How to make scale Armor in Zbrush?

rayle1112

Hi.

Im a beginner in Zbrush. I'm doing a character which has scale armor. Can anyone suggest me some methods? The tricky part is this kind of armor has many layers that overlap with each other. I'm thinking about Micromesh and Insert mesh brush.

Some references

cryrid

For something like the first image where its covered with other armor, uvs + surface noise should work out good enough. When its not so nicely framed (such as in the last two), you might want to look into using micromesh, or IMM (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?170167-Insert-Multi-Mesh-Repository&p=965126&viewfull=1#post965126)

rayle1112

cryrid wrote: »

For something like the first image where its covered with other armor, uvs + surface noise should work out good enough. When its not so nicely framed (such as in the last two), you might want to look into using micromesh, or IMM (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?170167-Insert-Multi-Mesh-Repository&p=965126&viewfull=1#post965126)

Thank you! Those IMM brushes look awesome! I will try them

Lucas Annunziata

You may also be able to use Micromesh for this:

http://pixologic.com/zclassroom/homeroom/lesson/micromesh/

rayle1112

cryrid wrote: »

For something like the first image where its covered with other armor, uvs + surface noise should work out good enough. When its not so nicely framed (such as in the last two), you might want to look into using micromesh, or IMM (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?170167-Insert-Multi-Mesh-Repository&p=965126&viewfull=1#post965126)

I have tried that brush but it wasn't working very well for me. It's so hard to connect the strokes together... you can clearly see the seams. I dont think micromesh and noise maker are good ideas for this kind of mesh.

Any ideas?

cryrid

With IMM, you're going to want to resist the temptation to lay down the fattest choice. It won't be able to bend the same way around an object unless you turn projection on, which you probably don't want for something rigid. You'll want to do it strip by strip so that you can adjust the curve to make sure everything aligns before laying down the next strip.

Some areas will still need manually placed scales*


For Micromesh, you'll want to use the fat one to create a 2x2 tool (or create your own). Scale it up so its just wider than the preview window. I got this result in under 3 minutes:

It might take you a little longer to make sure your polygons are square, aligned correctly, and you may even have to rebuild the basemesh to account for how you want the scales to flow.


*Doing it all by hand, scale by scale, might be the only alternative unless you want to try one of the old UV-morphing tricks alternatively.

rayle1112

cryrid wrote: »

With IMM, you're going to want to resist the temptation to lay down the fattest choice. It won't be able to bend the same way around an object unless you turn projection on, which you probably don't want for something rigid. You'll want to do it strip by strip so that you can adjust the curve to make sure everything aligns before laying down the next strip.

Some areas will still need manually placed scales*


For Micromesh, you'll want to use the fat one to create a 2x2 tool (or create your own). Scale it up so its just wider than the preview window. I got this result in under 3 minutes:

It might take you a little longer to make sure your polygons are square, aligned correctly, and you may even have to rebuild the basemesh to account for how you want the scales to flow.


*Doing it all by hand, scale by scale, might be the only alternative unless you want to try one of the old UV-morphing tricks alternatively.

Cryid. you are awesome. I didn't know that I can create a tiled mesh with the Preview. My problem now is the edges of the base mesh are not aligned. I can fix this by using "spin edge" for every single face but it is very time consuming. Do you have any faster ways to fix this issue?

cryrid

Personally I don't know of any quick way to get everything to align properly. That's the slow part of using micromesh (although all things considered, it's still pretty fast considering the results it can give).

One thing you may have to do either way is alter the actual geometry of the basemesh. Instead of treating it like a complete t-shirt shape, you may have to break it into a few different overlapping pieces that leaves a gap around the arm pits (link).

rayle1112

cryrid wrote: »

Personally I don't know of any quick way to get everything to align properly. That's the slow part of using micromesh (although all things considered, it's still pretty fast considering the results it can give).

One thing you may have to do either way is alter the actual geometry of the basemesh. Instead of treating it like a complete t-shirt shape, you may have to break it into a few different overlapping pieces that leaves a gap around the arm pits (link).

I think It looks fine now. Thank you so much, Cryrid. You helped me a lot!