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ZBrush to Zcorp color 3D printer? (file format?)

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#1

Hi guys, I found a company here to print physical model from 3D file (as u know, the Zcorp’s 3D color printer), and I want to print my model (.ztl) to the real world.

I have search all related post in this forum, and I know I should export my .ztl file to .obj (or convert the .obj continully in another app to .stl), but the question is the COLOR:

(1) how to paint color on my ztl model in zbrush? (is it a UV issue? sorry I am not familiar with the UV, but only know how to sculpt a model)

(2) how to make a 3D file with color to Zcorp’s color printer? since .ztl and .obj and .stl seems don’t have any color. What is the file conversion procedure?

thank all helps.

Acon

#2

i convert my ztl file to obj… then open the obj in maya and convert to wrl (VRML). *.wrl file has uv’s and texture support for printing on zcorp.

it sucks… you can use 3ds too… but 3ds has 65k poly limit. most printing companies should convert any obj for you as part of their service tho…

#3

or if you really hate UV… you should let me make it in plastic for you and have it painted. i make figures in plastic the same price it costs to print on zcorp… cheaper sometimes.

[3418891398_8997b3b8c4.jpg]

#4

Painting looks WAY better than the color 3D print…
Rainer

#5

desmonda is the best anyways :smiley:
love his stuff

#6

haha… thanks you two. okay… you got me motivated. i have two freebies im doing this week for some ZBC’ers who helped me out and I’m gonna get them done and post them for you guys :smiley:

#7

argh! how do i keep missing out on the freebees. sigh. :cry:

#8

Guys,

thanks for your replying, but now I choose to print my work by Zcorp’s color 3d printer, so…can you tell me more about the painting and uv knowledge detail?

(1)how to directly paint color in Zbrush, is it called polypaint? is there any tutorial doc for beginner like me?

(2)is that painting related with the UV issue? what is the detailed procedure to operate it? I know a app called UNFOLD 3D, I also know VRML (it seems to be best format for Zcorp printint cuz it brings color, actually I printed a model by Zcorp’s machine with a Sketchup’s model using VRML recently, but there is no UV issue in Sketchup because that model is a building and I just assign colors to every face, so simple…)

But I don’t know the timing and detail to use such tool like unfold 3D in the Zbrush 3D printing workflow, and I don’t know the relationship between painting (polypaintng?) and UV, obj…

Can anybody help me, I am just a ZB beginner.

I building my model by ZB/Sketchup/Rhino, I have 3Ds and Maya software too, but don’t know very well how to handle them…

thanks for any helps! hope u all good!

#9

well if your an beginner you should rather focus on producing something that is worth printing :smiley: !!

desmonda one day i will scuulpt something so awesome you will have to print it for free hahah :smiley: and if not youd be my first choice.

i cant even imagine a figure out of plastic i bet its all touchable and stuff.

#10

I don’t know why you said so? You mean I should not know the workflow of 3D printing I needed because I am a beginer?

desmonda’s work is awesome, I like it! but that’s not what I need, first reason is that I live in asia, if I choose his way, time and money cost would be very expensive. the second reason is that I prepare to purchase a Zcorp’s machine, I will use it to bring other local artist’s work to real world, that’s why I need to know the workflow. So, it’s not the question of beginer or master, I just need to know it. Maybe I will build a pure conversion/printing service but not to sculpt model myself, so I don’t need to be a ZB master before knowing the workflow, right?

The reason I said I am a beginner is to mention ZB experienced users here to help me more patiently, not to discouraging me.

#11

Haha… Disco Stu… spaceboy. Yup… thats the way to get free prints. Just make something so awesome that I am willing to pay out of my own pocket to see it come to life. And then cry when I have to ship it to you and lose my beautiful piece. :lol: Sigh… I don’t have a single pretty piece at home. I give it all away! sad I’m a sucker for video game, comic book, and anime inspired work -_-"

Disco… not only is it touchable… I’ve starting doing hybrid 3d printing in rubber-like resin. I’ll show you soon. On one of the freebies, I redesigned the hair and skirt and ribbons so they’re all flexible. You can throw it across the room! I also made it posable (articulated) -_-. I have too much time on my hands… I know.

