ZBrushCentral

need suggestion: workflow for 3d color printing using zbrush (and facegen)

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi, I was asked to prepare models for 3d color printing at work and not sure about the workflow I use is the best.

-First, I use Facegen to generate textured models of their faces of people who send us photos.
-Then I take that to zBrush. I then seperate eyes and the face as different subtools, to apply the seperate textures that come from Facegen.
-After applying the textures, I convert those textures to polypaint due to combining them later.
-This is where I sculpt hair and a body to the face (with eyes)
-After that, I merge each subtool into one.
-Then I Dynamesh the imperfect mesh to get the whole mesh to one piece with no holes, while keeping UVs.

This is where I am stuck right now. If I use zremesher, I lose UVs/polypaints/textures. If I go with Dynamesh, I am stuck with millions of polygons so that I cannot get to work with whole mesh’s UVs.

Have any better idea anyone?

#2

as far as i know dynamesh doesn’t keep UVs. you can use decimation master to reduce poly count while keeping UVs. if you’re done sculpting then that might work for you. you’re still going to have to work out how to give the body it’s own UVs.

why not forget about the UVs and textures and first sculpt the model completely and then import it to facegen to give it proper UVs and textures.

#3

What 3D printer are you using?

#4

Zeddie;
I think you’re right, what dynamesh keeps is only polypainting data. But, at this time, I cannot create new UV’s due to high poly count. I lose existing UV’s during combining the subtools into one, it seems.
As for importing the sculpted mesh to Facegen, Im not sure if that’s possible. Facegen only has export option for Obj files. There are no import option, other than that; it has save and load options, but they only work for .fg file format(which is facegen project file format i think)

MentalFrog;
They are going to buy a color printer at job. I have no idea which one it is at this point, sorry. But why?

#5

May be this could help:

1_Duplicate your final model
2_ ZRemesh it
3_Project all while subdividing
4_Work on clone with UVmaster
5_Texture from polypaint

Probably will need to decimate your model and keep it under 1 Million polys
Decimation master while keeping UVs it´s the best way to have your final model ready to export.
As far as i know color printers such as ZCorp works well with WRL files. So export in the 3Dprint exporter as VMRL.

#6

Okay, I will give it a try, thanks a lot!