ZBrushCentral

Transparent Rendering. Answered.

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I’ve been trying to render a Ztool transparent for a couple of hours now, unsuccessfully. I’ve clicked BPR Transparent in Display properties in the Tool pallet, Smooth Normals and Transparent in the Render pallet and have played with the sliders in the BPR Transparency (also in the Render pallet) and the Transparency slider in the Materials>Modifiers pallet. I’ve stopped Pixolator’s car rendering video and went back and forth trying to see exactly what he did at the point the cars windows changed to transparent. I’ve tried every type of render, including ‘Best’. I’m obviously missing something here but haven’t been able to find the missing link. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks in advance.

Ezra

#2

did you turn on ‘Transparent’ in Render > Render Properties?

#3

Hi zber2,

Yes I did. And smooth normal just above it. I thought that’s what I saw Pixolator do in the video.

#4

There’s only 3 things to do

  1. Turn on ‘BPR Transparent’ in Tool > Display Properties.

  2. Turn on ‘Transparent’ in Render > Render Properties.

  3. Click ‘BPR’ button (Shift+R).

#5

hmmm, Well I did all of those things without getting the transparent look in my render. I was hoping I was missing something else.

#6

Did you try restarting ZBrush and trying it again? I don’t know what to say other than that. It does work with those 3 steps.

#7

Well, I just added another subtool and your absolutely correct. Those setting do make it transparent and I’m able to see the other subtool, a sphere, behind the flattened cube. Before I only had a single tool but it was bent in several way and I suppose I was expecting to see the other ends of it that were behind the closest surface when it rendered transparent. I’ll keep experimenting.

Thanks for your responses zeber2.

Ezra

#8

Apparently you can see other subtools through the transparent tool but you can’t see other parts of the same tool when looking through a part of a transparently rendered tool.

To clarify, say you take a plane or a flattened cube and put a 90 degree bend in it. You can’t see the other wing through the wing in the forefront of the screen. That’s why I wasn’t realizing the single tool, I was working with initially, was actually rendering transparent. Once I put another subtool in the scene it became evident,

Thanks again zeber2, your always so helpful.

TC

Ezra

#9

Your welcome Ezra, I’m glad you got it sorted. :slight_smile: