workflow question - Problem to retopo multiple Subtools - PLS need your help

[wethand]

hello ZBC,

i am wondering one step for a long time now… and i have no idea how to go around this…
i really need your help!!!

my problem: i dont know how to handle ONE tool made out of several Subtools. i want to make a new Topology for the merged tool and project the detail on this to generate working normal- and texture-maps.
i know it has to be possible because many people are building their models out of many subtools and then retopologizing and uv-layouting it.

i hope you know what i mean… this is one last step i need to understand to get my workflow working…

merged subtools:

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[Droma]

That does get to be a problem. Zbrush is great for a lot of things but it still isn’t the greatest with retopo, especially multiple subtools. I believe most of us only retopo individual subtools in zbrush if needed and then decimate and export out our finished hi res meshes and retopo in another program. Topogun, nex plugin for maya, max has a built in quad draw now, or silo’s retopo tool all work well, then we use transfer maps or w/e max/xsi/silo’s equivalent is or xnormal for our normal/AO baking.

That probably wasn’t the answer you were looking for though. Hopefully someone else comes in and can give you a workable zbrush solution.

[wethand]

hello droma,

many many thanks for your answer! it brought me a step further in answering my question!
actually i am retopoing in Topogun. but then i bring the retopo back to zbrush and want to project the detail.
i didn’t look topogun very close, but this could be the answer. Retopo in topogun, bringing the retopo inside max, setting up UV-Coordinates and then baking normal-maps inside Topogun or another tool. but then the question appears how to bake the zbrush-polypainted texture on that retopologized tools…

i really need to know how to bake normal-maps the best way. i will try topogun-features to get my model to work…
Maybe someone can shortly describe his workflow for creating realtime-content… i am really serious about this.

thanks a lot people!

[Droma]

Check out the free xnormal vid on eat3d it goes over how to get color from zbrush onto a mesh. Although I was having issues with it so it may not work currently with zb4. I know I’ll be experimenting with some stuff in the coming weeks to try and improve my own pipeline.

Really wish zbrush would just export vert colors as that would make things a heck of a lot easier.

[wethand]

hey droma,

this was the perfect tip!!!
only one application! yah, this was an awesome tip!!!

thank you very very much! this will improve my workflow so much!!! no damn projecting problems with multiple subtools!!!
thanks a lot!!!

i made it with xNormals! a free application. and it worked very fine!
here my workflow:

1. model and sculpt as much as you want
2. merge subtools which belong together (belt and trousers, backpack and gadgets, knife and grip etc.)
3. retopo in any app
4. uv in any app
5. bring the merged high-poly and uv’d low-poly in xnormals
6. bake maps

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