ZSpheres II

From ZBrush Info

With ZSpheres II, the innovative and unique ZSpheres technology takes another great leap forward. A new intersection computation method lets you create multiple chains starting from a single ZSphere, so creation of hands and other branching forms is now much easier, and the new Adaptive Skin algorithm will generate a polygonal mesh based on your ZSpheres with extreme accuracy and clean topology. With ZSpheres II, you will be able to build any form or shape you wish with increased speed and efficiency.

On the left, the original ZSpheres. In the center, the new Adaptive Skin, on the right, the old one.

New ZSphere Options

Several new options have been added to the ZSphere parameters, located in the Tool >> Adaptive Skin menu:

• Use Classic Skinning: This deactivates the new skinning algorithm and uses the original ZSphere skinning method.
• G Radial: Define the number of edge loop between two ZSpheres
• Max Twist: Define the twist of the selected ZSphere, based on its parents.
• Proximity: Adjust the geometry where several ZSpheres intersect to create a more topology-friendly mesh.

Differences between ZSpheres I and ZSpheres II

If you choose to use the new ZSpheres II skinning there will be a few features that will only work in the Classic Mode, such as:

• Create unconnected hierarchy of ZSpheres (ALT + Click in Draw mode on a link between two chains of ZSpheres).
• Create negative ZSpheres (Pushing a ZSphere inside another one).
• Create ZSpheres Magnets (ALT + Click in Draw mode on a link between a parent and the last ZSphere).

If you need to have these features back, please use the ZSpheres I skinning by clicking on Use Classic Skinning, located in Tool >> Adaptive Skin.

Preview of Inconsistent Structure

To prevent problems with meshes generated from an inconsistent ZSpheres structure, ZBrush may display the link between the parent ZSphere and a new child ZSphere as transparent. If you leave the structure as it is, the generated Adaptive Skin may have a topological error.

On the right, the original shape. On the right, the top ZSphere has been moved and the link is transparency, indicating the error

To correct a problem of this sort, simply move the ZSpheres until the link between two ZSpheres is correctly displayed.

With this new preview, you won’t have any surprises when generating your Adaptive Skin.

In the unlikely event that you create a ZSphere sculpt that cannot be handled by the new ZSpheres II algorithm, ZBrush will default to Classic Skin Mode. This would be on very rare occasions.

Improved Rigging and Skinning

The Rigging has been improved in ZBrush 3.5 and will provide more expected results. To bind a Polymesh:

1. Create a ZSphere skeleton that fits the model to be rigged.
2. In the Tool >> Rigging menu, click on the Select mesh button, and in the floating window, select the mesh to Rig.
3. Click on the Bind Mesh button to create the Skinning. Your mesh is ready to be deformed.

Tip: A good trick is to create the ZSpheres as a SubTool of the mesh you wish to rig, and when the skeleton is done, clone it and use it to bind your polymesh model.

Unified Skinning of ZSpheres

While in ZSpheres mode, Press A to generate an adaptive preview. Then press "Subtool:ReMesh all" to have a new Unified skin added as a subtool.

Note 1: In R3, you can use the "Subtool:ReMesh all" to generate unified skin for any combination of ZSpheres, PolyMesh3D and parametric subtools objects.

Note 2: In R3, after generating a unified skin from ZSphers, you can select the new subtool and click "Project All" to project the ZSpheres volume to the new unified skin.

For more information see Unified Skin