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ZProject/Polypaint across seams, exporting textures- Poser Models

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Not 100% sure this is the right sub-forum, so mods, please move if needed.

I mainly have been using ZBrush to texture models for use in Poser and DAZ Studio. My workflow is as follows:

Import model as a single OBJ (exported from DAZ Studio or Poser) for use as a tool in ZBrush after importing my reference images to the background.

Use the ZProject brush to apply the background image to the model.

Break the model into multiple subgroups.

When finished, apply the ZProjected painting to the UV (Texture -> Col/Tex) and then export (Texture ->Export) each single texture as a PSD for compositing in Photoshop.

My question (possibly a twofold question) is this- Is it possible to save the exported texture from ZBrush as a layered .PSD? Or is there a way to save all the textures applied to the seperate groups to one UV Map- i.e. a UV of ‘Limbs’ is broken into 4 mat groups (hands, forearms, biceps, shoulder)?

#2

No, there isn’t a way to do that. ZBrush wasn’t designed for overlapping UV’s. To work with those, you have to use workarounds.

#3

Hmmmm, I was afraid of that aurick.

I’m going to see if I can find a workaround, then. I have a couple of ideas bouncing around in my head and if I find one that’s pretty easy, I’ll be sure to post it!

Edit to add- I had the workaround suddenly click in my head. Here’s the new, revised process I will use for painting and exporting across multiple seams. This requires a knowledge of which UV templates and material zones correlate.

Load your reference image and model into the workspace and ZProject/Polypaint as normal.

Don’t worry about breaking the model into seperate subgroups.

Ctrl+Shift Click (windows) each group of the UV that you do not want to export (for my test, I wanted to export the painted UV for the limbs, so I ‘hide’-clicked all the groups not associated with the limbs- head, tongue, torso, etc).

Go to the Texture Side-menu and click col>tex, then export your texture.