Hi, this might be a simple question.
Im really enjoying rendering within ZBrush, having usually exported maps and meshes into another program such as Maya.
What I am missing though is using maps such as spec and spec roughness in my zbrush renders. In the materials Im able to globally change a spec value, but, as only a colour swatch pops up it doesnt seem I can pipe in a map.
It seems it must be possible.
How are people controlling spec/spec roughness in their ZBrush renders?
Thanks
Hello Ed!
Zbrush doesn’t use a layered, image-based shader system like some other programs. In many cases those sorts of images would be used to simulate characteristics that Zbrush would simply render with real geometry. For instance, there’s no need to use an image to simulate a bump or a surface roughness–you’d simply create an actual rough or bumpy surface on the mesh.
Specular quality can be adjusted in the material Modifiers by adjusting its curve. Noise can be added to increase the grain of the effect. Do, however, understand the difference between Matcap materials and standard materials. Matcap materials have many of their characteristics baked in, and will not respond to changes in the rendering environment like standard materials.
More advanced affects can be achieved by using multi-pass rendering, BPR filters, and image compositing. If there is a highly specific effect you’d like to apply with an image texture, simply render a pass with that texture applied, and composite it in with the others in an image editor.
Thanks for the response.
Its a shame there is no way to control specular values in specified areas and its solely a global value. Yes, bump and surface deformation is possible with geometry, but shiny lips to matte cheeks isnt possible (unless painting materials, which is a little messy).
Thanks for the info, hoping there are some other solutions out there.
Cheers
I’m sorry if my original reply led you to believe there was no way to do this.
If there is a specific effect you’d like to like to apply with a texture ( a “texture” in Zbrush = image map), then paint that texture onto your mesh, and render it as part of a multi-pass rendering workflow. Understand that Textures and Polypaint are interchangeable in Zbrush, and that you can convert different “paintjobs” into a series of textures to achieve different effects when composited. This requires you to know your way around an image editor, but that would be true of almost any digital art.
Multi-pass rendering can achieve really great results in Zbrush, but it will not replace a fully featured dedicated renderer. It is simply not the tool’s main focus at the present time, and in the event the functionality is ever significantly expanded to be comparable, I have to believe it would almost certainly be accompanied by a corresponding price hike putting it in line with those other solutions.
In the meantime, if you’d like a more traditional rendering experience, the Keyshot Bridge and dedicated Keyshot for Zbrush version work well, and are comparable in price and function to any of the other 3d tools that expand upon their native rendering by making third party render options available.