Getting a texture from one set of UVs to another?

[Deleted User]

I don't know if this is possible or not, but I'm looking for a way to transfer a texture from one set of UVs to a different set of UVs across different topologies.

I painted the texture on the high poly model in Zbrush, and I'm trying to bake it down onto the low poly. The problem is that the high poly model, at its lowest subdivision level, doesn't have the same structure as the low poly model that's getting the final UVs (my base mesh was all quads, my final mesh has triangles, and a different polycount). So I can't use morph targets and re-importing/exporting to get the texture transferred that way within ZB.

Is there any other way to do this? Like with "render to texture" in Max or something somehow? It seemed like one of those things that there would probably be a way to do, but I looked around and haven't come across anything yet. I figured if anyone would know, this would be the place to ask.

MoP

Render to texture in Max should do this, providing the models are both roughly the same silhouette and shape. The topology doesn't have to be the same.

Eric Chadwick

You can also use Zmapper to do this, if the mesh is too big to bring into Max. You can bake from the high one to a totally different mesh. A co-worker just did this the other day. I don't have the specifics, but I bet there's info about it in the docs.

kary

This is sort of related: How do you take polypainting info from a ZB high poly to something that has been retopoed in another program?

From the bullet points on 3.1 that is possible, but I haven't run into a tutorial on that yet. Would that be Zmapper as well or tied into the normal ZB retopo tools?

MoP

You can do Col > Tex (polypainting to texture) on a zbrush highpoly model, then use ZMapper to bake that to a different mesh.

kary

Ah, thanks MoP. Just the automatic unwrapping on the high then. Last time I tried that the base level of my sculpt was pretty high poly and I didn't understand what the AUVRatio slider did -- so the automatic tiles didn't distribute well. I'll have to give that another go now that I understand the automatic unwrapping.

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Found this after I asked, and this is more what I was initially thinking:

1. Have a Hi Res mesh.
2. Import your resurfaced mesh.
3. Append your resurfaced mesh to your Hi Res mesh as a sub tool.
4. Take your resurfaced mesh and subdivide it to your desired subdivision level.
5. Store a morph target for the highest sub division level of your resurface mesh.
6. Make sure you have your resurfaced mesh selected in the SubTool palette.
7. Use the "ProjectAll" button in the SubTool section in the Tool palette. (This will do the same thing as the project option in the rigging section, but with different option for the project.)

(taken from: http://www.pixolator.com/zbc/printthread.php?t=48689&page=4&pp=15)

Video of a similar (slightly more complicated) process here:
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1107274r38q3GFB?c=nickzArtTraining

I guess that method wouldn't be the most logical for game assets (probably wouldn't subdivide well), but worth knowing.

[Deleted User]

Ah, thanks, I see it now.

And I also just found out xNormal does this too. I hadn't realized that. Edit: Oh, wait, no. Nevermind. Still though...

So, cool beans! My workflow just got a whole lot simpler.