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DAZ and ZBrush

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  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 102,737
    edited December 1969

    Fragg1960 said:
    So if I understand you correctly, we can't import any hi-res meshes in Studio without an HD plug-in that's not available to the public? So if I sculpt a plain box in Zbrush at a very high subdivision level and save it as an obj file, then I open Studio and import the obj, Studio won't be able to display it properly without the plug-in?

    I was aware that when importing back into Studio (after working on a Studio figure in ZBrush) that the poly-count had to be the same in order to generate a morph in Studio, but I was not aware that there was a limitation on the mesh resolution of any obj being imported--even one that did not originate in Studio.

    I mean, I could always just export Genesis into ZBrush, sculpt it at a high res and render directly from ZBrush and skip Studio all together for the render part since it sounds like its limited without the plug-in for some reason.

    No, you can bring the HD mesh in as a new object - it's only HD morphs that we lack the tools for. You can of course sculpt your shape in HD in ZBrush and export it partially as morph (on the base resolution) and partly as displacement, but that of course is dependent on the UVs.

  • linvanchenelinvanchene Posts: 1,382
    edited April 2014

    What is your workflow for importing the polygroups you created in Zbrush to DS and convert them to DS material zones?

    In Zbrush I work a lot with subtools. So the simplest way of keeping separate material zones when importing to DS seems to be to import all the subtools into DS and then just group them in DS.

    That way render engines detect the different objects and a shader can be asigned to each of the surfaces.

    - - -

    Still for some cases it may be more efficient to merge all the subtools in zbrush and export them to DS as one mesh.
    In Zbrush the polygroups will still be lost at first after merging but you can quickly get them back by using different polygroup creating tools like "autogroup".

    But how do you now assign material groups in DS?

    Is the only option to create material zones in DS to do that manually in DS with the group selecting tool?

    Are there any workflows to automatically create DS material zones based on polygroups created in Zbrush?

    - - -

    Added two screenshots:

    Example to recreate:
    - add cube
    - append star as subtool
    - merge cube and star
    - autopolygroup
    - create UV map

    - export via GoZ (note by default Catmark subdivion is selected which results in the rounded edges)
    or
    - export as .obj (cube star)

    In both cases the polygroup information was not imported into DS. The cube and the star are treated as one surface.

    star_and_cube_merged_with_auto_polygroups.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 253K
    Zbrush_Polygroup_to_DS_material_zones.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 363K
    Post edited by linvanchene on
  • MEC4DMEC4D Posts: 5,249
    edited December 1969

    NO, it was only regarding Morphs , it work this way in all programs of the world ..
    you can import any other prop at any resolution your computer can handle .. as long it is not a morph


    Fragg1960 said:
    So if I understand you correctly, we can't import any hi-res meshes in Studio without an HD plug-in that's not available to the public? So if I sculpt a plain box in Zbrush at a very high subdivision level and save it as an obj file, then I open Studio and import the obj, Studio won't be able to display it properly without the plug-in?

    I was aware that when importing back into Studio (after working on a Studio figure in ZBrush) that the poly-count had to be the same in order to generate a morph in Studio, but I was not aware that there was a limitation on the mesh resolution of any obj being imported--even one that did not originate in Studio.

    I mean, I could always just export Genesis into ZBrush, sculpt it at a high res and render directly from ZBrush and skip Studio all together for the render part since it sounds like its limited without the plug-in for some reason.

  • MEC4DMEC4D Posts: 5,249
    edited December 1969

    All polygroups imported with the mesh to DS are there , polygroups are face groups and not material zones
    after you import the mesh MANUALLY from Zbrush ( skip GoZ for that as it does not transfer all information )
    after that open the tools and polygroup editor , you will find all the polygroups there , click on each group and then assign the materials to the selected surface , the same go for Poser and other programs .
    It is very simple task .. make only sure you work on a full imported obj , don't rig stuff in DS imported with GoZ , use it exclusive for morphs as it does not support anything else the way it should .
    When exporting mesh from DS manually make sure you will have no other objects in the scene .. as DS write .mtl for all meshes and not just the one you exporting , even if the other meshes are not selected the mtl still include information .

    However if you are going to make textures you can use GoZ as well , and you don't need to flip the maps after wards when imported with GoZ

    linvanchene said:
    What is your workflow for importing the polygroups you created in Zbrush to DS and convert them to DS material zones?

    In Zbrush I work a lot with subtools. So the simplest way of keeping separate material zones when importing to DS seems to be to import all the subtools into DS and then just group them in DS.

    That way render engines detect the different objects and a shader can be asigned to each of the surfaces.

    - - -

    Still for some cases it may be more efficient to merge all the subtools in zbrush and export them to DS as one mesh.
    In Zbrush the polygroups will still be lost at first after merging but you can quickly get them back by using different polygroup creating tools like "autogroup".

    But how do you now assign material groups in DS?

    Is the only option to create material zones in DS to do that manually in DS with the group selecting tool?

    Are there any workflows to automatically create DS material zones based on polygroups created in Zbrush?

