Importing an object from Zbrush with textures. (Beginner)

Started by Jgone, February 06, 2017, 05:58:31 AM

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Jgone

Hello there everyone.

I started the 45 day trial on Zbrush so that i can create some cool objects for my upcomming renders in terragen.
I have been doodling a couple of days in the zbrush and i think i'm getting the hang of it.

So this screenshot shows my issue : https://gyazo.com/04c23817c67ab9abc6d5a6da86843ba7
I cant seem to be able to enable textures in any way. Or am i missing something essential ? (completely new to zbrush, and a fair noob in terragen)

I also stumbled upon a similar issue while googling, someone on this forum was asking the same thing but his fix was in parts shaders internal network, i don't seem to  have anything in there.

My wild guess would be that i am missing perhaps even the whole texturing aspect of the zbrush (or inserting the texture to model), tho i'm not entirely sure and this is a fickle thing to try to figure out alone as a beginner.
That's why i turn to you oh great ones. Show me my errors.

Thank you in advance :) !

edit: So i added the object through obj reader and tried both settings on xfrog part.

N-drju

Hey Jgone. This may seem like the "Is your computer plugged in?" question but nonetheless, the first thing that comes to my mind is how you exported your model?

My point is that most object editing programs allow you to choose whether to export an object with or without collecting textures. Make sure that collect textures / surfaces / materials (whatever it's called in ZBrush) is checked when in export dialogue box. This is for example the way it works in DS and I am getting parts shader as you normally do after such an export. I guess it should not be very different in other applications... ???

Alternatively, try to run your object through PoseRay to see if the textures are also missing there. PoseRay is a handy, little tool that helped me out on various occasions already.

And congratulations on the model itself - beautifully sculpted!
"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

Jgone

Quote from: N-drju on February 06, 2017, 06:36:32 AM
Hey Jgone. This may seem like the "Is your computer plugged in?" question but nonetheless, the first thing that comes to my mind is how you exported your model?

My point is that most object editing programs allow you to choose whether to export an object with or without collecting textures. Make sure that collect textures / surfaces / materials (whatever it's called in ZBrush) is checked when in export dialogue box. This is for example the way it works in DS and I am getting parts shader as you normally do after such an export. I guess it should not be very different in other applications... ???

Alternatively, try to run your object through PoseRay to see if the textures are also missing there. PoseRay is a handy, little tool that helped me out on various occasions already.

And congratulations on the model itself - beautifully sculpted!


I think you are onto something. I could import a model with green color by doodling with some settings. But still missing all the details.
Also thank you ! I won't even dare to say how many hours i put into that model, but i'm extremely proud of it. My third attempt. :)

Dune

Did you UVmap in ZBrush? Then you have to make textures for that UV map. And I think ZBrush doesn't export the normals, that's what my stuff from ZBrush looks like too. Taking it thorugh Poseray will add normals and you'll be able to see it properly in TG.

Jgone

Quote from: Dune on February 06, 2017, 10:34:31 AM
Did you UVmap in ZBrush? Then you have to make textures for that UV map. And I think ZBrush doesn't export the normals, that's what my stuff from ZBrush looks like too. Taking it thorugh Poseray will add normals and you'll be able to see it properly in TG.

I don't think have used UVmap, tho im not sure. A mega noob here.

I gave poseray a go after the suggestions and it nudged me forwards !
https://gyazo.com/e0f666b758e199502dba111bde9a6cb8

So now i see all the fine details but missing the colors (i have colored the model so it should be a-okay from zbrushes side).
And i can't find the thread in which people were talking about this issue that i mentioned earlier, i'm sure it would help me out right now at this stage.

But we are getting closer to the final product ! (still need to make an amazing landscape to compliment my freshly baked object).

j meyer

As for the missing colors, coloring an object/model in ZB is one thing exporting
that is another thing. You definitely have to UV map your model or use one
that already is UV mapped. Additionally you have to make a texture from polypaint.
Then you can export your model and a .bmp of your tex is eported along with the
object. There are still no normals though. And it is not always a good idea to add
normals, since in many cases the model will look different (messier) than in ZB.


N-drju

Hmmm... I don't know, I might be a ZBrush n00b too but in your fist picture from ZBrush, the deer did not have any colors whatsoever as well so that confused me slightly... Can you post a preview of how the deer looks in "real colors"?

And yes, I really like that model very much and admire your work. :) Creating model that detailed from scratch is pitch-black magic to me.
"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

Jgone

Quote from: j meyer on February 06, 2017, 12:16:27 PM
As for the missing colors, coloring an object/model in ZB is one thing exporting
that is another thing. You definitely have to UV map your model or use one
that already is UV mapped. Additionally you have to make a texture from polypaint.
Then you can export your model and a .bmp of your tex is eported along with the
object. There are still no normals though. And it is not always a good idea to add
normals, since in many cases the model will look different (messier) than in ZB.

