ZBrushCentral

Ztool not centered anymore!!

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi Guys,

I could really need a hand with this. It seems my Ztool isn’t centered anymore. I’ve no Idea how this happened as all low-res meshes I imported are symmetrical and are placed on the world origin in the 3d modeling program.
If I re-import those meshes into Zbrush and append them as a new subtool they will still fit this model even though it is off-center.
Also, if I GoZ this model to LightWave it will be centered on the world axis, and when I export the model as an OBJ to Modo (GoZ doesn’t work yet) it also is centered on the world axis.

What is the solution to recentering my Ztool as this off-center gives trouble with mirroring and retopologising.
Any help is welcome!

Cheers

Attachments

Center_Tool.jpg

#2

Tool>Deformation>Unify

#3

Try pressing Transform>Clear Pivot.

#4

Thanks for the quick reply guys!

@ zyber2: Sadly that doesn’t really work as all my subtools will have a different scale relative to each other and non-centered tools, which will be mirrored later (like boots, gloves etc), will be centered.

@ marcus_civis: The clear_pivot button is grayed out. It is strange cause I can imagine accidentally moving your active tool, but not with all subtools following along! How does Zbrush determine the center of a tool?

#5

If you import and then append subtools the scale/offset is based on the top subtool.

You can correct the offset easily enough. Use the Tool>Deformation>Offset slider to move the top subtool to the correct position. Then press Tool>Deformation>Repeat To Other (the bottom button in the Deformation menu).

#6

He Marcus,

Thank you!!! That helped!! All my tools are now centered again! This saves me an enormous amout of work!
And thank you (and zber2) for replying so quickly, even on a sunday!!

Cheers

#7

Although my subtools are now centered again with the offset option in the deformation tab something is still wrong.
The subtools I now append, centered at world axis, now have an offset in the (offset adjusted) tool.
Take a look at the picture to see what I mean.
Before I adjusted the Ztool with offset, the appended subtools would be at the right location eventhough the ztool itself was off-axis (in other words, they too would be off-axis once appended).

Now, this situation is workable right now but it seems to me there is more at hand than a simple user-error.

Attachments

Center_Tool2.jpg

#8

How are you appending the new subtools?

#9

I’m using the append button in the subtool palette.

#10

Ok, I just did a quick test this morning. I figured, if centered subtools appended in the non-centered tool still end up in the right place (although non-centered) maybe the same thing also works the other way around.
And it seems it does. If I append my non-centered subtool in a centered tool, they end up perfectly centered. It is a bit of work as there are about 60 subtools in the non-centered tool, but I’ll end up with a centered tool again which is great.

I still have the feeling something internally in Zbrush went wrong to have the axis offset cause non-centered subtools when GoZ-ed to a 3D program end up perfectly centered there. I can mail Pixologic the tools (both versions, centered and non-centered) if they are interested. But otherwise I consider this problem ‘solved’.

Thanks for the help guys.

#11

I’ve been trying to think how you arrived with the off-centre model and really have no idea.

You can use SubTool Master to speed up the re-append stuff. Save out the model as a ZTL, start with a correctly aligned new single subtool then use the ‘MultiAppend’ option to load the ZTL. It will append all the subtools for you.

EDIT: it is possible that at some point when going to and from your other app you inadvertently changed the Tool>Export>Offset settings. This may have led to the problems.

#12

Thanks for the quick Subtool Master tip, Marcus!

Regarding the off-centered tool, I don’t use GoZ to get my meshes in and out of Zbrush. I normally in- and export them as OBJ files and that hasn’t an offset option (as far as I know). I only used GoZ in this instance to check if the off-center tool was a mistake on my part (by offsetting it in Modo) or a Zbrush problem.

If I inadvertently had changed offset settings, wouldn’t the exported tool (either via GoZ or OBJ) also show up as off-center in Modo? That is the strange thing about this, the off-center tool only behaved as an off-center tool internally. With appending to other (centered) tools Zbrush somehow remembered the original position, and also with exporting the original position was there.

Once I did center the tool with the Tool>Deformations>Offset, it behaved as a centered tool internally but as an offset tool when appending and exporting.

It looks more like the grid (floor) of the tool was offset to the world position instead of the actual tool itself, but I have no idea if that actually is possible in Zbrush. An interesting problem indeed :slight_smile:

Cheers.