Zbrush mesh extraction prob

NAIMA

Hello , since I am new to Zbrush and learning here another prob...

I made those boots , and I realized that it's hard to work on the strings if are a part of the model , so I decided to figure out a way to work on them apart and I get to the extract mesh in the subtool ...

I so extract the selected masked faces ( dunno why it extract the masked parts instead than the opposite ) anyway , I can't work on the mesh and has no previous history of mesh subdivision .... Seems I cannot alterate the mesh if not on the very edges as in the picture and if I try to select a portion of it it select the whole thing excluding the borders....
Why this weird behaviour ? what I am doing wrong?

cryrid

Extracting the mask makes more sense to me; you just paint what you want to extract (straps, a shirt, etc), and voila. If it makes more sense to you, you could also extract by current visibility, or by layers.

The extraction will never have a subdivision history. It's resolution will depend on the current subdivision level of the object you extracted it from.

If you extract using a mask, then the result will also have a mask on it, which could be your problem if you're only able to sculpt on the very edges. Be sure to clear it. It also gets created with polygroups, so check for automasking in that regard.

NAIMA

Damn you are right .... I feel so stupid lol ....:poly127:

You are the GOD of Zbrush you have the patience to answer all my stupid questions :poly145: thanks a lot for that ^^ .....:poly106:

NAIMA

Ok another question ... I am trying to make those stripes and I realized that sculpting directly leads tonot really smooth results ... so I tought to extract two times the stripes and then criss cross in junctions where they met , but

1 when I extract I get the angles smoothed and rounded loosing the shape of X ....

2 I can't extract from the previous and I lost the mask I did ...

3 the back of the extraction seems floating above the mesh ....

how can I do to achieve my wanted result? one single strip that runs all around the boot and criss crosses itself in the X regions?

cryrid

You can adjust the edge and surface smooth settings of the extraction to try and better preserve the X-shape. I wouldn't try to be too perfect about it as you're probably going to be sculpting and tweaking the result afterwards anyway.

You can also convert the mask to temporary polypaint, a texture, or a polygroup in order to be able to recall it for later.

Other options include retopologizing straps on top (slower, but great control over the result), and using zspheres/zsketch (that may create a more rounder form to work with, which would be initially better suited towards rope vs strips of cloth) leather).

There is a free video on sculpting boot straps over at Gnomon Workshops, though I'm not sure how old it may be.

NAIMA

well yes I saw it but it did implement nothing new that I didn't use here and honestly the result are pretty rough , I mean he uses all time clay brush over the masked parts and then smooths ...

the zspheres is something still beyond my knowledge ...

I woudl like it to be more thick when I extract toward the bottom couse when I smooth the borders it gets selfintruded and detaches from the level of the boot surface...

cryrid

You can set the thickness of the extraction as well

Froyok

And don't forget to disable/enable the backface option, maybe that's why you get problems for sculpting.

NAIMA

Ok I ended up doing this:

I have used the base mask withthe X crossings and Duplicated the base mesh , then I deleted all the directions in one side on one mesh and the opposite on the other mesh , then I used those to extract a thickness of 0.15 and smoothed the result , then I so have two overlapping stripsand I moved alternatively one over the other at the crossing and this is the result...

what you think , is a good way to make the strips or woudl be better somethingelse?

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/1779/79763728.jpg

knak47

Just another possible approach. Rater than extractIng you could convert the mask I a poly group , apply group loups, then res elect the straps and use the inflate in the deformations pallet. Not sure if it will provide what you are looking for and it will at that poin still be one subtool. There are of course methods to getting it into another subtool.

NAIMA

knak47 wrote: »

Just another possible approach. Rater than extractIng you could convert the mask I a poly group , apply group loups, then res elect the straps and use the inflate in the deformations pallet. Not sure if it will provide what you are looking for and it will at that poin still be one subtool. There are of course methods to getting it into another subtool.

This is what I have been doing in the beginning , but the mask diidn't create smooth results for the polygroups resulting in unwanted artefacts when I inflated... also it didn't let me control the upper or the lower and allow to overlap....

I honestly find that the extraction method of alternating two masks and so extracting two stripes , then combine them overlapping was the best result to me ... and much cleaner than the previous one like the mask and clay tubes as showed in that famouse free tutorial ....

freebambino

Excuse me ! I have a problem with Mesh Extraction in Subtool , thanks so much if there is anybody help me

First , this is my boy



Then I mask his head like this , to create new poly that I can model hair style for him




But after I clicked on Extract button on Subtool , this program gave me a new terrible boy (




I don't know what I did wrong please help me

freebambino

I discover why , that Model is triangle poly was imported from Sculptris alpha 6 , so that is why this happened like that , huhu

cryrid

Triangles wouldn't cause a problem like that, nor would sculptris. The larger issue seems to be that your mask looks reversed on the subtool thumbnail despite what it's showing in the main window. I currently have no idea why that would happen, but if true it would cause it to extract the entire body (which seems to be the case looking at the Extract1 thumbnail), and as a result the new mesh would be getting smoothed due to Extract's S.Smt value.

freebambino

opssss, I make you misunderstand when I printscreen that picture ( mask looks reversed on the subtool thumbnail ) I reversed that mask again , but it's still one result

Everything went on OK with sphere from Zbrush (Quad angle poly) , but would be going like that with sphere from Sculptris Alpha 6 (Triangle poly ), I checked



It gave me a new , entire skin of that sphere instead of the Mask of sphere...
Anyway thanks for your suggetion , I found another way to Extract them by using Cut tool , it seem to be not covenient like Extract mask , but thanks GOD I don't have to model that boy again... hehe

If you have any new suggestion or know how to convert it to Quad angle poly , please let me know

cryrid

What version of zbrush are you using? Sculptris / Triangles shouldn't cause that behaviour.



Remesh/Dynamesh would give you a mesh that is mostly or all quads, but would change the topology. That may not be an issue though since a mesh coming from sculptri's wouldn't care about such things.

freebambino

wow , thank you so much , may be my Zbrush version is old ? I don't know how to get information about my Zbrush version that Program was a gift form my uncle long time ago ... yeah , you are right , may be I should change my Zbrush version , but not now ) hehe

Anyway , everything is still going on , I try many other ways to finish this model , this model still not finish yet , thank you so much