ZBrushCentral

Noob: How to enter Z-Mapper?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

So ive tried experimenting with the motion of creating a normal map… I have made a base mesh in anim8or, made a simple UV map for it in another program, imported it to Zbrush… I deformed the surface of the model in higher subdivissions…
Now when i click the “Z-mapper” button, a table pops out and tells me that im now allowd there… I even followd the steps that are written in the table…
The message still shows up…

  1. Go to Edit mode. (really done)
  2. Click “UV groups” (surely done, though i dont see anything happening after i click it) In the top shelf ckick “Frame” (The message should be more specific about where this “Frame” thing is, cause now i really don’t have an idea)
  3. Press Shift+ctrl and select a polygroup (I did it, though i have no idea why is that nessasary, I want to see me full model in Z-mapper, not just a part of it)
  4. Launch Z-mapper (Same message appears)

Could someone explain on what should i do? My oppologies for my newbyness :slight_smile:

#2

First off, it really helps if you provide the exact text of the error message. Without that info, troubleshooting becomes like going to a shooting gallery blindfolded. :wink:

The reason why the tutorial tells you to split the model into polygroups and hide all but one is because the model has multiple UV regions and ZMapper can only calculate for one at a time. So you had to hide the ones that you’re not currently working with.

However, in ZBrush 3.1 this changed a little bit. Instead of hiding regions you need to split the model into SubTools based on the regions. After doing the “Uv Groups” step, press Tool>SubTool>GrpSplit. This splits the model into separate SubTools based on the UV groups. You then simply select the SubTool that you want to calculate a map for and launch ZMapper.

#3

I think i figured it out, thank you :slight_smile:

#4

ok now, i have made an OBJ object, character base, which has a clean UV map and all that… Splitting it to polygroups makes two polygons from the head and one polygon from the hand be seperated from the main mesh…

Why does that happen? Those polygons appear in the UV map the way they should… :o

#5

When you lay out UV’s you should never touch the edge of the UV space. You always want a bit of a buffer around the edges because different programs register the 0,0 point a little differently. Points directly on the edges tend to get pulled across the map or have other weird things happen.

#6

never had any problems with that before, thanks a bunch, that actually fixed the splitting :slight_smile: