ZBrushCentral

Newbie question: Adding texture to a model?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Sorry, I know my questions must seem really dumb, but despite looking at the video tutorials and other people’s replies to similar questions, I can’t get polypainting to work.

I created a model using a zphere and zsketch, then created a unified skin. I did some additional modelling with brushes to get the shape I wanted and have divided the model into about 390,000 points. I imported an image into spotlight and followed the instructions in the zClass video, but my texture doesn’t paint onto my model. I’ve tried again and again to repeat the process, but nothing seems to work. I am finding it incredibly difficult to follow the process of created a painted model, because each step is separated in the documentation and I don’t know if I’m missing a step.

Can anyone help, please? I know I’m missing something, but I don’t know what. :cry:

#2

Is MRGB or RGB enabled? You can’t paint or model on masked parts.

#3

Hi Doug! RGB is enabled, because I’m following the step by step of the video on zClass. I’ve discovered that I can paint one of the models from the tool menu (head.ZTL) and it works beautifully. I’m in the process of going back to my unskinned primitives and reskinning and remodelling to see if I can figure out where it goes pear shaped. I don’t have any masked areas. I know I must have done something without realising it.

#4

Going back to an earlier version of the unskinned model and the skinning and remodelling seems to have worked. I wish I’d thought of that earlier and saved myself four hours of frustration and raised blood pressure. No idea what I did though. Thanks for offering your help, Doug! :slight_smile:

#5

NP glad you’re up and running.

#6

Sorry, I’ve hit my next roadblock. I had a project saved. When I open it, then my model is replaced in tools by the one I was just working on. I’m finding it very difficult to understand how the tools work and how I can get back my original tool in the document. I though saving as a project also saved the tools, so why did this one get replaced with the one I was working on before? Doesn’t opening a project replace the tools in the lightbox with those from the document you’ve just opened?

#7

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?183355-Looking-for-tutorial-on-navigating-sub-tools&p=1065310&viewfull=1#post1065310

#8

Thanks Doug, but I still can’t figure out why my model disappeared. I spent an age working on a female figure, her hair and clothes and saved my work as a project. Today, I finally managed to create a rock for her to sit on, and I saved this as a separate tool. I then opened my project with the figure in it. It promptly replaced my female model with the rock, and it seems it did it permanently. I tried reverting, I tried closing without saving, but my figure is now a rock. I could weep at the work that I seem to have lost. :frowning:

#9

Do I have to save each of my tools, like the figure, as a tool. I tried that once before, but I couldn’t get them to import back in.

#10

Your figure is more than likely still there. Have you read the docs? There are links below my posts.

#11

Yes, I’ve read the docs several times, Doug. Since I’m just starting out I figured I would save my work as projects to make sure I didn’t accidentally lose something. When I opened my project with the figure in it, she was on the canvas, but had been replaced my the new tool in the tools palette. As soon as I tried to draw a new instance, it was a rock and not a figure.

#12

Both tools and subtools can have more than 1 part. If you want to pose your character on a rock you have 2 choices. Append the rock to the character or the character to the rock in the subtools panel. Hope that helps you.

#13

i work on two ways, first, if you want a texture, you can build first a UVM, you can do it really easy with Zscripst and UVM master, i like first make a “subtool” of piece i want to texture, over that, y use polygroups and split on subtool by group, over that i can make a texture, you can do it without split but is a litte hard for me… when you all ready make your texture you can “polypaint from texture” and all is done… n.n i use this feature for making diferent types of material on the same mesh

#14

Thanks Doug! I’ll have to buy you a coffee some time, with the number of answers you’re giving me :smiley: I’ll play with append.

#15

I got append to work, so thank you SO much for that. I’m just finding the rotate and move really really slow. I’ve cranked the compact memory to 3087, but it is acting like a dog when it comes to these functions. Have I allocated more memory in the correct way (preferences:mem:compact mem from 256>3087)?

I tried it zB certainly brightened my day. I appended a dog to the soldier and couldn’t find the dog until I rotated the soldier and found the tiny dog with his head in a place the sun doesn’t shine. :lol:

#16

so, first thing, i have those problem one time… but my pc work slow caused by my graphic card, i just change it, and compact memory is usefull, but is more “acuarate”, i use first to ways to compact and make it more faster on my works…

  • first ; my 3d tool on canvas, on geometry tool, i add “Geometry divide” and keep the low resolution of my geometry, when i need to work on some piece, i just “hiden” the subtool that i dont need, is really tedious work but, give me a chance to rotate my work fast. you can check the settings and make a “stress test” or check the multytreath
  • second ; i just upgrade my pc… my last pc was a 3850 hd radeon and one pentium D 3.4, and 4 Gb of ram… and i change all hahahah :laughing: i work now on a 7770 hd and 8gb of ram and one 6 six core processor, all go really smoth, but Zbrush only support 4gb but not problems of handle :+1:

you can post a screen shot of what you want to do?

#17

Thank you for the advice. I’ve only had zBrush a week, so I’m still learning (at the stage where I wake up thinking about it and how things work) :smiley: One of the things I have to learn is to what the point count. My figure was over the 4 million mark, so it became obvious to me then why it was struggling with move and rotate. I had no such problem rotating my rock, which had a point count of around 16K. It’s a learning curve. I really appreciate how kind an helpful people on the forum are with all these beginner questions. :slight_smile: