ZBrushCentral

Displacement Map - Error

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi there.

I don’t have any good Knowlege about ZBrush.
I have a 4 Million Big OBJ Terrain File from Worldmachine and i want to generate a height map with zbrush.

When i try to export the mesh as Displacement Map i get the Message:

Map can not be created while highest subdiv-level is avtice.
Switch to a lower lever and try egain.

The Problem is…i don’t have a lower subdiv level?!

What is the Workflow here?
Any Hint would be nice.

thxs
Guido

#2

A displacement map is calculated from the difference between the low poly mesh and the high poly mesh. If you’ve only got one subdivision level then it can’t be done.

But you can generate a height map in ZBrush in a different way:

  1. In the Document palette, create a new document of the size you want your map to be. You may need to turn off the Pro button. If the terrain you’ve got is square then make the document square.
  2. Use the Zoom in the Document palette to make sure you can see the whole of the new canvas. This is very important and it woin’t affect the size of you map.
  3. Load your terrain and position it on the canvas so that it is facing straight out (i.e. you’re looking down on it). You need to make sure it is square to the screen plane and fills the whole of your document.
  4. Press Alpha>Transfer>GrabDoc.

That’s it. You can export the alpha as a height map.

#3

Hi.

Thanks for the reply.
Can this workflow generate 32bit Precision Maps or at least 16bit? 8bit ist too low for my terrain

Greets

#4

Alphas are 16 bit.