Z Brush Confusion
polycounter lvl 6
So I've been having a hard time sort of grasping when Zbrush is appropriate. It seems like a lot of people think it's appropriate for all situations, but others seem to do a lot in 3ds or another package before touching Zbrush. I've been trying to integrate Zbrush into my workflow, and I've just been having some lingering confusion, and was hoping somebody could help explain some things.
I suppose thanks to Polycount I understand better the use of Zbrush in terms of game production, like to create a highpoly model that is then baked to normals, but what about when you want to work with a high res model? For instance, on the Zbrush Central website, the radio tutorial was great. He made a highpoly radio that looked beautiful, but I didn't really get to see what he did with it after he made it.
What becomes of a model like that if it's going to be used in film/commercials? For a model that's in the 5 million plus range, how would you even work with it in a 3d Package to render it or animate it? Would you have to retopologize it? If so, what advantage is there to going into Zbrush at all if you have to build it and then end up re-building it?
I've been trying to make a gun part at work, a sight, and that Zbrush Central Radio tutorial was really relevant as he was getting complex machined looking parts that I wouldn't be able to model in Maya, but once I've got it looking good, how can I even use that? I guess I'll have to retopologize it, but contrary to game models, I'll need to turbosmooth it in order to make it look realistic, and that requires having strategic edge loops... Does it make sense to use Zbrush at all?
Sorry if this is irrelevant.. I know this forum is intended for game users but you guys are experts all around, and I also am making games on the side.
Sorry if I ranted too much as well... I've just been using Zbrush for about a year now and I still feel like my head just won't wrap around it.
I suppose thanks to Polycount I understand better the use of Zbrush in terms of game production, like to create a highpoly model that is then baked to normals, but what about when you want to work with a high res model? For instance, on the Zbrush Central website, the radio tutorial was great. He made a highpoly radio that looked beautiful, but I didn't really get to see what he did with it after he made it.
What becomes of a model like that if it's going to be used in film/commercials? For a model that's in the 5 million plus range, how would you even work with it in a 3d Package to render it or animate it? Would you have to retopologize it? If so, what advantage is there to going into Zbrush at all if you have to build it and then end up re-building it?
I've been trying to make a gun part at work, a sight, and that Zbrush Central Radio tutorial was really relevant as he was getting complex machined looking parts that I wouldn't be able to model in Maya, but once I've got it looking good, how can I even use that? I guess I'll have to retopologize it, but contrary to game models, I'll need to turbosmooth it in order to make it look realistic, and that requires having strategic edge loops... Does it make sense to use Zbrush at all?
Sorry if this is irrelevant.. I know this forum is intended for game users but you guys are experts all around, and I also am making games on the side.
Sorry if I ranted too much as well... I've just been using Zbrush for about a year now and I still feel like my head just won't wrap around it.
Replies
Three possible approaches:
1. You can rough out a shape in zbrush, then retopologize it in a way that has the same volume and subdivides well, so that you can continue making changes to it either in zbrush or in an external program. This requires control edges in the end result. This could also require further retopology to get the final game model.
"If so, what advantage is there to going into Zbrush at all if you have to build it and then end up re-building it? "
Depending on the shape or how the artist likes to work, this could still be faster. You can focus on quickly getting a desired shape using the sculpting tools, and then focus purely on the topology later. It's certainly not going to be the case for every model, some practice along with some judgement can help determine when you might decide to tackle a shape this way.
2. You can retopologize your sculpt into your final model. This probably wouldn't need those extra subdivision control loops since the highpoly surface already looks the way you want it to.
3. You can model something the ol' fashioned way.
Figure out your goals for the model, and how you prefer to create something. If you're just creating on your own, it's all good. If you're creating the asset as part of a team and somewhere down the road you might need to go back and change a bevel width, the overall thickness, or whatever else an art director/client/whoever asks for, then you might appreciate having good topology in an external program.
1. You can rough out a shape in zbrush, then retopologize it in a way that has the same volume and subdivides well, so that you can continue making changes to it either in zbrush or in an external program. This requires control edges in the end result. This could also require further retopology to get the final game model.
If you're retopologizing in Zbrush and have to hand place every vert, doesn't it become really impossible to keep edges perfect?
Also would you smooth the model to keep the silhouette before displacing or keep it pretty angular and have the displacement subdivisions smooth out the silhouette shape?
So many questions O_O
Yea it's dang hard to keep edges perfect when retopoing in Zbrush. It's one of the many reasons I don't like to retopo in Zbrush.
What I tend to do is make the retopo very very minimal. Then SubD and let the program place the edges perfectly uniform. Then I use ProjectAll to snap the new edges to the shape of the high poly. I don't know if that helps at all.
Using Zbrush retopo takes a lot longer, but yeah it would be handy to know how in situations where you have no access to topogun