ZBrushCentral

Working with separated head and body together.

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi everyone,

FINALLY getting a chance to use ZBrush for a freelance gig. Here’s my situation - I have an old model that I’m deforming into the required character. The head and body were modeled separately, and they share points at the neck seam. The model is at the appropriate low geometry that I will be using for rigging. I’d like to keep them separate, as I’ll be using TSM2 for the body and TFM for the face. From Maya, I exported selected (both at the same time) and can import them into ZBrush. During editing the base resolution, sometimes I notice points around the seam won’t get updated correctly. Also, when Dividing the geometry, the gap between the head and neck becomes apparent. What is the proper method for editing separated meshes so that the tangency across the seams remains intact?

Also - I’d like to eventually model in some wrinkle and fold/crease detail at higher subdivisions. I’ll then use displacement maps on a Smoothed low-res rig to achieve the higher detail rendering in Maya. I’m assuming that if I can maintain the proper tangency, that when I bring over the displacement maps I won’t get a seam where the head and body meet.

Thanks for any help!

-Steve

http://sketchbot.blogspot.com

#2

You should load the head and body as separate subtools. This will allow you to sculpt and detail them individually, giving higher overall polygon counts and so better details. Before dividing, press Tool>Geometry>Crease. This will keep the seam at the neck from pulling apart when you divide.

When creating displacement maps, use 32-bit maps via Multi Displacement 3. This will avoid seams.

#3

Thanks Aurick.

One problem though. I can’t seem to find Multi Displacement 3 - i’m using 3.1.2 on Mac OS X. grrrr. I’m also trying to follow along with Scott Spencer’s ZBrush Character Creation book. Am I screwed until MD3 is out for OS X? I’ll have to check if I still have my PC version of ZBrush loaded up on my Boot Camp partition. sigh

EDIT - Ok, I still have my 3.1 on the PC side. It wouldn’t recognize my valid PC serial number, however, I have the 7 day grace period. I copy over the ZTL file from my Mac that I want to use Multi Displacement 3 on and it won’t open!

File Error: Error has been encountered while trying to load a Tool. Loading has been aborted.

Hmm, are OS X 3.1.2 files backward compatible with PC v3.1?

Thanks for any help,

-Steve

#4

Your currently do need the PC version for 32-bit maps.

ZTL files can’t go from 3.12 to 3.1 because 3.12 has new features in the way it saves files that 3.1 can’t make heads or tails of. What you need to do is export level 1 and the highest level from 3.12 as OBJ files. Then in 3.1 you can import the high level version, then import the low level version and append it to the high. Divide it to have the original number of subdivisions, then use Tool>SubTool>Project All to copy the details from the high res version. You will now be able to create your maps.

#5

Whew! Thanks, I’ll give that a try.

One quick question while I have your attention! :slight_smile:

My plan is to introduce some detail (such as wrinkles, subtle skin texture, etc.) onto a lo-res, rigged model in Maya that will be smoothed up at render time. Say, for example, that I was at SDiv 5 for my final sculpting needs. This is the level that I wish to create a displacement/normal map from. My idea is then to set my smoothing to level 5 in Maya, while also utilizing the approximation editor to get the wanted detail at render time. Am I on the right track here?

Thanks!

-Steve

#6

Ok, so i THINK i got this append to work. I can now slide the res on Level1 up to SDiv 5. However, after entering all of the preferred settings I get the following error:

“Error encountered while attempting to create multi-displacement maps. Exporting process aborted.”

Hmm, is there a way to duplicate this functionality in the OS X 3.1.2 version that matches using Multi-Displacement 3 in the PC version?

#7

What you could try is to merge the mesh, sculpt it so that everything is continuous then import the separated mesh and use “project all” on the separated mesh to transfer the detail. However, this may seem a bit risky because there is no guarantee that the seam will keep after the mesh projection. But I’m sure that there is a good solution out there.

Rev. :stuck_out_tongue:

#8

Ok, after perusing numerous threads, I see that OS X 3.1.2 doesn’t have a few features (Displacement Exporter 3), but also gains some new ones. I saw Auricks thread about no ZMapper in 3.1.2, but the functionality is there. So, I’m reading the 3.1.2 what’s new pdf and see how to make an AO map and the enhancements to Displacement Map and Normal Map menus.

The problem now is that I can’t seem to generate either a Displacement or Normal Map. Clicking on the “Create” button does nothing. Am I missing a crucial step here? Are these steps tied into Alphas? It’s all very confusing.

At this point, I’m hoping to just get a normal or bump and AO map out and use that in Maya for some detail. What’s the most straight-forward way to achieve this?