Acon, we're definitely gonna help you print on the zcorp. :D Just gimme some time to check how to do things in Zbrush cause normally I set up my UV's beforehand in Maya before importing my mesh in ZBrush (haven't scupted from scratch from zspheres before), so I'm not 100% positive how UV's are automatically mapped to meshes, subtools, and quads in ZBrush. So I want to be 100% sure before I reply with an answer. DiscoStu just wanted to make sure you get the best value for your money. You're part of this community now and we just want to make sure you make something really pretty and happy with the money you spend. My guess is that you can create UV's for your mesh in ZBrush by hitting a button. Then when you Polypaint, ZBrush writes RGB to the pixol/quad that can be later baked into a single texture and saved out along with the UV's that you can convert to VRML and then print with ZPrint. I don't do the zbrush work at my company, I'll ask a pro in a few hours for you. I'm on my powerbook so it doesnt support ZBrush so I can't try it right now. And my 2-day shipping to Asia is less than $10. Because.. i live in asia. I moved here to make sure ownage can do a lot of figures (rotocast vinyl, PVC, cold-casting) when the time comes. Shipping is cheap like that (only $10-12 to the US and cheap worldwide) cause I pay for 40% of the shipping cost myself. So if it costs $60 to ship to 2-day africa.. it only shows up as $30 on ownage. I dunno why I do it. I also wrote an article on my blog recently about buying ZCorp and using it yourself. I have a couple years of ZCorp experience too. my blog is at [http://desmoda.posterous.com](http://desmoda.posterous.com) I speak Chinese and Japanese, both badly, if you want to PM me. But I really want to pick up Korean now. Delightful Girl Choon Hyang is like the best tv show ever. Is it wrong for a guy to say that? 한채영 is hot! Damn.. why did she have to get married :cry: I should just move back home now.

keep it up acon!
加油！
がんばるよ！
insert korean here well… i know enuf korean that is should be ‘fighting!’ ‘chagara!’ or something like that

#12

dont take it so personal.

its just that moddeling is the part on your side.
the printing is mostly handled by the pros that do prints for a living.

thats just what i mean.

desmonda: so are you american? did u move to china to build up your empire? :smiley:

#13

desmoda:

Thank you so much, I read your article about ZCorp in your blog, those such GOOD information is just what I need to know!!! now I have to concerned about buying a ZCorp, maybe it’s not a good idea.

and thank you for asking UV issue to pros for me, I really appreciate it.

BTW, I am expecting your story about the “Objet full color printing”, haha…

Disco Stu:

I just want to say that I am concerning offering a printing service, so it’s very important for me to understand the painting/uv/file converting tech details, it’s not about my modeling/sculpting skill. I am not aim at you, I am sorry if my post make u uncomfortable.

#14

get it now my bad :smiley:

#15

Okay, my coworkers have sunday off so I had to figure it out myself. It’s really easy, that’s why ZBrush is great.

So.. to do UV's, Polypaint, and exporting for ZCorp printing, you need to first have UV's for your mesh. I always do this in Maya because Maya and 3DSMax have a better interface for creating UV's. But it's completely a waste of your time to use Maya or Max if you're only using ZBrush to 3D Print stuff. Since you're from a architecture background and used to point click interfaces, you need to understand that UV's are coordinates that tell a 3d program how to take a 2D picture (texture) and draw it onto a 3d object. This is a lot like latitude and longitude used for locations on the earth, maps are 2D and the earth is a flattened sphere right? So when 3d artists say "unwrapping UV", what they're talking about is how to cut up your 3d model into a flat piece of paper that you can draw your textures onto and glue back on. ZBrush makes creating UV's and exporting textures from Polypaint very easy. You don't need maya or max. First you need to create your mesh. Do it with ZSpheres in ZBrush or boxmodel in Maya/Max. Once you have your base mesh (I assume you know how to 'make polymesh3d'), you can start painting on your object. Make sure 'colorize' is enabled in the texture menu, and paint away (with RGB turned on and ZADD/ZSUB turned off). When you're done painting. Now its time to export to obj. Here come the UV's. Bring your mesh back down to subdivision level 1. And in the texture menu, click GUVTiles. This will automatically create good enough UV's on your model for 3d printing. The difference between GUVTiles and AUVTiles is that GUV puts UV's on your model that are all the same size. AUV will put UV's on your model that are different sizes so maybe there are less artifacts. GUV is simpler, so just go with that. If you need UVp, UVs, UVc.. do it in maya/max.. zbrush is not good for that because the interface to fix and see your UV's isn't ready yet. Now go back up to your highest SubD. Make sure RGB intensity is 100. Someone told me that your color should be black too. Then hit the Col>Txr button in the Texture menu. This will create a texture from your Polypaint. Almost done, just need to save out. Save your OBJ out with the export menu. If you enable the Txr button, it will automatically save your texture out too. Now all you need to do is open up the OBJ in Maya and convert to WRL for printing on ZCorp. Don't forget to flip your texture image upside-down in photoshop because ZBrush writes alphas and textures out that way. If you don't, your texture will be messed up in Maya. Summary: 1) Polypaint your mesh in Zbrush by drawing directly on your mesh with only RGB turned on, make sure 'colorize' is enabled in Texture menu too. 2) Create UV's in lowest subD by hitting GUVTiles in Texture Menu. 3) To convert Polypaint to Texture, make sure RGB Intensity is 100 and color is black, go to the highest subD of your mesh, then hit Col>Txr in Texture menu. 4) Write your obj and texture out. Flip the texture upsidedown in photoshop. 5) Convert obj to wrl 6) 3D Print!
#16