    - - -

    Added two screenshots:

    Example to recreate:
    - add cube
    - append star as subtool
    - merge cube and star
    - autopolygroup
    - create UV map

    - export via GoZ (note by default Catmark subdivion is selected which results in the rounded edges)
    or
    - export as .obj (cube star)

    In both cases the polygroup information was not imported into DS. The cube and the star are treated as one surface.

  • linvanchenelinvanchene Posts: 1,382
    edited April 2014

    Mec4D said:

    All polygroups imported with the mesh to DS are there , polygroups are face groups and not material zones
    after you import the mesh MANUALLY from Zbrush ( skip GoZ for that as it does not transfer all information )
    after that open the tools and polygroup editor , you will find all the polygroups there , click on each group and then assign the materials to the selected surface , the same go for Poser and other programs .
    It is very simple task .. make only sure you work on a full imported obj , don't rig stuff in DS imported with GoZ , use it exclusive for morphs as it does not support anything else the way it should .
    When exporting mesh from DS manually make sure you will have no other objects in the scene .. as DS write .mtl for all meshes and not just the one you exporting , even if the other meshes are not selected the mtl still include information .

    However if you are going to make textures you can use GoZ as well , and you don't need to flip the maps after wards when imported with GoZ

    The Face Groups did the trick.:exclaim:

    Thank you so much!

    That way the material zones are set up very quickly based on the original polygroups.

    - - -

    Update / Edit:

    Allthough it really is a pity that the polygroup information gets lost when using GoZ.

    If I have a .duf and send it to Zbrush with GoZ I then can create new polygroups.

    The remaining issue is that when I now save that file as .obj I loose all the DS information the original .duf had...

    Update/Edit 2:


    The "Transfer Utility" can be used to transfer facegroups from the .obj that was created in zbrush to the original .duf version of the object.

    Attached screenshot.


    Example:
    In the scene are
    - duf version of cube and star that only has one face group (original object)
    - .obj version of cube and star that has two face groups (object edited in zbrush and added polygroups)

    use_Transfer_utility_to_transfer_obj_facegroups_to_duf.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 341K
    face_group_to_surface_group.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 437K
    Post edited by linvanchene on
  • MEC4DMEC4D Posts: 5,249
    edited December 1969

    to answer your question : if you save the OBJ out of Zbrush you will not save the materials with it as Zbrush do not save material zones
    you will have to assign them again after importing back to DS , they all are there but as Face groups again
    there is workflow that you need to keep intact, create your prop, create all the groups you need and then setup the prop
    you can still always add additional material zones in DS manually by selecting poly faces not need Zbrush for that

    and the same go for the UV's, once you finished the UV's you don't change the poly count as your UV's will be not actual anymore
    that why artist make first a plan of what they are going to do sticking to it or you never will be finish :)

    plus some info :


    polygroups are the face groups of the object and can't be transferred , materials surfaces are the surface groups that can be transferred using .mtl files , when you create new material surfaces on your OBJ in DS you have 2 choices, export the OBJ from DS to save it, or save the prop as duf , in both cases the surfaces will be saved , if you export the object to Zbrush with GoZ you can mostly recover only the UV's by the UV's or by the normal surfaces , for that reason I prefer the manual work for the object until I am ready to set up in DS .

    the OBJ have 2 groups, the face groups= polygroups and the surface groups= material zones they are different from each other
    the face groups are stored inside the OBJ files and the surface materials outside with .mtl files
    Zbrush does not create .mtl file or surface groups only face groups = polygroups
    that why when you are happy with the surface materials in DS export it manually as obj or save as prop

    now when you export the OBJ manually from DS you can choose to have the face groups or the material zones , if you choose the materials zones Zbrush should read it as polygroups by UVs for future editing

    if you rig your prop or figure in DS you will lose the original face groups=polygroups as the new setup will overwrite the exits face groups
    that why before you do anything you need to assign the surface material groups

  • MEC4DMEC4D Posts: 5,249
    edited December 1969

    Yes you can do it as long the both objects have the same poly count and overlap each other exactly .. it is like projecting the face groups from one to another

    linvanchene said:

    Update/Edit 2:


    The "Transfer Utility" can be used to transfer facegroups from the .obj that was created in zbrush to the original .duf version of the object.

    Attached screenshot.


    Example:
    In the scene are
    - duf version of cube and star that only has one face group (original object)
    - .obj version of cube and star that has two face groups (object edited in zbrush and added polygroups)

  • linvanchenelinvanchene Posts: 1,382
    edited December 1969

    Wow, you are fast with replying! :lol:

    Thank you so much for explaining!!!

    This will come in handy on so many occasions... :coolsmile:

  • VengedVenged Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Fragg1960 said:
    SoulUnit said:

    Ah it was so simple, I thought the mesh looked more dense than the M4 I was having success with. So just unchecking the "Export at current resolution" was the key. A little cryptic if you are not familiar with the idea that this really means you want to export the base object.
    k

    Yes, I was having the same issue (http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewreply/532571/) a while back until I unchecked that stupid little box.

