ZBrushCentral

Does Zbrush recognise Maya UV Sets?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Does Zbrush recognise Maya UV Sets?

The reason I ask is this - I have a very high res model I want to create - and I am not sure if there will be adequate UV space for the amount of detail I will want to retain in the displacement and normal maps… therefore - If i can divide the mesh up into UV sets with each group having it’s own UV set - I can afford more texture space per group…
For example - have the head in one UV set, the torso in the other, legs in another, etc…

(btw I am making a huge dragon) Also - if anyone knows - how many polys does a 4k displacement map represent? I’ve been told 4 million - but I’ve never gotten my maps to resemble a 4 million poly model.

Anyways - if anyone has any ideas or suggestions on this question of UV sets and just getting more texture space to your models in general - please let me know. Also maybe any tips on UV mapping, displacements, etc…
i’ve already done a couple of the wonderful displacement tutorials on the forums…

Thanks!
-Thaddeus

#2

Does anyone have anything on this??? Please?

It would really be helpful - I’ve been wondering about this for a while now… and how to get it working…
or maybe even tips on how to go about texture mapping/ displacement/normal mapping… etc. for high res/detail characters?

Thanks.
-T

#3

Im no expert, but I think you can do what you’re trying to do… You basically want 4096x4096 texture, displacement, & normal maps for different parts of your model, right? Although I wasnt too sure on how it was done, since Im not really knowlegeable in Maya yet, Im pretty sure I watched Meats Meyer do it in the ZBrush Pipeline DVD I got. I think he divided the different parts (arms, legs, head, etc.) of the mesh into separate UV sets and worked on each part in ZBrush and used multiple maps back in Maya when rendering.

#4

Zbrush will not recognise Maya’s UV set. in fact the you cant export a UV set to an obj format, and that is the only format that can be transferd between this applications. the OBJ will preserv the defualt UV map thou.

there is a way to do what you want to do. but it is complicated and alot of work. if your interested let me know.

#5

Hmmm- thanks guys…

I’ll check out that Meats DVD when i get a chance…

And -yes - out of curiousity - I am interested in knowing how it can be done…
I kinda have an idea I want to play with right now - that involves, UV mapping with sets then making duplicate geometry of selected faces in each set - bringing those sub groups into zbrush to detail then back into maya copying the maps to the UV sets on the original geometry… Dunno if it will work and I already foresee some problems with lining up the textures perfectly where the seams of the different maps intersect…

IDEAS?? COMMENTS?? SUGGESTIONS???

#6

Ive got a copy of that DVD that Im looking to part with, that is, if you’re looking to buy it and want to save a few bucks. Maya’s confuses the hell out of me, so I dont even know why I bought the DVD. PM me if you’re interested.

#7

Sorry, I’m still learning Maya (I’m sure I’ll be saying that for a long time to come). So what you’re saying is, even if a lay my UVs out on a low-poly model in Maya, once I import it into ZBrush, the UV layout will be worthless? So what’s the solution, just be sure to lay them out properly in ZBrush. Does that mean Maya will recognize any UV work done in ZBrush? I apologize if my questions are ridiculous-sounding. Like I said, I’m pretty new.

#8

No no - You can layout UVs in Maya and zbrush will respect them - dont worry… once u do a good UV layout in Maya - it will transfer - my question is regarding a Maya feature - UV Sets - where u can divide a model’s UVs up into separate sets to give them more UV space.
I am trying to find a way to incorporate this feature or something similar into my zbrush pipeline…

If anyone else has any ideas, comments… please feel free to share!
Thanks for all the help thus far guys!
Peace.
-T

#9

UV sets is not the way to go, as doron explained. What will work is shifting your head parts, etc. out of the default UV 0-1 texture space and placing each in its own UV square. Here is the mel script to move your UVs one UV square to the right:

polyEditUV -u 1 -v 0 ;

Copy/paste the above mel into your script editor panel, select the UV points you want to separate, and run the script.

When all your body parts are in their own UV squares, export the model as an .obj file, import it into Z-Brush and apply Tools/Polygroups/UV Groups.

The Multi Displacement 2 plugin will recognise the separated nature of your UVs and assign each one its own displacement map.

ZMapper is not so automatic. You have to hide all polys except those of one of the UV groups, then enter ZMapper, make your normal map, exit ZMapper and repeat the process for the remaining UV group polys.

Cheers,

R

#10

Dude - THANKS ALOT!!! This is exactly what I needed - I’ll try it out once I get some freetime and post up my results… THANKS A WHOLE BUNCH!!! Seriously man… I really appreciate it.

Cheerio!
-T

#11

Hey, ok I have a problem depending on this UV layouting. My Model has two UV Sets, one in +1 +1 and one in -1 +1. I’ve imported it into zbrush, making those polygroups, everything fine.
But now a want to paint a seamless color-texture on the object. But it looks like i can only have one texture active at a time. If i hide the other group i can prevent from painting within areas that are note supposed to be changed, but without seeing the other texture-set, painting seamless will get an endless work than.

Does anyone know how to solve this. Perhaps something like"this-is-so easy-with-this-plugin" thing?

I fear worst :frowning:

#12

Make a new UV map, incorporating both UV setsdata into one UV 0-1 space; a simple matter of scaling on the U by 50%. Then in Z-Brush make a two by one texture and paint away on that. When youre done, export it to Photoshop and cut it in half: one half becomes your 0-1 UV set texture, the other half fits the -1-0 set!

Cheers,

R

#13

Oh, thanks. Thats indeed a good solution. I never thought about a none-quad map cutted into two pices.