desmoda:

u are an amazing man! I follow your step, paint my model and creat a .obj, a .mtl & a .bmp file using zbrush, then flip the bmp upside down in photoshop, remapping the bmp to the obj in rhino (not maya, because I am not familiar with maya), export it to a vrml file, and import it to ZPrint (a ZCorp’s printing software), it looks fine!!!

how do you know the step? so unbelievable.

I have some more question, hoping not to bother u too much (u can answer me when u really have the time):

(1)the .mtl is the UV coordinate file, linking the .bmp to the .obj, right? so when I import the .obj in Rhino, it also import the .mtl, right? but I don’t see any color after importing, so I need to assign the bmp as a texture, is it the same in Maya?

(2)What will happen if I re-sculpt or change the shape of the model mesh AFTER the GUVTiles button is hit (means UV is created)? is the UV change along with the mesh?

(3)It looks UV un-wrapping is so simple by your method, not like what I heard before. They always said the UV n-wrapping is a boring and annoying job in Max and Maya (it make many people to choose another app calld “Unfold 3D” to un-wrapping)

if it is always so simple, I could use just ZB as my ONLY tool to modeling and painting and UV un-wrapping tool, and Rhino for resizing and VRML outputing, sounds like heaven, haha? is that possible?

(4)Is the printing product by ZCorp followed by the step above not good? (what if I enhance my paiting skill to a good level?) is the sandy surface of ZPrinter make u depreciate it? maybe some sanding and polishing treatment will make it better?

anyway, thank u so much, u are such a nice guy and pro!!:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:

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#17

im okay :stuck_out_tongue:

zcorp is a good machine. it was my first machine too many eons ago. so its a great place to start. kinda like a beater stick shift car. you just gotta remember that a 3d printer is just a tool. just like a computer. up to your imagination how to use it like no one else can. yah, doing uv's like that is good for 3d printing. you won't need any other application. but in the real world, the UV's you made with the GUV aren't any use to a movie studio or game company. 3D modelling, rigging, and texture are often separated into different jobs. imagine if you're doing a superhero sculpt, GUV unwraps and cuts your UV in a way that make sense for the computer, but not for living people. So maybe the texture for one eyeball will be in the top right corner, and the texture for the other eyeball will be in the bottom left corner. A GOOD UV layout and texture would be one with a face that you would instantly recognize just like a photo. if you change the models, the UV's wont be messed up because they don't change if you move points. remember that earth example i gave with longitude and latitude? well if I nuked a spot on the earth, and made a 2 mile deep hole. the bottom of the hole would still be the same longitude and latitude. not exactly the best example.. the only thing you can't do is retopologize your model. that will mess up your UV's for sure. edit: *.mtl files only hold path to textures and other lighting and material related settings. you can read the specification for OBJ on wikipedia. you had to map the texture manually cause rhino (and maya) both have bugs that don't read the mtl file correctly. it probably has to do with file paths. OKAY! haha no more questions! thread is closed! :)

ugh… double edit:

Something a 3d printer can’t do for the forseable feature is rival a good paint job with an airbrush/paintbrush. It’s because in toy art, it’s about a lot more than pigment at a certain spot. You have to consider gloss, texture, as well as pigment, and multiple transparent layers (as in subsurface scattering).

For instance, an oil painting is actually a 3d work. The way the artist puts the oils on the canvas and moves it around. The shape of the dried paint. Now compare that to a digital copy of the painting that is printed onto a canvas. If you see both in person there’s no comparison which one is better.

#18

Thanks for the above info…however, how would these steps (exporting color file for 3d print) be different with the new 3.5r where the 3d print exporter contains an option for vrml export?

Meaning, as zbrush is the ONLY program necessary with this plug-in…what are the exact steps to get a polypainted model to vrml to prepare for a print on a z corp color printer?

Here are my steps, and it is exporting color, but the bitmap is messed up…

1- polypaint each subtool
2- merge subtools
3- Decimate (while preserving polypainting)

(Maybe merging subtools and decimating are the problems?)

…then from here I do exactly as stated in beginning of thread but again, there is a problem.

Thanks for any assistance

#19

Clicked the link but no luck.

#20

Lol, we’re still here~ just really busy at the moment. Find us at ownage.com or send an email to [email protected] and someone (most likely me… will help you in any way we can).

best

Des

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