Uff. This turns out to be quite a hassle. I was hoping that ZB and Terragen would work together flawlessly .
I have polypainted some colors to my object now, can you point out where i can export the colors ?
Thx for the in-depth help.

Quote from: N-drju on February 06, 2017, 12:20:19 PM
Hmmm... I don't know, I might be a ZBrush n00b too but in your fist picture from ZBrush, the deer did not have any colors whatsoever as well so that confused me slightly... Can you post a preview of how the deer looks in "real colors"?

And yes, I really like that model very much and admire your work. :) Creating model that detailed from scratch is pitch-black magic to me.


I hadn't colored the model when i created this thread. But i did a quick and DIRTY coloring to check out if the colors would transfer too.
https://gyazo.com/6ef89d8f7a2f2ebc8e14107b339ac13d
I know it isn't accurate, but it's enough for me, since the deer will be a minor detail when used. :)
Also creating models like this are extremely simple once u get used to zbrush UI. I'd suggest giving it a go!

j meyer

I don't have ZB open right now, but if my memory serves me right
you have to go to Tools-> Texture-> new from polypaint.
Now, provided that your mesh is UV mapped, a .bmp image will be
exported automatically.
Export settings Tools-> export.

You should read up on that, really.
Here you find the on line docs: http://docs.pixologic.com/
and here videos:http://pixologic.com/zclassroom/

Good luck.


Edit: sorry, don't know why the second link isn't an active link.

Jgone

Quote from: j meyer on February 06, 2017, 01:24:37 PM
I don't have ZB open right now, but if my memory serves me right
you have to go to Tools-> Texture-> new from polypaint.
Now, provided that your mesh is UV mapped, a .bmp image will be
exported automatically.
Export settings Tools-> export.

You should read up on that, really.
Here you find the on line docs: http://docs.pixologic.com/
and here videos:http://pixologic.com/zclassroom/

Hey i managed to doodle some colors on my object but the colors were extremely off. Misplaced. But i think i'm onto something here. Seems to get way more complicated than what i wanted it to be tho.  :(
Thanks for the help anyway ! Appreciate it !
Good luck.


Edit: sorry, don't know why the second link isn't an active link.

Oh wow i didn't have text here.

with your advice i was able to get some coloring on the object but the colors were off. Like, at wrong places. I'm onto something but i gotta say. This is way too complicated to be part of the workflow, or i'm not understanding something right.
Either way thanks for help ! Appreciate it !

j meyer

The misplaced colors are most likely due to the fact that one usually
has to flip the texture image to work correctly in one's target app.
Forgot to mention that, sorry.

It can be somewhat overwhelming at first, but you'll get used to it.

Jgone

Quote from: j meyer on February 07, 2017, 11:38:27 AM
The misplaced colors are most likely due to the fact that one usually
has to flip the texture image to work correctly in one's target app.
Forgot to mention that, sorry.

It can be somewhat overwhelming at first, but you'll get used to it.

Hey, thanks for yet another reply !

I tried flipping and all that jazz but nothing worked. The model looks like this : https://gyazo.com/a520fb00b6aba634738ca18402969394

I guess i'd be better off dropping the zbrush for now. It seems like more trouble than it's worth. Or my issue just seems so out of this world that nobody has stumbled on it.

Either way, appreciate the help !

Jgone

Update ! Fixed it !
As it turns out i wasn't ready to give up yet and glad i didn't ,  i figured out where the problem is and i would like to share my error with others in hopes that someone ever finds this useful.

My first Zbrush tutorial video that i ever saw was this guy showing how to model a realistic male head.
The tutorial was superb but the catch was that he used: "Dynameshing". And apparently the dynameshing ruins some crucial info from the model that is required for creating the texturemaps.
I'm not even close of being qualified enough to talk about these terms cause i'm still learning. But overall, if anyone ever has issues with exporting a model with colors, try creating a new model without using "dynamesh".

https://gyazo.com/408ed28eecaa1c7666a464d239711f55 Just a quick and dirty proof here that i was able to finally create a export an object with "colors" in their right places. (model might look black and white, but it's not.)

Thanks to everyone who tried to help me out with the issue. I'll be sure to pay the help back to the community when opportunity rises.   :)

Oshyan


Dune

Yes, you have to make UV-maps after dynamesh. And sometimes (or preferably, don't know really)  ZRemesh it then before doing maps. That's how far I got by now.