I am new to Zbrush, I’m an avid 3d Studio max user and want to use this for obvious reasons…soley texturing. How can i smooth out the viewport model? And for that matter, how do I see a “quick render”, if even possible. I’m reading through these forums and can’t seem to find those answers.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thank You.
Wow, that’s kind of strange you couldn’t find this in tutorials and threads… It’s all there. Best to check out the help files they have up on Pixologic.com before you turn to the problems for any problem, here:
http://www.zbrush.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Your “quick render” is what you see on the screen in real-time modeling. Your “best render” is in your render pallete, along with all other options for rendering. Also check out the lighting pallete for best lighting options - you can have up to a certain number of them for your renders. ZBrush is one of those what-you-see-is-what-you-get programs, or almost-what-you-get programs. If you want perspective, hit “P” on your keyboard to toggle it.
I’m an avid 3d Studio max user and want to use this for obvious reasons…soley texturing.
Did you mean “solely texturing [and normal mapping]”?
Also, Max isn’t made by Avid, it’s by Autodesk…(???) Or did you mean “Avid Softimage / 3Ds Max” in your post?
Thank you for the help. I know 3d Studio Max use made by Autodesk, I guess you misunderstood, I meant I am a “very enthusiastic user” of 3d Studio Max.
Let me just clear it up. I’m seeing all of these screenshots of very smooth models as they work on them. My computer can certainly handle whatever I throw at it. What I’m asking is how to I get my model to look very smooth as I’m painting bumps onto it, instead of all pixelated when I zoom in.
I am more interested in just “painting textures” onto my models. I will be modeling them in 3d Studio then bringing them in to paint. Only with very Organic models such as people…
Oh, I see.:lol: Sorry…
Anycase,
I think you are referring to the “smooth” shader feature commonly found in other major modeling apps, or, also likely, Doo-Sabin / Nurbs subdivision with render-only iteration # setting.
Unfortunately, these features are not available in any version of ZBrush.
There is a way to make your models look nice anyway,- since you’ve mentioned your computer will be able to handle whatever you throw at it, try subdividing the hell out of your mesh (like, 7-9 times for simple geometry, like a box, or 5-7 times for a character head, and 4-6 times for a full-bodied character AT LEAST.) You will have what seems to be a smooth mesh, though we both know there is no smooth shader on it. Catmul clark is nice this way - you can have millions of polys on the screen, which are “smaller” than 1 pixel each. Thus, you wont notice the roughness in your mesh.
The Catmul-Clark subdivision tools are, as you probably know, in the Tool Pallete, Geometry Rollout.
If you don’t want to divide the geometry (I know that you won’t have a “percise look” of what you’re after - just going for the texture) you can look into Mudbox. Mudbox has the smooth shader. Also, targeting texture painting specifically, you may want to have a look at Maxon Bodypaint 3D.
Best of all, of course, is Modo 301, a new mainstream 3D app, which also has painting features along with the whole other set of modeling, animating, UVing, and rendering tools.
ZBrush is primarily a detailing application, painting not exactly its main use, contrary to what the name may sugguest.
If you still choose to paint your model in ZBrush, use the Tool Pallete -> Texture Rollout, specificly the Tex-Clr and Clr-Tex buttons.
Because ZBrush can handle more polygons than other apps, it doesn’t worry about rendering tricks like smoothing. As has been mentioned, just subdivide the model to get the smoothness that you need. You can then also use polypainting to paint your color, transferring that to texture as needed. (This approach allows you to actually change your UV’s at any point along the way – even after having fully painted the model!)
ZBrush does have an option to smooth the model without dividing, but it’s kind of buried. You need to turn off Quick 3D Edit from the Transform palette, and set Tool>Display Properties>DSmooth to 1. There’s another slider next to that which will let you specify how strongly you’d like the smoothing effect to be applied. This is a render effect, which means that it only activates when you’re not directly interacting with the model. As soon as you go to rotate or edit the model, it will momentarily switch back to displaying the true poly count until you release the mouse button.
aurick wrote:
ZBrush does have an option to smooth the model without dividing, but it’s kind of buried. You need to turn off Quick 3D Edit from the Transform palette, and set Tool>Display Properties>DSmooth to 1. There’s another slider next to that which will let you specify how strongly you’d like the smoothing effect to be applied. This is a render effect, which means that it only activates when you’re not directly interacting with the model.
Thanks, Aurick on pointing out this feature! I didn’t have a clue about it’s existence. And who needs Mudbox (which is more expencive) now, huh,- right?