ZBrush - Timeline Question - The Art of Mechanics

Ace-Angel

Hey to all the people of the Republic of Polycount,

Question comrades! Is it possible to Animate a mesh in ZB's timeline, by moving it's position, then sculpting on it, both in the previous and final position?

An example of what I mean;

I have a glove on a character that is all mechanical and symmetrical, so having my glove in a traditional T-Pose would serve me better for sculpting of said glove with my masks, pinching and cutting, but my character is set in a more 'natural' TP, with the hands at their side around the waist.

So I was thinking of using the Timeline to animate the position of my glove between the organic position vs. the traditional TP, and I would like to sculpt on it in both instances if I wish, and see the effect, so I can better coordinate my characters 'style' if you wish.

Is such a thing possible? Can I use Timeline to achieve said effect? Or am I doomed to having an hand-less character since his gloves are floating next to his ears?

If you answer my question, I can give you an instant facelift! Right now!

cryrid

You might be able to use Layers. You can then probably use timeline to keyframe the layer strengths for an even quicker swap. Just from a quick test though, this seems to work good for preserving masking but not so much for actual details; those could get warped as the other layer nears an extreme.

An alternative would be a simple macro script to store transformations. Start with your subtool in the relaxed position, and under zscript begin recording. Use the deformation sub-palette to rotate and offset it as needed. Save the script and open it in notepad. Make some minor changes (such as the button name), and then copy/paste the code for a second button but this time reverse the transforms. Save and load the script back up and you'll have something that can jump between two different stored transforms.

IE:

[IButton,T-Pose,"Press to Rotate in T-Pose",
[IConfig,4.42]
[IModSet,Tool:Deformation:Rotate,0]
[IModSet,Tool:Deformation:Rotate,4]
[ISet,Tool:Deformation:Rotate, -44.26229]
]/*End of ZScript*/

[IButton,Relaxed Pose,"Press to Rotate in Relaxed",
[IConfig,4.42]
[IModSet,Tool:Deformation:Rotate,0]
[IModSet,Tool:Deformation:Rotate,4]
[ISet,Tool:Deformation:Rotate, 44.26229]
]/*End of ZScript*/

This particular script would take the object, set the rotation deform to work in z only, and then rotate it -44.2 degrees. The second button would rotate it back. The only thing to note with this approach is that you wouldn't be able to move the model while having a portion of it masked, and you probably dont want to change it's pivot around. Other than that it works fast and fine.

Ace-Angel

Nice, and oh, now that you mention it, should the pivot be in the center weight of my character or in the center of the object I'm sculpting?

Also, what do you mean about details warping if the strength is too high?

Cheers!

cryrid

I'm not sure if the pivot location itself would matter as much, as long as you have the same setting active before running the transforms.

For the warping, if you were to sculpt on a raised hand and then lower it to the sides via another layer, some details just start to change. A series of centered rings at the top might start to push more in one direction at the bottom.

Ace-Angel

Ah yes, understood, cheers!