ZBrushCentral

UVs and Retopology query

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I have a question for all of the Zbrush Wizards out there…

is it possible to bring new UVs into a ztool?

in other words…

Is it possible to sculpt a box mesh in Zbrush all the way to hi res – then retopologize the base mesh for animation – LAYOUT UVS USING MAYA…(rather than the crazy uvs of zbrush) – then bring newly UV’d basemesh back into the ztool and it keep all of the final detail? and create a displacement onto the new UVs

thanx for your help!

Sandman

#2

So long as you don’t change the pose or drastically alter the forms, this is technically possible.

Basically what you would do is the following:

  • Box model your character from start to finish
  • export your model for retopology (don’t do UV’s at this point)
  • Import your new topology as a ztool, then load it as the topology starting point in the rigging options of your high resolution sculpt
  • project all details onto your new topology (and fix any inevitable problems with the projection)
  • export your new low-res topology for UV’ing
  • do your UV’s in whatever app you do them in
  • re-import the UV’d low res mesh into the matching subdivision level for your final sculpt.

Personally I’d like to see this workflow streamlined a bit… all of the functionality is there, we just need less buttons to do it. In mudbox for example you can just tangent displace any arbitrary mesh, so all you would have to do is import your new topology and hit a button. But I digress :stuck_out_tongue:

#3

There’s an easier way.

Import your new topology with its UV’s into ZBrush. Append it as a SubTool to the detailed ZBrush model. Store a morph target, subdivide it to have about as many polygons as the original model, then press Tool>SubTool>Project All.

Your Draw settings will determine what gets projected. Zadd for sculpted details. M, Mrgb or Rgb for material and/or color. That means that your source model can even be polypainted. After projecting the color to the new model you can convert that to a texture based on the new topology’s UV’s.

#4

Thank you both for your hasty reply! it was right on target! U guys are some kool cats! :cool:

#5

Hey Aurick, could you elaborate on what you meant by your draw settings determining what gets projected. I’m trying to figure out some more tricks for using project all.

Thanks in advance. :cool:

#6

Project All can project MRGB as well as zdepth.

so in other words, if you want to project sculpted details, turn off MRGB and turn on zadd. If you want to project only textures but not materials or geometry changes, turn off “M” and “ZAdd” and leave RGB on.

#7

Thanks Testure. That’s very useful.:smiley: