to highlight (control + paint the object while in edit mode) the areas you want to come outward. Then go to the deformations option and hit inflate. There are many ways to do things in ZBrush, you just got to experiment. It’ll come to you :slight_smile:

PS Excuse Antimorphs pert remark…he must have got out of the wrong side of the Zed this morning. :wink:

#17

edit transform and deformations, are the way
to alter 3d objects.see your begining to understand.

#18

Washington,

It seems you are using (as your post title indicates) that you are using a another 3D tool to modify another 3D tool.

You have a sphere and using the hook tool to add tentacles (or whatever they are).

As you experienced, you can’t export the whole thing as an object.
You will need to modify the sphere while you are editing it (in edit mode). If you have ZAdd on, you can add what you want to the sphere without deforming the sphere too much. Don’t forget to play with the symmetrical tools.

As it has been said, there are different ways to do things, but depending on the application, some ways are ok for painting or for use in ZBrush only, and some ways will not work if you want to export to another application.

hth,
Dave

#19

Gary thank you for helping me find custom brush by using Transform/Modifiers to edit the 3D brush curve. It is going to help me me alot. :slight_smile: I wish it was more than just the 3D Brush curve, something more like SnakeHookBrush to make swisscheese or hair for poser. I will find a way around to it using limited transform. I hope that Pixologic will recognize this and improve 3D modelling tools for serious 3D artist.

Washington

#20

Anyone want Swiss Cheese? I only have picture (jpg) no real cheese (obj) sorry :wink:

Washington

#21

try thisswiss.TXT

#22

In brief: yes.

The SnakeHook brush is a tool that modifies pixols, not polygons. If you draw a 3D Sphere, then select the SnakeHook brush, the sphere is immediately placed into the canvas and converted into pixols. This will always happen when you select another tool, even if it’s another 3D tool.

When the sphere is in Transform mode, it can be modelled like any 3D object: rotated, deformed, scaled, etc. But once you place it into the canvas, it ceases to be a 3D object and is converted to pixols, which can then only be modified with the 2.5D tools (SnakeHook, etc).

Think of it like the Paths in Photoshop. You can create a vector shape and edit it with vector tools, but once you Rasterize it, it turns into pixels, and can then only be modified with paint tools.

However, the vector shape you created still stays in memory, so you can modify it if you wish. The same also applies to ZBrush: the modified 3D shape remains in the Tool palette and can be brought back and modified further. However, in Photoshop, if you have rasterized the vector shape and painted onto it, these painted changes will be lost if you decide to replace the shape with the new modified vector shape. Same with ZBrush: if you have already painted a lot of 2.5D detail onto the object, then decide to modify the 3D model, you will lose all these painted changes - because they’re not in the 3D model. They’re in the pixols.

It’s a one-way route:

Bezier curves —> Pixels

3D Polygons —> Pixols

Both Photoshop and ZBrush have tools that allow you to convert pixels / pixols back to a 3D shape: Make Path in Photoshop, and Make 3D in ZBrush. However, these do not work perfectly. A lot of detail is lost in the process, as pixel / pixol data is approximated and converted into vector / polygon data.

Speculatively said, perhaps a later version of ZBrush will allow you to keep more than one 3D object in a modifiable state on the canvas - just like you can have several shape-layers in Photoshop that stay in vector format until you decide to finally rasterize them.

#23

Er, never mind. I should have read the second page of this thread before posting… :o

#24

a bite of 3d-cheese for you, Washington :slight_smile: :

    [img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200306/user_image-1054495519ypu.jpg[/img]

i did this the following way:

    :large_orange_diamond: create canvas 1024x1024 (or prefereably bigger - just as long as we are creating the alpha, its easier and quicker to do the modelling part at lower canvas-sizes - but right now we want to create as hi-res an alpha as possible). this is done via document>size>pro(portional)off>insert values into x and y sliders>press resize

    :large_orange_diamond: fill with white (command+F)

    :large_orange_diamond: select snakehook; drawpalette: press zsub

    :large_orange_diamond: drill holes        :D 

    :large_orange_diamond: do a best render (antialiasing, this is part. important if you want to use the texture that will be created for the cheese, but then you should have started with a cheese-color-fill in step 2; i didnt go for a texture)

    :large_orange_diamond: tool>mrgbz-grabber (the tiny square with arrows icon) move cursor over all of canvas to do a mrgbz-grab. a new alpha and texture are created automatically.

    :large_orange_diamond: clear canvas (command+N) and decrease canvas size for doing the modelling part (if wanted - see above; we are entering 3d-mode now) 

    :large_orange_diamond: select 3d-cube

    :large_orange_diamond: deform via edit-move pushes

    :large_orange_diamond: tool>modifiers>deformation> divide-divide-divide-divide (the hi-res the alpha, the hi-res the 3d-tool should be)

    :large_orange_diamond: tool>modifiers>selection->alp(ha)-the grabbed one should be selected - invert this mask

    :large_orange_diamond: tool>modifiers>deformation>inflate-100 and >smooth+100 applied several times

    :large_orange_diamond: apply cheese-colour, material, lights, best render with shadows on... voila        :)

:large_orange_diamond: before exporting do several tool>>modifiers>deformations>optimize to reduce polycount

  • just a quick idea inspired by this thread. i think there are at least 20 better ways to do this :wink:

as for tentacles: the tool i would choose would be zspheres: these allow you to do editable tentacles - a zspheremaster might even be able to explain how to do holes into cheese the zsphereway, but i aint :smiley: for tentacles the zsphere-way you might want to check out this thread and .pdf: octopus

  • juandel
#25

That was a very good analogy, Skaven252. Thank you.

#26

To model something that looks like it has tentacles, ZSpheres work very well.

#27

It’s a great thing to see such selfless kindness and generosity expressed by the members of this forum. I’m looking for a route back from cynicism, I arrived their from a different place some years ago, and never managed to leave (except for the very occasional holiday now and then).

There’s something here even for strange characters like me, and I… well thanks.

Apologies washington, ‘rude’ wasn’t quite what I was aiming for. I’m amused by your reference to “serious 3D artists” and by your choice of object.