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*** Question - How can I render a model over the 8k size limit ?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi Folks !

I want to render something in Zbrush with a pretty big resolution for a client. He wants to put the model on a banner that will be 9 feet Height by 5 feet wide. So I need at least a render of the size of 18000 by 34200 pixels to have a descent quality on the print ( since Zbrush can’t export an 300dpi picture for what I know).

So , is it possible to pass the 8K limit in Zbrush ? And please don’t tell me I can always decimate my mesh and render it in Maya or Max. I know that, but I want to stay in Zbrush with those fancy shaders and the BPR render, which is quicker and more effencient than Mental Ray or Vray. With those resolution , a render in Mental Ray will take me days.

Anyway , thanks for you future answers ! :wink:

#2

You don’t need it that high. 300 dpi is unnecessary for that size of a banner. Render a much smaller dpi image and bring it up artificially in Photoshop.

I rendered out an image for a banner that was 6 feet high x 2.5 feet wide. The lower rendering settings helped a lot with render time and file sizes. I don’t recall what size I did exactly but it was 100dpi or even lower than that. The banner looked great. A banner that size is meant to be viewed from a much greater distance so the detail doesn’t need to be 300 dpi even if it will print that high. Go look around for large banners and look at them really close you’ll see they have a much lower resolution than you would expect. Fast food joints are a good example as they usually show cheeseburgers or whatever. In fact a lower resolution can actually look better from the distance the banner is intended to be viewed at.

#3

Cool …I lower my resolution , but still …is it possible to render pass the Zbrush limits ?

#4

I don’t think it’s possible directly but it might be possible using a script. Years ago I wrote a script for ZBrush 2 that rendered out a series of images that when stitched together gave a very large image. I’ll see if I can get it to work for 4R3. I doubt if it will work with the gradient background and you’ll need to stitch the images together.

#5

wow mate , thx …that could be really helpfull. I’m actually don’t really mind about the background. Since I render a mask of my mesh anyway.

#6

See here: Document MaxResize

#7

Thx…if I’ll test it out tonight and let you know. If it’s actually does what you mention in the read me file,you’ll save my ass for that contract :wink:

#8

I tested for an image of 32400 pixels and got an out-of-memory error when trying to export BPR images (that’s with Vista 64bit & 6GB RAM). But if I used the project export instead then I could load each project separately and do a BPR render without problems. As I mention in the readme, there are issues with perspective and shadows, but not anything that can’t be worked around with a bit of ingenuity. And don’t have any settings higher than you really need.

I hope it helps you!

#9

I’ve test it out yesterday…works like a charm. Thanks once more !

I’ve a question for you…what’s the script language for Zbrush and where can I create my own script ? Is there some sort of script editor somewhere ? I used to code in Maya …could be interesting to see what I can do in Zbrush.

#10

Great! :slight_smile:

ZScript is the scripting language for ZBrush and is used in macros and zscript recordings as well as plugins. You can write it using a text editor, saving as a .txt file which can be loaded using the Load button in the ZScript palette. ZBrush will then compile the zscript into a ZSC file typical of plugins. You can learn more about ZScripting here: http://www.pixologic.com/docs/index.php/ZScripting. For further help, see the ZScript Help forum here at ZBC.

#11

What’s your workaround for the perspective bug ?

#12

Reduce the Draw>Angle of View setting. I’m afraid it’s trial and error to get the result you want as it will depend on the type of model and the amount of perspective distortion you want. Test it out using the Preview render. This should only take a few minutes to render even the largest images.