ZBrushCentral

Problems Painting this Object

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I am having the hardest time painting in a particular Polypaint on my model. Imagine painting 6 different layers on a brick type object, but each layer of texture cannot overlap the other layer, but the layers have to be jagged.

Question #1
I tried to Mask off each layer separately, but it proved to be too time consuming as each separate area has jagged areas so I am wondering if it is possible to save out a flat map from ZBrush so I can paint in the materials in Photoshop?

Question #2
I was using the “Drag Rect” and a material to cover the separate areas but the texture would just low into the other area, but if I used the Stroke, Freehand or Spray brushes the texture would tile way too many times and I don’t want it to tile when painting. Is it possible to paint using the Stroke, Freehand or Spray brushes and not have the texture tile when painting?

I am using ZBrush 3.2 for mac.

Thanks :slight_smile: brick_2.jpg

#2

I appreciate the effort you put into illustrating your problem, but I’m afraid I’m fairly dense and still a bit unclear on your issue.

Part of the problem is, you seem to be using the terms “material” and “texture” interchangeably. They are different things for Zbrush, and in versions of ZB earlier than 3.5 (you said you’re in 3.2), a tool can only have one texture at any one time, while it might have multiple materials.

As far as how to paint multiple materials, your object seems fairly simply to mask off section by section with simple rectangular masking, then polypaint in the new material. If this produces a line division that is too “clean”, you can then go over the line again and "“rough up” the division with a little detail brush work.

#3

Sorry, let me try to clarify.

  1. First I want to know if I can you save out a flat UV map and paint on that in an image editing app like Photoshop or will I have to create an UV map in 3DCoat. When I use “PUV” I get a texture that is in small cubes and I can’t paint on it in Photoshop so I want to know if I can export a Flat UV map from ZBrush?

  2. Using “Drag Rect” and a material to cover the mesh works for broad areas but does not allow you to manually Paint the material in small areas, So I am asking if you can somehow set the “Stroke, Freehand or Spray” to paint the material as one “untiled” material. (see image)

Imagine you have an image of a house and you want to paint it across a cube using the “Stroke, Freehand or Spray” brushes, (not the Drag Rect stroke) so you don’t want it to tile the house material when you are painting it. Can this be done via a setting? All I want to do is paint my texture using “Stroke, Freehand or Spray” so when I am painting the material is not tiling.

Can I "Paint" on the material so it applies to the surface "untiled"? (See Image) I know I can do this using the DragRect Stroke, but the Drag Rect stroke cannot apply the material like a brush whichis what I want to do?

I don’t know how else to explain it. :cry:

Thanks

I am using ZBrush 3.2 for mac.

Attachments

cube.jpg

#4

Zbrush Tile UVs are there for the convenience they offer when more deliberate UV unwrapping is not called for. If you would like to unwrap the UVs in a more deliberate fashion, that makes image textures easier to edit externally, simply unwrap the UVs in the external application of your choice, and import the model into Zbrush with the UVs active.

Then, you can paint the model via Polypaint (or directly onto the texture with PM), and create a texture map from that color information, based on your UVs. From there you can further edit them in any external Image editor (or with ZAPP link).

You can certainly paint with any type of stroke or alpha you’d like.

I think I understand though. You have a separate image you'd like to apply to the model in it's entirety in ZB, you are not really free painting? If you are trying to apply a specific image to your cubic structure, and the cubic projection is not accurate enough for this, the best way would best be done with PM, becaue in PM you can "stretch" your image to fit more accurately. You can do it with regular polypaint, but only as a square image. Also, IN PM, you can use Zapp link to use photoshop to edit the texture directly. Read up on how to use projection master, and how to use Zapp Link to work in an out of Photoshop in automated fashion. It is not strictly necessary, it just makes things easier. Beyond that, I dont understand where "tiling" is coming in. If you are painting with a material that has a texture or pattern component, there are controls in the material modifier palette to control how that texture repeats or tiles. If you are painting in Polypaint mode with a texture active in the texture slot for the brush, changing the stroke type, the alpha type, and various sliders in the bottom of the stroke menu will affect the type of stroke and placement, for more randomized effects.
#5

I dont feel Ive been helpful here, as I think there is a communication failure.

Let me just give a couple points. A “texture” (an image imported into ZB, or one of the stock textures), applied to a brush, applied to a brush, with most strokes, can only be "sprayed out or streaked in “painty” fashion. This works best with sort of randomized visual noise maps, like rock, sand, dirt, etc. The effect can be modified by the type of stroke and alpha selected. It should not cause “tiling” per se ( it should look more randomized), unless you have the texture plugged in to one of the Zbrush materials that repeats an image, like a pattern texture.

If this is what youre trying to do, you should be able to do this easily in polypaint, directly on the mesh, independent of UVs.

If, however, youve got an image, that you want to apply, unbroken, to the side of object in more deliberate fashion, this is also easy. Just use the drag rect stroke to draw the image out until it fills the area you want. For more control over the placement and shape of this image, use Projection master, a side at a time. (after you draw out the image in PM with a Drag rect stroke, select move and scale from the shelf to better position it).

IF however, you only want it to apply to certain areas of the side, and not others, you must master Masking. It is not that time consuming…if it is, youre doing it wrong. With the alpha set to “off”, simply hold CTRL and draw out a rectangle that will fill most of the area you want the image to apply to, then use freehand brush to “paint” out to the edges of the mask while holding down CTRL. For even rougher edges, assign a rough alpha while painting the mask. Then hit “inverse” in the masking pallette, or CTRL-click empty space in the canvas. This inverts your maks so that everything else but what you want to paint is masked.

I’m probably not fully understanding what you want to do, but nothing there seems too difficult to me…certainly easier than laying out UVs and trying to get that texture to match the sculpted detail.