ZBrushCentral

Zmapper button missing?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I’ve only been using zbrush for a couple of days, and I already need to crank something out for a job that’s on a short timeline. . .

I’m working on a mac 8core w/8gigs ram. I brought in a mesh from Maya 2008, divided and sculpted. Following the normal mapping tutorial (to get it back to Maya), the next step is to click on the Zmapper button in the upper left of the screen, but the button isn’t there!

I’ve initialized zbrush, and tried to export a normal map using the tool palate, but create normalMap is greyed out.

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks-

–Joshua–

#2

Does your model have multiple UV regions? If so, you may need to split the model into subtools based on the UV’s before you can make normal maps for it.


  1. Go to level 1
  2. Press Tool>Polygroups>Uv Groups
  3. Press Tool>SubTool>GrpSplit
  4. Now select a subtool and create your normal map
Also, if your model doesn’t have UV’s assigned or if UV’s have been disabled, then you won’t be able to create a normal map until you assign/reassign UV’s.

#3

So I wound up finishing that project by just exporting the hi-res mesh.

However, I am doing some tests on a basic model to try to figure this out, and I am still not seeing the Zmapper button.

-I made a simple mesh from a sphere in maya, used automatic mapping to assign UV’s (Planar mapping, 3 planes, 1024 resolution).

-I selected the model, exported an .obj using export selection, opened the .obj in zbrush using the DefaultZscript dialog, divided and sculpted.

Still no Zmapper button?

-The UV’s came in with the model, as there is information in the UV Map section of the tool palate. When I follow the instructions in the previous post, it tells me that “Mesh is comprised of one group only”.

It seems as though I’m missing something simple, is there a toolbar preference somewhere where it might be turned off?

Thanks-

–Joshua–

#4

Another thought-

Shouldn’t the Zmapper button be there, regardless of what is going on with the model/UV’s?

It seems as though it is there in the tutorials, regardless of what is being demonstrated.

#5

ZMapper is currently PC-only. That’s why 3.12 doesn’t have it.

On a Mac, create the normal map this way:


  1. Go to level 1 of your model.
  2. Set the size of the map in the Tool>UV Map menu.
  3. In the Tool>Normal Map menu, set the values that are desired.
  4. Press Create NormalMap
  5. Export the map from the Texture palette.

  • Tangent on will create a tangent map. Tangent off will create an object map.
  • Adaptive on is usually used when you’ve sculpted with brushes that can cause creasing in the mesh, such as the Pinch brush. You might try creating two maps – one on and one off – and decide which gives the best results.
  • SmoothUV is usually not used, but available if you need it.
  • Preferences>Importexport has settings for if you need to flip normal map directions.
#6

Thanks for the reply.

Any idea when it will be added to the Mac version?

Is this also the case with MD2? I’m not seeing it in the interface.

Kind of disappointing that the Mac version is crippled, does the method you describe provide results of the same quality?

The main reason that I purchased Zbrush was to bring the information back into Maya to rig and animate characters. Can you point me to any Mac specific tutorials on using Zbrush with Maya? Every tutorial I have found uses either Zmapper or MD2 to generate maps.

Thanks-

–Joshua–

#7

3.12 is a transitional version. It was meant to give Mac users ZBrush 3 features without making you wait for version 3.5. But it also has some new stuff, where a feature that was planned for 3.5 was already completed and could be included in 3.12. At the same time, it does not have some features from 3.1 because those features depend on code that has already been updated to 3.5.

So you get some things that PC users don’t have, and you lose a few things that PC users do have. When 3.5 is released, both PC and Mac will be unified and both platforms will have the full feature set.

As for plugins: NO plugins were released with 3.12. We’re testing each of the official ones to ensure full compatibility with 3.12 (and with each other under 3.12). Most of the plugins will be able to be re-released for 3.12 in the near future. This includes things like Displacement Exporter and MD3. ZMapper, however, is a plugin that cannot be updated to 3.12 for technical reasons.

The technique that I described above will give results that are just as good as ZMapper. Also, 3.12 can create a normal map for one object, using another as a reference (ZMapper’s projection feature). In fact, 3.12 can do it better than ZMapper could because you have full control of the projection. I gave step-by-step instructions on how to do that here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=63783

#8

Speaking of ZB 3.5, is it still on target for fourth quarter per this thread?

http://zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=61998

-K

#9

Thanks For answering my questions. I was not aware that 3.12 was a transitional version.

#10

TIP (specific to exporting for Modo): When going to Luxology Modo with your normal maps, you may need to flip your maps vertically to line up with Modo’s Normal mapping style. To do this automatically, go to Preferences->ImportExport and select the “NormalMapFlipVert” button.

Cheers!
-K