I’m trying to get rid of the jagged edges that appear on objects created in Zbrush. I’ve tried resizing to the maximum, applying max, antiailiasing, but I just end up with stair stepped edges. Help! :qu:
Try turning the “color adjustments” button on and then using the anti-aliasing options.
Use the biggest document size your machine can handle. I render at 2000x2000 on average.
Yep, I adopted that technique the first time Southern mentioned it and have never gone back. The moment you resize the document down in Photoshop to what you planned for, the jaggies are gone. You can put a lot more detail in, too!
I’ve used PSP for years and learned something new just the other day. If you use PSP to resize your pic after post work, make sure your resize type is “Biliniar Resample”
I always had people tell me I should anti aliasis my 3d pic’s, which I always did so did not understand the problem.
Imagine most here are using PS, but for those that arn’t and maybe don’t know.
say I create a 4000x4000 document in Zbrush. if i want to create a 8.5"x11" PSD from it so i can print on standart letter paper, how do i exactly set it up in photoshop’s “resize” option box?. Do i just enter the dimention i want in inches in photoshop, because i do that and still see some jaggies? I would appreciate some assistance. thanks
If you create it at 4000x4000, you should have no trouble getting it at 8x10.
What I normally do in Photoshop is simultaneously increase the dpi to 300 (or higher) and set the document size to 10.45" along the longest dimension. On screen, you’ll still see the jaggies, but when it prints it should turn out pretty much gorgeous.
The reason for the 10.45 size is that it prints perfectly on standard 8 1/2" x 11" paper. If it’s the short dimension that matters to you (like with a square image), then you would go with 7.95".
Let me know if it works for you! I’ve gotten great prints this way with images that were created at the default canvas size, so you should be more than fine.
another hint, for my fellow 640x480ers:
i got pretty good results by rendering the final image with all the antialiasing controls cranked up to the max, and then going into flat render mode, painting my objects with flat color and grabbing the (jaggy) result. which i then opened in psp, filtering it with a gauss blur, at 2px radius. that should give a much smoother edge when using the grabbed bw image as an alpha channel to float my rendered scene, which gets then combined with the background img.
but then again, i do rely heavily on photoshop do to the final composing. when working in Z only, that’s no help at all 
Good tips, everbody. When I have an image I know I’ll composite in Photoshop, I’ll create my ZBrush image with a unique background color I know I can easily select in Photoshop. Sort of like the blue/green screen technique for FX in movies. Then, using the magic wand tool, I can select the background and inverse the selection (selecting the artwork). Then I’ll “Contract” the selection by one pixel. After that, I’ll “Feather” the selction by one pixel, copy and paste. My image is now on a separate layer with smooth edges. Now I can do whatever I want on a lower layer. I can also refine the edges even more by also using Layer -> Matting -> Defringe…
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