ZBrushCentral

Need Advice on Working between ZBrush 4R6 and Sketchup 8

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi all!

I’m an absolute newbie in ZBrush (still watching tutorials and muddling around with ZB) and am an intermediate Sketchup user.

I was wondering if it’s feasible to import and export a single file between these two softwares by converting it into an OBJ file? It would be very convenient to do organic sculpting on ZB and then export it over to Sketchup for hard surface work and resizing and 3D printing (I mostly design stuff for 3D printing).

I’ve heard some people successfully using both in creating some awesome 3D models by converting ZTL and SKP files into OBJ and then importing/exporting it between the two softwares. On the other hand, I’ve also read that such importing and exporting sometimes creates problems in the files.

Any do’s and don’ts I should be aware of?

I know you can also sculpt hard surface models on ZB, but I’m more used to Sketchup, and can render model much faster using the latter.

There’s also the option of buying Maya and switching between it and ZB via GoZ, but after just having purchased ZB, I can’t really spare the money for another expensive software.

Thanks for any advice!

#2

Yes OBJ can be imported into Sketchup. There is a plugin that imports OBJ’s with textures, I think it’s called OBJ Importer.

#3

Thanks for the info, Dillster!

Are there any things I should watch out for about when importing and exporting an OBJ file between Sketchup and ZBrush? Things like poly count or certain shapes not being rendered properly in either software?

#4

Hi Matey, I too use Sketchup and would love to know if you have made any progress with getting models imported to Sketchup from ZBrush, and more so how it is done. I have recently seen an artist online who has made his models in Sketchup and made the 3d people in ZBrush, he has combined the 2 and they look great, this is what I want to do but like yourself I do not want to spend time and money on another program unless I can use them both. My other option is to abandon Sketchup and begin the long journey of learning another program for all my needs, I do admit Zbrush does temp me a lot to turn loll.

Any help would be appreciated, cheers and thanks.

Ray