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Convert displacement map to detailed mesh?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Someone asked and I wasn’t sure if zbrush could do this. He has a low res mesh, and a displacement map for it to add detail (like in game models)

He wants to print it out in 3d with the displacement applied to the mesh, and wanted to know if and if so then how to load a mesh, load it’s displacement map, and then create a higher res version of the model using the displacement map.

If its possible, I figure he could use decimation master to get the mesh’s resolution back down to something easily printable.

Thoughts?

#2

I wonder if this could be possible using it a texture in the noise plugin. You add it as a UV texture, set to zero the procedural noise and the use apply noise to geometry. I have done this lots of times with bumpmap maps and perhaps could work also with displacement maps.

#3

My thought was plug it into the displacement map generated by zbrush sculpting, typically used after reducing polycount and projecting the displacement on them, and then baking that to a higher res mesh.

Thats after all how most of these things are created, in zbrush.

#4

You can set the displacement map in the displacement slot in tools, set display on and then adjust the correct intensity, that is normally low. You can preview the displacement but by default will be as 2d bumpmap. You need to press the mode button to preview it as 3d displacement. In this point is only a preview without modification in the geometry.

Then be sure that you have the needed subdivisions because it won’t create more polygons and use the button apply dispmap. As noise plugin the resulting geometry will look stronger if you was using it as bumpmap but will look similar if you was using it as displacement with mode button. Now the displacement is part of the geometry.
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#5

Thanks! I could have sworn I read about someone doing this ages ago. I saw someone pull the mesh from a fallout 4 creature and then 3d print it, and the whole time I kept wondering why he would waste the time on a low poly version like that, when he could have applied the displacement and printed something worlds better!

Now that I have a 3d printer, I kind of want to try it with that model myself.

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