Question about zbrush Projection vs Normal Maps

Hamsenberg

Hi, apologies if this is a silly question, but I can't seem to find an answer with my google-fu.

When you have a high poly and a low poly, for games, do you ever project the high poly mesh onto the low poly? Specifically, using zbrush's Projection tool.

I was under the impression that it was high poly, retopo, bake normal map from high poly onto retopo low poly. So why are there videos talking about zbrush's projection and blender's shrinkwrap? Is that for film CGI?

tgm79

Projection is a tool used when you have retopologized your high poly and want to bring the resulting low poly to the same level of subdivisions as your original high poly. You need to have your retopoligized tool selected and your original high poly visible. Then you subdivide once, project, subdivide again, project, subdivide, and so on until you reach similar count of polygons. Now you have a high poly that is looking the same, but has a clean topology. If you are making a game asset projection is not needed for the low poly.