ZBrush4 Other Additions
From ZBrush Info
This section lists various additions or changes done in ZBrush 4 and not mentioned elsewhere in this document.
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File menu
The new File menu centralizes opening and saving for all the main ZBrush file types, as well as the new Project file type. With the exception of projects, this menu serves as an alternative to what already exists. If you are more comfortable with the original inventory button locations you can of course continue to use those.
Projects
Saving a project will save everything that is open in ZBrush at the time of the save. When you reopen the project you will be able to continue working exactly where you left off.
Projects are not listed separately in the File menu - simply Save or Open a project from the buttons at the top of the menu. The Revert button will reload the project as it was when you last saved, removing everything you have done since.
Other file Types
- Canvas: Save or Open a ZBrush canvas (Document) file. This is a 2.5D picture.
- Tool Mesh: Save or Load a 3D mesh.
- SpotLight: Save or Load a SpotLight image collection.
- Texture: Import or Export a full color image file.
- Alpha: Import or Export a grayscale image file.
Fail-safe saving
Fail-safe saving means that a previous file is now only overwritten when ZBrush has successfully saved the file, thus avoiding file corruption through power outage, domestic accidents, out of memory errors and so on.
Tool palette
Contact
The new Contact feature lets you define contact points between two SubTools, so that if you pose one SubTool the second SubTool will follow along. This deformation is meant for static SubTools like the googles on the Demosoldier, a watch on a characters arm, or a baseball cap on the head of a character. For non-static SubTools such as conforming clothing you should use SubTool Master instead.
For best results, store three contact points between the SubTools. To do this:
- Select Move mode so that the Transpose Action Line becomes available
- Click and drag a line from the selected SubTool to the second SubTool
- Click C1 in the Contact menu to store this first Contact
- Draw a new line for the next Contact point and click C2 to store
- Draw a third line and click C3 to store
Try to place the three lines so that they are spaced equally around where the two SubTools meet. Think of the lines as forming the corners of an equilateral triangle.
- You can redraw a Contact if you want; simply store the point again.
- All Contacts can be removed by pressing Delete.
When you have set up the three points you can pose the selected SubTool. To apply the change:
- Select the second SubTool and click Apply - the SubTool will move to the new position relative to the posed SubTool.
- The Strength slider affects how much the second SubTool conforms. Normally leave this slider at 100%
Subtools will only Contact with children Subtools. Any Selected Subtool will only allow Contact points with all the Subtools above the Selected Subtool.
The Contact points defined on three different locations.
Contact and Timeline
When using Contact with the timeline and its dedicated Track, the conforming of the “contacted” SubTool will be animated and deformed corresponding to the animation of the main SubTool.
You don’t need to apply contacts for each key frame. Just set the Contacts on your first key frame and the animation will take them into consideration for subsequent key frames.
3. ==UV Map palette==
3.1 ===Morph UVs===
Morph UV can be used with Shadow Box to lay out the Shadowbox so that you can mask on the flat surface. When Morph UV is clicked again your masking will generate a mesh where the masking on the three planes intersects within the box’s volume.
Even though this will Flatten your mesh based on the UVs you cannot paint or sculpt on the mesh to create a texture or displacement map.
Deformation
The deformation are now updated in realtime, while changing the slider values.
Relax
This slider will relax the geometry of a mesh to its original state but maintain sculptural detail. The options are:
- Open Circle will apply a polish that will maintain the overall form of the tool.
- Closed Circle will apply a polish that will smooth out the tool without maintaining the volume.
Polish by polygroups
This slider will polish the surface based on the polygroups. All polygroup edges will be smoothed.
Inflat Balloon
This slider inflates the mesh as if it is being filled with air. The topology is respected so that the extremities are preserved as far as possible. (Imagine blowing up a surgical glove.)
Notes: The Inflat Balloon, used with negative values create sharp edges on your object.
Try to use low values as it can create crossing polygons if high values are input.
Alpha palette
Non-square Alphas
The aspect ratio of rectangular alphas is now maintained.
Alpha repeat
Two new sliders provide alpha tiling within the alpha palette. Different values can be set for horizontal tiling and vertical tiling.
- H Tiles - sets the horizontal tiling
- V Tiles - sets the vertical tiling
Note: When tiling alphas the original aspect ratio of the single alpha is maintained, so with unmatched horizontal and vertical settings the tiles will be stretched.
Other improvements
- Improved Transpose masking to auto-align the depths of your start and end points. This helps with rotation actions.
- Partial subdivide will now auto-merge triangles to quads when the mesh does not have subdivision levels.
- ZSpheres bones: Move mode now uses forward kinematics (length-preserving-mode) by default when moving linking spheres. Hold Alt to disable fk and allow link stretching.
- Use of a Deformation slider on a ZSphere mesh now forces recalculation of the ZSpheres relative orientations and performs detection/validation of overlapping ZSpheres.
- ZSphere projection now uses a non-shrink algorithm.
- When entering ZSphere Topology Edit mode, ZBrush will automatically turn off Ghost transparency and perspective.
- To change a HotKey you must now hold CTRL+ALT.