    Since then I've been doing a lot of GoZ back and forth between Studio and ZBrush using not only Genesis 2 HD, but also clothing--and it's been great. I love working with both programs to make custom characters (I've cut down my dependence on the Studio sliders as I find it easier and more intuitive to just sculpt my facial morphs in ZBrush). You have to use a bit or restraint not to break anything, but so far it's been working well.

    I've been getting more and more into ZBrush detailing of faces, trying to get a lot of the nuances that I see in many Zbrush sculpts that make faces look unique, but this kind of surface texturing really requires a higher mesh level subdivision to sculpt (which then pretty much disappear when you dumb-down the mesh to the Studio resolution if you want send it back over as a morph).

    I am aware that if I subdivide the mesh in ZBrush to get more detail, and export to Studio at a higher mesh resolution it will be as an obj and will not give me the option of making a morph slider. I know this is probably a very basic question, but if I chose to do that (bring a higher subdivision version into Studio as an obj), will (a) Studio be able to display the higher res model properly and (b) will I have to reapply the textures to the figure.obj (will they even work or will I have to export them from ZBrush with the obj as well or re-texture in Zbrush)?

    I'm on a learning curve in ZBrush and I'm just trying to figure out what I don't know that I need to know (I know that sounds a bit silly) and although I've been looking at a lot of tutorials, a straight answer seems to put me on the right track faster.

    I so appreciate this thread. I am having the same problem for two days. I can make morphs from Goz with V4, V3. Stephanie 3, Stephanie RR, and The Upland Troll but no Genesis or Genesis 2 would work. I'm at work right now and can't wait to get home and uncheck the resolution button that pops up in the menu that you all mentioned when I hit send to Zbrush. I'm hoping this will solve my going back to Daz3D from Zbrush via Goz problem as well. I could have sworn that in the videos they left that checked.

    Thanks

    Robert

  • VengedVenged Posts: 0
    edited September 2014

    welchrs64 said:
    Fragg1960 said:
    SoulUnit said:

    Ah it was so simple, I thought the mesh looked more dense than the M4 I was having success with. So just unchecking the "Export at current resolution" was the key. A little cryptic if you are not familiar with the idea that this really means you want to export the base object.
    k

    Yes, I was having the same issue (http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewreply/532571/) a while back until I unchecked that stupid little box.

    Since then I've been doing a lot of GoZ back and forth between Studio and ZBrush using not only Genesis 2 HD, but also clothing--and it's been great. I love working with both programs to make custom characters (I've cut down my dependence on the Studio sliders as I find it easier and more intuitive to just sculpt my facial morphs in ZBrush). You have to use a bit or restraint not to break anything, but so far it's been working well.

    I've been getting more and more into ZBrush detailing of faces, trying to get a lot of the nuances that I see in many Zbrush sculpts that make faces look unique, but this kind of surface texturing really requires a higher mesh level subdivision to sculpt (which then pretty much disappear when you dumb-down the mesh to the Studio resolution if you want send it back over as a morph).

    I am aware that if I subdivide the mesh in ZBrush to get more detail, and export to Studio at a higher mesh resolution it will be as an obj and will not give me the option of making a morph slider. I know this is probably a very basic question, but if I chose to do that (bring a higher subdivision version into Studio as an obj), will (a) Studio be able to display the higher res model properly and (b) will I have to reapply the textures to the figure.obj (will they even work or will I have to export them from ZBrush with the obj as well or re-texture in Zbrush)?

    I'm on a learning curve in ZBrush and I'm just trying to figure out what I don't know that I need to know (I know that sounds a bit silly) and although I've been looking at a lot of tutorials, a straight answer seems to put me on the right track faster.

    I so appreciate this thread. I am having the same problem for two days. I can make morphs from Goz with V4, V3. Stephanie 3, Stephanie RR, and The Upland Troll but no Genesis or Genesis 2 would work. I'm at work right now and can't wait to get home and uncheck the resolution button that pops up in the menu that you all mentioned when I hit send to Zbrush. I'm hoping this will solve my going back to Daz3D from Zbrush via Goz problem as well. I could have sworn that in the videos they left that checked.

    Thanks

    Robert

    It is working for me now. Thanks again for all the Goz to Zbrush back to Daz3D morph support in this thread! :-)

    Post edited by Venged on
  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited September 2014

    Mec4D said:
    After using Polygroups by UV's you hit the merge similar utton and the groups will merge in the same way as the UV's templates so one group for finger nails , one group for limbs etc.. you need merge them to avoid the multiple polygroups
    you need to do that other way it will be not easy to work on morphs anyway as you need to mask for example the inner mouth eyes or eyelashes to prevent unnecessary deformation

    Thanks for the tip Cath...for some reason when I use GoZ it is not sending the polygroups...if I export manually I can get them.

    Is there a setting somewhere I may have changed?

    edited to add: Cath is right. Choose one thing to focus on and learn before looking at another area. I've spent the last few months focusing on texture and I finally managed to create a texture for an outfit using spotlight and photos I had taken. Now I'm looking at a morph with a texture to match. So building on the knowledge that I've already got...

    Thanks

    Pen

    Post edited by Pendraia on
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