ZBrushCentral

Applying different materials/textures to different subtools

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I searched for an answer to this… but couldn’t find one. Sorry if it exists and I’m just too dumb to find it here.

I’m working through Jason Welsh’s video explaining the skull sculpting tutorial and I am having a problem. He provides a tool with a sphere and the image plane already set up. The image planes are flat shade white with the image texture applied. Somehow, I changed the plane to the red wax material and I can’t get it back. I tried to change it back based on the skull tut instructions in the wiki: Select the shader, save the material, reload the material, and then fill the object. But this fills them both, the image planes and the sphere/skull. What am I doing wrong here? It seems like everytime I apply a material to a subtool, it applies it to all the subtools.

Thanks alot in advance for help. I’m excited to be a part of this community and I am really enjoying ZBrush.

KRIS

#2

Hello Kris,

Welcome to ZBC and I’m glad you’re enjoying ZBrush. :slight_smile:

Basically a subtool will take on the selected (active) material unless it has been ‘filled’ with another material using the Color:Fill Object button.

You can find information about materials and subtools here:
http://www.zbrush.info/docs/index.php/Materials_and_SubTools

If that doesn’t solve your problem, let me know.

#3

is it possible to add a different texture for different sub tools?? i looked at that tutorial and some others but it seems to be just for applying color and materials. also these methods do seem to do what they supposed to until i apply my texture to model then all the subtools adapt the selected material

#4

I have the same problem. I managed to paint the entire object, but when I go to create a texture, all the different textures are replaced with the single texture in my palate. Really frustrating.

#5

When you have a texture selected in the Texture palette it is applied to all subtools, if they have UVs enabled, and hides (but doesn’t erase) any polypainting. If you want to display different textures on different subtools then you need to use the txr>col button to transfer the texture to the mesh as polypainting.

You can have a texture displayed on one subtool without it displaying on the others, providing the other subtools have UVs disabled (but note this deletes the UVs although you can re-import them is created outside ZBrush).

#6

Thank you for the response. Unfortunately when I said “texture” I meant “material”. The trouble I was having was trying to burn the materials onto a texture, which is a bit unrelated. I am working on this.

#7

If you have materials embedded in your model then they will transfer to a texture in the same way as polypainting by using the Col>Txr button. Just make sure the ‘M’ button is switched on in the Draw palette (or the ‘MRGB’ button to transfer material and polypainted color).

Alternatively, you can paint materials on to a texture in Projection Master, providing you press the ‘Materials’ option before picking up.

To learn about embedding materials in subtools see here:
http://www.zbrush.info/docs/index.php/Materials_and_SubTools

#8

I have my object set up with materials. I go to MRGB mode. I push the col>txt button, and my colors are transfered, not my textures.

I go into projection mode. I select materials and colors on. I paint my object with materials. I pick up my object, still in mrgb mode, still with colors and textures selected in the projection master, when I pick it up, changes I made disappear, and my texture becomes whatever color I had selected in my pallette.

#9

I really can’t think why this isn’t working for you. Here is a zscript showing how materials can be embedded in a texture using the col>txr button. You’ll see at the end that if you select no texture the model displays as Red Wax.

Load the file from the ZScript:Load button. Press ‘H’ to open the Tutorial window at the bottom of the UI, then press the ‘Play’ button that will show there.

HTH,

#10

I know why it wasn’t working. Thanks for the script!

#11

Marcus, I would like to comment on your advice:

Having differentkly textured subtools you can indeed show the different ‘images’ on the 2 or more subtools at the same time if - like you suggested - you make the texture into a polypainted surface by Txt>Col AND putting TextureOff.
There is no need to disable the UVs.

Now you will see the differnt ‘textures’ as they are projected onto the different meshes.

Greetings, EddyL

#12

Hi ElPistolero,

I’m very curious how you managed to get your painted materials exported.
I can paint many materials on one subtool and then with “MRGB” selected push: Tool>Texture>“Poly>Txr”.
As Auric is suggesting in this thread I shoot be able to import this object textured with color AND material embeddid within the .obj-file.
No deal, helas!

So please share your revelation.

Greetings, EddyL

#13

Answer: I didn’t.

#14

Eddy,

It doesn’t work exactly as you suggest. What the method does is embed a material index in the texture map. If you export the texture map from ZBrush you get the option to include the material areas in an alpha channel of the file. If you open the texture map in Photoshop and look at the alpha channel you will see different shades of gray. (These can be rather faint- using the Levels option can make them easier to see.) These represent the different material areas. To use this in an app other than ZBrush you’d have to make selections based on these areas and then apply new materials in the app of your choice.

ZBrush materials only work in ZBrush - all materials for 3D apps are like this: you can’t use other apps’ materials in ZB any more than you can use ZB mats in other apps.

HTH,

#15

Hi Marcus,

First I apologise because of calling you Auric in my last Reply in this thread.
Although, it want be a shame to be confuced with this ZB-Icon? :wink:

Your comment is very precise and frustrating, because now I understand that I only can use for instance Posermaterials when I want to use the textured object in a Poseranimation.
But then I have to assign the specific material inside poser onto a specific area of the alpha-part of the texture. Maybe you can give me some suggestions on how to do that efficiently. Or is that more a Poserexpert-subject then possible to answer by you?

Greetings, EddyL

#16

Hi Eddy,

I’m afraid you’ll have to ask someone who’s familiar with Poser how to go about that.

Cheers,