Zbrush to xNormal workflow
polycounter lvl 4
Hey guys,
I'm currently making my first low poly asset and I've run into a bit of confusion regarding the workflow. Can someone please help me out?
I've modelled a high poly object, sculpted detail onto it (ZBrush) and produced a low poly version of it. I'm now ready to bake in xNormal, but I'm confused as to how to export the high resolution object - do I merge all of the subtools into one mesh, or export subtools individually?
The problem is, if I merge all my subtools, my polycount reaches 22 million and ZBrush crashes. So the obvious answer would be to either lower resolution or export individually. However, if exporting piece by piece, then the low poly has to be broken into those exact pieces too, right? But then, how about the baked out texture maps; it would mean having to combine each texture map multiple times piece by piece, correct?
Lastly, if baking subtools individually, don't you lose ambient occlusion information that you would otherwise gain from the intersection of two or more subtools (e.g. where the handle of a hammer makes contact with the hammer head)?
How do you guys do this? It would really help if someone could explain or share their workflow.
Thank you.
I'm currently making my first low poly asset and I've run into a bit of confusion regarding the workflow. Can someone please help me out?
I've modelled a high poly object, sculpted detail onto it (ZBrush) and produced a low poly version of it. I'm now ready to bake in xNormal, but I'm confused as to how to export the high resolution object - do I merge all of the subtools into one mesh, or export subtools individually?
The problem is, if I merge all my subtools, my polycount reaches 22 million and ZBrush crashes. So the obvious answer would be to either lower resolution or export individually. However, if exporting piece by piece, then the low poly has to be broken into those exact pieces too, right? But then, how about the baked out texture maps; it would mean having to combine each texture map multiple times piece by piece, correct?
Lastly, if baking subtools individually, don't you lose ambient occlusion information that you would otherwise gain from the intersection of two or more subtools (e.g. where the handle of a hammer makes contact with the hammer head)?
How do you guys do this? It would really help if someone could explain or share their workflow.
Thank you.
Replies
Personally I tend to keep my LP mesh airtight (for current-gen stuff) when I can because it produces better bakes and wastes less UV space compared to intersecting geometry, and I usually don't need to explode my meshes.
Sorry, but what do you mean by 'airtight' in that context?
It's not always better to have airtight meshes and it's not always bad to have intersecting geo in some places. It just depends on the model and any project constraints.