Is there any way of converting actual ZSpheres into geometry?
I really like the volume and silhouette of the below ZSphere doodle
as is but don´t like the Adaptive Skin conversion, ideally I would
just export the (intersecting) ZSpheres as geometry, then do my
own clean surface on top of it using Retopo or plain remodeling.
Any way to export the ZSpheres (without adaptive skin) as *.obj?
Cheers
tim
A Unified Skin will keep the proportions of the zspheres. You will have to experiment with the settings to see which gives the result you are after.
Hi Marcus,
yes, Adaptive Skin gives me interesting results but in this particular
case, I´d really just want the identical volume, wouldn´t mind if it´s
an illegal mesh containing all sorts of intersetions here.
In short, I don´t want to get a merged mesh but the spheres and
cylindrical crosssections as in the ZSpheres intersecting.
From there, in this particular case, I´d be happy to retopo or remodel ontop.
Cheers
tim
Ah,
thanks for your patience, Marcus 
Reading your post slowly might have helped…
Cheers
tim
Glad to help, Tim. That’s a nice character!
Cheers,
Hey Marcus,
glad you like it. Me too, a mistake off a Sphere.
Thanks again for the Unified Skin thing, it´s fun
playing with the settings actually.
Made me produce pixelboy without effort at all:
Cheers
tim
Ha, yeah, you can build the Empire State Building in Lego bricks in no time. 
Tim,
In fact it IS possible to create a polygonal model that exactly duplicates your ZSphere original. It takes a little bit of work but it can be done.
Before hand create a polymesh sphere with the density you want the final spheres in your converted model to have.
Build your ZSphere model:
First, you need to hide the Root ZSphere by attaching another ZSphere which will serve as the visible base ZSphere from which you build the rest of the model.
Build the ZSphere model.
Under Display Properties submenu set the Draw Density for the connecting spheres.
In Edit mode, touch each connecting sphere to make them into ZSpheres - they autosize themselves to match the connecting sphere they replace.
Under Display Properties submenu set the Draw Density to zero.
Select Move mode (not Edit mode).
Select the root ZSphere.
7a. Under Adaptive Skin submenu click insert local mesh and choose the polymesh sphere. All the ZSpheres should be converted.
(note that the root ZSphere won’t convert, that’s why you hide it.)
Finally, Under Adaptive Skin submenu, set the Density slider to lowest setting and press Make Adaptive Skin.
For the sake of neatness, you probably should isolate and delete the converted root half sphere.
And there ya go.
Maybe a short ZScript could automate the conversion part (some other day I’ll give it a try.)
Anyway, I like the special look of the ZSphere construct before conversion and this technique could make for some interesting models.
Sven
[attach=98491]ZSpheres 2 polymesh.jpg[/attach]
Hey Sven,
thanks very much for the clever walkthrough :idea:.
I´ve retopoed the unified skin in the meantime,
which gave me the layout I wanted but the
tricks you´ve put together will sure be good
enough for a nice saturday morning fiddle!
Cheers
tim
Here´s the demoncow head from earlier, btw.
It´s the rough, still a bit distorted and not yet unique enough
but with some color to see if it works at all…
I´m so happy with it, I´ll also post it into my escaping the *.lab thread.
Thanks again folks, you´ve had me learn alot today!
Cheers
tim
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Wanted to say “Thanks again” guys,
you´ve helped me alot in getting together a nice volume
for my character´s body. It´s actually become fun playing
with ZSphere volumes until a basic shape evolved.
Must admit I did the last refinements of the basemesh in XSI
but still found retopo and zspeheres very useful to start with.
Cheers
tim
