ZBrush: Is it possible to save a mask?

whyareyoumakin1 · May 2012

Hi all,

I'm working on a model in ZBrush and I spent a decent amount of time on a detailed mask i want to use to pop detail out of the skin of my model. My question is: Is there any way to save this mask so that i can use it later? In Maya it would be called a quick select set, but i dont know if there is an equivalent function in Zbrush.

Essentially i just dont want to have to spend another half hour to delicatly remask the area on my model that i had previously already masked.

Anyone know if its possible to save a make to re-use later?

Thanks
LucasAM77

ScoobyDoofus · May 2012

You could use your mask to polypaint on your mesh, convert that to a texture and save it. Then reload that as a texture whenever, and in your mask panel mask by intensity, then turn off the texture/polypaint.

cryrid · May 2012

Tools: Masking: Create Alpha
You can then export that.

whyareyoumakin1 · May 2012

Ok so ive saved the mask as an alpha, how do i turn that alpha back into a mask, is there a "create a mask from an alpha" button?

whyareyoumakin1 · May 2012

Ok im an idiot, there is literally a mask by alpha button, However:

When i hit the create alpha button it doesnt seem to be creating an alpha map that mimics my mask... it creates an alpha that appears to be just a few miniscule dots

whyareyoumakin1 · May 2012

Heres the issue im having, When i do press the create alpha map button id, the alpha map essentially looks like the book on the left, the book on the right is the original model with the masking on the clasps and the runes on the cover

cryrid · May 2012

Could be a UV issue if there are any faces overlapping or near the borders.

Bigjohn · May 2012

You could also convert that mask to a polygroup. It's not as effective, as you won't get any of the softness, but it's more straight-forward.

whyareyoumakin1 · May 2012

Heres another WIP, I had some luck turning my mask into Polygroups, sadly though I didn't see your comment after I had basically finished the sculpt (That would have been mighty useful for touch-ups and poly painting right about now), but none the less its nice to have figured out a way to save out a mask so thank you sir.

I'm pretty sure my problem with the "Create Alpha" button has to do with my UV's. I had created a very simple base mesh in Maya to use as my low poly and had just made a very quick UV set using Automatic Mapping before bringing the mesh into ZBrush and i believe therein lies the problem.

Auto maps are pretty nasty in general but I haven't ever really needed to bother with UV's in ZBrush (until now), so i didnt think it would affect me at all. I tried to create new UV's in Zbrush but after half a dozen software crashes and few fruitless hours of screwing with the UV and texture map menus, i gave up and continued sculpting without saved masks. If i figure out how to get around my Create Alpha issue ill post up, but until then its time to bring this little guy back into Maya for some baking

Thanks All
LucasAM77

cryrid · May 2012

I tried to create new UV's in Zbrush but after half a dozen software crashes and few fruitless hours of screwing with the UV and texture map menus, i gave up and continued sculpting without saved masks.

How many points does the lowest subdivision level contain? If you remeshed it at any point or deleted the lower levels then UVing can be more crash-happy as it can leave a lot of data to process, but if it's not a big number I'm not sure what would cause the frequent crashing.

If you do have lower subdivision levels that should be easier to process, I would try to stick with working out the alpha / polypaint methods. The alpha can be a weeee bit faster as the polypaint would require you to preserve any existing polypaint into a texture first, but that's still pretty fast to do and it works as a good alternative if the alpha is coming out wrong.

The reason I'd pick them over polygroups is because polygroups can get wonky if you create them on anything but the lowest subdivision level (which may not have the geo present that is needed to mask those runes). Otherwise the polygroups would contain faces that don't exist on the lower levels (and zbrush reads from the lower ones up). So if you save the tool or step down at any point after creating the groups, they're going to get messed up and you'll have to redo them. If you wanted to go that method or absolutely needed to, it would be best to switch to the highest sub-d level and delete the lower ones first. The only other problem is that they wouldn't allow for varying mask strengths, but depending on your intentions that can be a non-issue.

Ace-Angel · May 2012

IIRC, you can save it in a layer, and access that later.

Problem is, one version of ZB broke saving Masks in layers, so take care.

ZBrush: Is it possible to save a mask?

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