Zpheres question

macke

I have notice that default stored mannequins in zbrush look more squared, however when i try using zpheres I  end up having more rounded shapes. I was wondering how i could achieve such results? Perhaps there's a setting option i'm missing out on to make the shape squared and not rounded? thank you

cryrid

http://docs.pixologic.com/user-guide/3d-modeling/modeling-basics/creating-meshes/mannequins/

Scroll to the "Making your own Mannequin" section and there will be a part about assigning two meshes of your choosing to replace the sphere and joints.

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Making your own Mannequin

It’s not difficult to create your own Mannequins.

A basic Mannequin

1. Make a ZSphere model of the character you want. The method used is the same as previous versions of ZBrush except for when moving link spheres to lengthen joints you need to hold the Alt key.
2. You’ll need two meshes to create the Mannequin. They can be any shape but to start with select the Sphere3D and the Sphereinder3D and make each a polymesh by pressing the Tool>Make Polymesh3D button.
3. Reselect the ZSphere model and open the Tool>Adaptive Skin menu. You might want to open the Tool palette in the Right or Left tray for easy access.
4. Switch on Tool>Adaptive Skin>Use Classic Skinning.
5. Switch to Move mode by pressing ‘W’. This will mean you can select ZSpheres without adding new ones. If you made the ZSphere model with symmetry on make sure it is on now.
6. Click on a Link Sphere (between two ZSpheres)to select it. Then press Tool>Adaptive Skin>Insert Connector Mesh and choose the PM3D_Sphereinder3D from the pop-up. The link will be replaced by the Sphereinder polymesh.
7. Click on all the other Link Spheres in turn and insert the PM3D_Sphereinder3D. Don’t worry if the ZSpheres disappear.
8. When all the links are replaced click on the Root ZSphere to select it. You can recognize the Root ZSphere because it is always two-toned, whether selected or not.
9. Press the Insert Local Mesh button and choose the PM3D_Sphere3D from the pop-up.

Your Mannequin should now be complete. If you want you can fill it with a color by pressing Color>Fill Object.

Using different meshes

You can use any polymesh to replace either a ZSphere or Connecting Sphere, although for best results use simple meshes of not too many polygons. Simply select the ZSphere by clicking on it in Move mode, press the Insert Local Mesh button (for joints) or Insert Connector Mesh (for bones) and then select the mesh from the pop-up. In this way you can change single ZSpheres or Connecting Spheres anywhere on the Mannequin

macke

Hi, thank you for an answer and the guideline you have sent me. Unfortunately I'm missing something here, the only other mesh I'm able to select is a star, other meshes are gray and I'm unable to select them. Is there's an extra button i'm forgetting click?

cryrid

The "star" (Polymesh3D) is currently the only Polymesh model that you have loaded into zbrush. You can think of Polymeshes as your standard 3d model (ANY imported model would be considered a polymesh, for example). The rest of the menu are known as Primitives (or "Parametric Objects"). These parametric objects are different from standard models in that they are all the direct result of some mathematical formula. You can tweak certain parameters of their formulas using various sliders in order to change the resulting shape, but you can not do any manual modeling or sculpting on these objects because that kind of manual action simply isn't part of any mathematical formula. In order to sculpt on a Primitive Objects you must first convert it to a Polymesh Object using "Tool: Make Polymesh3d" button. 

Once you have more polymeshes loaded in your tool bar (either imported or converted), you'll be able to select them for this operation. 

macke

Thank you for the explanation!