ZBrushCentral

Preventing vertices with 5+ edges with ZSketching

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I’ve noticed that several ZSketches that I’ve made end up have several areas (pole areas I think is what they are called) where a vertex has 5 or more edges connected to it. This seems to cause little star like dimples/pimples as you begin to add detail at higher subdivision levels and then smooth bits out. Is this normal? Is there a workflow to avoid this? Is it just me not having very good technique with ZSketch/ZSpheres, or is it a known issue when creating a mesh from a zsketch base? I don’t recall seeing this when building a mesh from just a ZSphere skeleton.

#2

Unified Skinning produces meshes with lots of poles. Understand, in most situations, unified and adaptive skins are not meant to be final topologies, they are meant to quickly block out rough forms that you refine a bit further, then at some point, retopologize and transfer detail, then do the detail work. The process has not been invented yet that removes the need for a human mind to deliberately fashion the topology they want for the best results.

*Adaptive* skins will produce somewhat better results, with more manageable geometry, especially at low subD levels. You will need an underlying Zsphere armature for this, as any zskething that deviates too far from the skeleton will be clipped off. But if you Bind your Zsketch to an armature, or make sure "Show sketch" is pressed , when you exit Zsketch mode you will make adaptive skins with the Zsketch information factored in, instead.
#3

Thanks, I’d forgotten the difference. So if you’re in ZSketch mode, hit “A”, then do Make PolyMesh 3D, that’s an “Adaptive” skin, right? For a Unified Mesh, you have to go to the little toolbox and hit the button?

So it’s a given when using ZSpheres or ZSketch, that you retopologize the mesh after you have the basic form/details put in? I thought you only had to retopo stuff if you were going to animate it, but for stills it didn’t matter as much.

#4

Not quite. Adaptive Skinning is the skinning mode associated with traditional Zspheres. Skins generated with “Edit Zsketch” pressed will be Unified Skins, and don’t require much in the way of a Zspehere armature, a single Zsphere will start a Zsketch. “Edit Zsketch” needs to be off to generate an adaptive skin.

An adaptive skin requires an underlying traditional Zsphere rig, but will incorporate Zsketching into it, if there is an underlying skeleton to hold the detail, (A single Zsphere won't do), and it is either bound to the Zsketch, or "Show Zsketch" is pressed when making a skin. Please see the Zclassroom movies on the main Pixologic site for more on this process in detail.