open subdiv export to zbrush

ArcaneLeo

hi, im experiencing this problem,
im working with open subdiv in 3dmax, its save lot of time to create a high poly look and for baking

in zbrush there dynamic subdiv wich is similiar to open subdiv
i export my mesh with open subdiv stack, as obj and fbx
and there no crease data and open subdiv crease all the edge like crazy

there a proper workflow to use open subdiv mesh in zbrush?

musashidan

Not from Max. I think ZB supports Maya creasing. You will either have to crease in ZB, or collapse the stack in Max and reconstruct subdiv in ZB.

Neox

musashidan said:

or collapse the stack in Max and reconstruct subdiv in ZB.

no need to collapse just export as obj with the stack above applied

ArcaneLeo

well i try export obj with stack applied, but it wont read the crease from max
or there a setting i should applied?

and i try with fbx and get the same result, it just react like there no crease

maybe i should try export with maya
it just stupid if zbrush have dynamic subdiv but cant't use crease from other program

musashidan

As I explained above, ZB doesn't support opensibdiv creasing from Max, only the physical geo.

pior

"but cant't use crease from other program"

I believe I've heard that Maya<>Zbrush Goz supports creases, but I can't confirm it. However, what I can confirm is that it is possible to import OBJs with hard edges, and use that as a basis for Zbrush-specific creasing.

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?199290-Smooth-Group-Import-for-4R7

ArcaneLeo

pior, yeah im trying that plugin, but, it wont export with crease
well my modelling workflow all in 3dmax, it be double work if just for cheking crease i have to use maya

beefaroni

Have you tried GoZ?

pior

" it wont export with crease"

I know. What I am trying to get at is that you can leverage hard edges/smoothing groups as a replacement for creases. It works extremely well.

http://sebleg.free.fr/eva/wip01.jpg

beefaroni

Oh yea if GoZ doesn't work you can always collapse the stack at a pretty high subdivision (3 or 4) and then toss that over. Either doublesmooth or creasing. 

ArcaneLeo

beefaroni, but i need the lowpoly for baking, i dont want use retopology, time consuming

pior, looks good, , thanks for the info

musashidan

Creasing in 4r7 is very easy to apply. Why not just setup your creasing there?

ArcaneLeo

yeah, that  can be a solution too
but can it exported with crease from zbrush?

but i want use poly modelling and integrated with open subdiv
 

ArcaneLeo

maya does support open subdiv export, and support open subdiv from max too
yeah so i have to double export from max, to maya ascii and to zbrush
it work with maya ascii file, and in zbrush you even get the lowest subdivision and the open subdiv smooth subdiv

it was a no brainer fast workflow if you dealing with hard surface especialy for game baking
you can create highpoly and bake stuff more faster
and you get more accurate and clean subdiv in zbrush

maybe it too poly consuming ,but its a good combo for creating quality high poly in short time

pior

@ArcaneLeo : this last post if confusing, with things probably getting lost in translation. If you figured out a useful workflow that others may benefit from it would be nice to see images clearly explaining what you mean.

ArcaneLeo

sorry for my bad english,

i tried my best to explain
so i use open subdiv for creating baroque and ornament work
if you use standart subdivision, you have to create a proper edge loops to create a hard look, and time consuming

but if you use open subdiv, you just select the edge that you want it to be "hard", and it be hard without 
creating a proper edge loop, but open subdiv will produce much polycount than standart subdivision

for my workflow, i want to create lowpoly game asset on tight deadline, if you sculpting baroque or ornament from zero in zbrush
it will be time consuming
so my choice was create a lowpoly mesh in 3dmax, but if you create  lowpoly after that you throw it in zbrush and divide it
it would be ugly and too smooth, it wont preserve the hard edge, too time consuming too polish it manually

if you create the lowpoly then work on high poly, when you throw in zbrush, you can't use your lowpoly mesh ,you must
transfer the highpoly detail to lowpoly via projection and you have to cleanup some mess from projection error

so the best solution is, create lowpoly, and create subdiv with open subdiv, export it
and your lowpoly file will preserve the highpoly from open subdiv, after you sculp you can bake it right a way,
without retopo, projection, and etc


i see some tutorial, they use open subdiv a lot for baking, but now the integration with zbrush mean you can do lot of thing more than just
for baking

for short, i use open subdiv for preserve my hard edge without add too much edge loop like normal subdiv do

pior

Sorry, I still don't quite understand.

Are you saying that :
1 - you *did* find a way to export your opensubdiv crease data to zbrush ?

Or, are you saying that :
2 - you did *not* find a way to export it, and are thus relying on applying the subdivision before export ?

ArcaneLeo

i did and it zbrush did recocnize maya crease,
 the file export from MA file does include crease

but it just MA file, other file like fbx and obj doesnt include crease

pior

Awesome, glad to hear you found a workaround !