Zbrush camera navigation

Peppek1993

Hey guys, I'm completely new to Zbrush and comming from 3DS Max the navigation, UI and general workflow is just weird and quirky. Do you maybe have any tips on how to set up Zbrush to feel just a little more like 3DS Max? 

Also what is the recommended setup for tablet? Especially how to set up my pen grip buttons and 4 buttons on the tablet itself to make the workflow much smoother and easier? I'm using Wacom Intuos Pen tablet so it's nothing fancy but I would like to have a control over camera movement with just my pen and pen/tablet hotkeys.

Any help would be much appreciated c:

cryrid

Hey guys, I'm completely new to Zbrush and comming from 3DS Max the navigation, UI and general workflow is just weird and quirky. Do you maybe have any tips on how to set up Zbrush to feel just a little more like 3DS Max? 

It's going to feel quirky and different if you want it to behave like a 3D program. This is because its designed as a painting program that can have more in common with Photoshop or MS Paint than it will a 3D program like Max or Maya. Since you're completely new, I would suggest taking a few minutes to learn the following about Zbrush so that you won't be left fighting it without knowing why. 

Learn this:

Again, it's a designed as a painting program. The Zbrush Document is an image document, and the goal of Zbrush's design is to let you paint pixels onto this document in order to create an image. The document even exports as a PSD file, just to stress the similarities. There is a slight difference of course... while the pixels of a document in MS Paint will only store RGB data for each pixel, Zbrush's pixels will also store a z-depth value (think like this) and material information. They call these "pixols" just to distinguish them (and this is how "Pixologic" and "Zbrush" get their names, since you're using pixols to paint with depth). 

Rather than just stick with standard painting tools like paintbrushes (which are still available in the tool pallet), Zbrush also lets you create pixols on a document by using 3D models. That is why it refers to models as "Tools". Understanding the basic difference between the 2d Document and the 3d Tool is highly important. 

Then learn this (it's where the sculpting happens):

Whenever you paint anything onto the Document, Zbrush will give you a chance to modify what you just drew before the result is actually converted into an image (pixols). It basically puts your last stroke in a suspended state of limbo that floats on top of the 2D Document until you accept it. Since it only stores the most recent stroke, accepting it is as simple as starting a new stroke in Draw Mode.

Example:

Lets say you use the paintbrush to draw a line on the document. You can immediately switch from DRAW MODE over to MOVE, ROTATE, or SCALE in order to adjust the placement of that line before accepting it. You can even change its depth in relation to existing pixols on the document. Once you're happy with its placement, simply switch back to Draw Mode and click to being the next stroke. 

When you draw a 3D model onto the document to place it into this state of limbo, you have access to a special transform setting called EDIT MODE. Until you activate that, then everything you've done in Zbrush up until now has been part of a painting. Once that EDIT MODE is activated however, you're now able to to begin making changes to the tool itself (the 3D model). In other words, this is where you sculpt and polypaint onto the actual model. 

What this all means for you (camera navigation): 

There is no 3d virtual environment. You are not moving a camera to orbit around the model like you would in Max. There is no camera. You are spinning the model itself as it magically floats on top of an image document (this is why lights are faked with matcaps/litspheres/spherical mapping too, for example). 

You can try using Zswitcher to get navigation shortcuts similar to Maya (and perhaps Max?), but nothing will truly fix the core difference that you're rotating the model. 

Personally, I like the default shortcuts. 3D modeling programs assume you are using a mouse and so they will give you 1 keyboard modifier used in conjunction with 3 mouse buttons. Zbrush assumes you are working with a tablet and so it is designed to let you navigate using 1 stylus/mouse button used in conjunction with 1 keyboard modifier. It will focus on the last point you click on, and and with a little practice behind the wheel it becomes pretty quick to use. 

Edit: The URL formatting is being wonky, so incase the link doesn't work...
https://draster.com/ZSwitcher/

pior

Well, while it is true that it is totally possible to get used to it the default navigation paradigm, Zwitcher really does work very well ! I personally don't see a reason to not use it. Not sure if it can emulate Max-style navigation but it does a fantastic job at doing Maya-style which is objectively better anyways.

(It's also possible to setup Zbrush so that mouse scroll zooms in/out. Irrelevant here since you are mostly concerned with stylus use, but still useful and good to know).

That said, while it will make navigation a no-brainer Zswitcher will not really make the program any more fluid when it comes to reviewing a model : navigating the 3d scene/model as freely as in Max/Maya/Blender will still be impossible because of some deep-rooted Zbrush limitations/features. The plugin remains an excellent purchase nonetheless.

Peppek1993

Thank you very much guys, will check out ZSwitch definitely!