ZBrushCentral

Can I make a 3D model from this photo?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I am new to zBrush2 and I am really struggling with it. Can someone give some pointers on how I could do this?

I need to make a 3D model from this large photo.
http://starspan.net/filechute/Leaf-000035_v3c.jpg

I need to convert the finished model into geometry so we can carve it in foam on a CNC machine. The finished size of the part that we are carving will be 6 foot tall and two inches deep. I need to capture the the veins and have a way to push or pull them into the leaf to experiment with how pronounced they should be. I also need to be able to give the entire span of the leaf a little bit of a curve so it is not perfectly flat…but not more that two inches in variation of the depth.

Would it be better to make a drawing of this in Adobe Illustrator and then import that to get the basic shape in zBrush?

#2

Turn it into an alpha and use the alpha to 3d functionality in zbrush.

#3

This was the first thing that I tried but it looked like a mess. I am sure that I must not have had some of the settings right.

#4

http://www.houseoftutorials.com/img/leaf1.jpg
Try this
load file from link as a alpha
alpha settings (under alpha pallet)
MRes 160
MDep 4
msm 30

Then hit the make 3d button
;)_

#5

Thanks, I will give that a try.

#6

1 year ago, the company i work for purchased a cnc machine and i was
given the task of learning to operate it . my experience (and i do not
claim to be an expert) has been that to create a mesh from a photo
or raster image of any kind takes a lot of careful preparation . any shading
will be read as a height variation. in your photo, the central vein has
shadows which will cause the vein to be deformed and not round like
i imagine you would like. at best, the photo should be considered as a
rough start. if you take the photo into photoshop or a simelar package,
you might be able to smooth it out some but i doubt if this will give you
a final product .

i don’t know what cnc software you are using (i am using enroute 3 pro)
but i would recommend that you contact tech support for your
particular control system and ask for advice. i know this can be a pain
but they may have some ideas for you.

based on my experience, now matter what you do, some modeling is
going to be required. frankly, i would use the photo as a reference and
model it from scratch. my boss figured all that was required was to wave
a picture at the machine and press start. he still doesn’t understand
how much prep it takes to generate a good mesh for the machine.

i hope this helps. good luck.

#7

Assuming that I am somehow able to create exactly what I want in zBrush, can I convert whatever I create in zBrush into geometry? For example… I see a lot of sample images in this forum that have faces with wrinkles, can these wrinkles be converted to geometry for use in a CAD CAM program that will only recognize DXF files? If so, where is the export option to do this?

#8

Zbrush can export OBJ.

Using meshlab ( Very nice FREE tool )
http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/

You can load that obj into meshlab and convert it to DXF or STL.

#9

if i’m not mistaken. Zbrush can also export a dxf file. look in
the tools pallette at the bottom : export. there are some
options for quad and tri polys and reverse normals.
you’ll have to see which settings work best for your software.

#10

meshlab looks like an interesting tool.

thanks for the link

#11

Anyone know if its available. Im sure everyone here will want one.

slic technology

www.slictechnology.com