ZBrushCentral

rigging with zspheres and highres details

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hey guys. I’m long time reader of this forum, this is the best place for getting inspiration. But now i have a problem, and have to write my first post with the question. :confused:

I have a problem with Rigging. My workflow is the following:

  1. load highpoly model, see what it has 6 subdivision level and go to base one (lowest).
  2. Create Zsphere
  3. Go to Tools->Rigging->Select Mesh and select model i loaded at step 1.
  4. Create more zspheres, adjust them to create good looking skeleton.
  5. Press Bind mesh button and check what binded base mesh is deforming when i rotate skeleton.
  6. Go to Adaptive skin and select Density to 6 (the reason in the step 1).
  7. I hold shift button and press preview to check what my highpoly mesh looks properly.
  8. Unpress preview and start to posing skeleton.
  9. BUT now, if i press shift + Adaptive skin Preview i got my highpoly model with no skeleton deformation.

Why? What am i missing or doing wrong?
If i change density to 5 or 4 it looks deformed but with no details, just smoothed (i think it’s right and should be so).
I heared about hint to touch model in preview mode, to keep model in highpoly everytime i press Preview, but it doesn’t help anyway.
I saw this good tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmury2eT_io (ZBrush 4 Part 1: ZBrush Rigging with a Single Subtool) but didn’t find answer for my question.

Please help to get rigging work properly. Thank you in advance.

#2

i’m having the exact same issue.

i MUCH prefer to use a rig and pose that way versus masking/transpose. it’s so much more intuitive and honestly, easier this way… but the details don’t stick or i get a mesh that’s 6 subdiv’s, but not my actual details…
what gives?

#3

You dont need any subd levels for your bound adaptive skin
just keep it at level 1. Make an adaptive skin and import that over your original subdivision 1

#4

sorry if i sound thick-
…but i’m not really certain what you mean by “Make an adaptive skin and import that over your original subdivision 1”.

i mean, i really don’t understand at all!

could you please explain?
thanks ALOT, if you can!!!

#5

well…
i “think” the problem is solved (for me, anyway).
it turns out that when i was supposed to hit shift and click on “preview” and then touch the mesh- my “touch” wasn’t registering, so i wasn’t getting all the details, just a hi-res mesh 6 levels deep that was all smooth.
once i made a discernible mark on the shift-clicked preview mesh, the posing stuck after i made some pose changes and all the details from the original came through.
whatta relief!

though admittedly, i still don’t quite understand what Beta_channel is getting at!

#6

I can make a quick tut tomorrow.

#7

fantastic!
thanks a BUNCH!

#8

http://www.youtube.com/user/goastdemons?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/yDrdwM1u_MQ

#9

wow- thanks a lot for taking the time to do that.
it works like a charm!!!

#10

@beta_channel: It doesn’t seem to work for me. I keep getting an import error message.
This is what I did:

  1. I loaded the high poly tool.
  2. I made a clone of it and went to subD level 1 without deleting the higher levels.
  3. I selected the simple brush (I assume this is to completely deselect the active tool?)
  4. I selected zsphere and made one.
  5. I selected the low poly clone that still has subD levels. It was still on level 1.
  6. I made a crude rig and posed it.
  7. I selected adaptive skin, set the density to 1 and hit preview.
  8. I rotated the mesh in preview (or do I actually have to click it with a brush?)
  9. I made an adaptive skin. Renamed it and exported it as .obj making sure export settings are all 0s with scale 1. The poly count is the same as the clone/original at subD level 1.
  10. At this point I would select either the low poly clone or the original at subD level 1. I try to import the posed mesh but still get the error.

Am I doing something wrong here?

#11

sounds right to me. Never had that problem.

#12

beta_channel:

Thanks for this tutorial on ZSphere Rigging, this was very helpful! I think this is the most simple approach to posing a model.

#13

@beta_channel: I’ve figured out a method that worked for me. Here are the steps:

1- Open the high poly tool. Set it to SubD 1.
2- Create a zsphere skeleton or open an existing one, preferrably of the same model. Press “delete mesh” to delete the resulting mesh and then press “select mesh”, selecting the original at SubD 1.
3- DO NOT BIND YET! Switch BACK to the original and set to the max subD level.
4- Again go back to the ZSphere. Set adaptive skin density to the same level as the original.
5- SHIFT-Preview. You should see an adaptive skin mesh with ALL the High poly details.
6- Touch the mesh you see with a brush. make sure Z is set to 1 so it won’t have an effect. (I’ve tried z at 0, didn’t work.)
7- Exit preview.
8- NOW BIND. The Zsphere mesh should look like it’s in SubD 1 at this point.
9- Start posing. Once done. Make adaptive skin directly. VOILA! The HD mesh is now posed!

Here is my result! :slight_smile: