Thanks for the vids Moochie, very professional and easy to follow.
Steve 8)
Printable View
Thanks for the vids Moochie, very professional and easy to follow.
Steve 8)
Really useful video-tutes Moochie. Thank you for taking the time to pass on your experiences and tips.
Hope you don't mind me asking a question only indirectly related to the subject.
I havn't been able to find the answer in the wiki or the forums.
Having created and played with my macro brush is there an easy way to revert to the default brush behaviours. In the end I just saved out a new brush when I loaded ZBrush and called it 'default'. I could find a reset brushes command but I may be looking in the wrong place
Good question, Noggin. And an excellent solution (if there is a 'reset', I can't find it either). I'm sure a 'Noggin's Reset Brush' would be popular (hint, hint).
The StandardSet Brush seems to restore settings. Open the standardset.txt file with an editor to look at the commands and you'll see how the brush's author guarantees certain buttons are reset.
Sven
Good point, Sven. It doesn't alter the stroke type, ZIntensity or draw size, though. I think that Noggin was suggesting a 'return to default' brush, so draw size goes back to 64, ZIntensity to 25, stroke to Dots etc.
Here's a question for eager students .. see if you can find the TXT file for the StandardSet brush. Open it in a text editor .. does this brush adjust your Edit Curve or Smoothing Curve?
That's partly why I asked the question Sven, I'd assumed the StandardSet Macro brush would revert me to 'normal' default brush but in fact for me it yields just a large smoothing brush.
Well Moochie_ I've found the text files in [ZStartup][Macros][RapidBrushes]_ even found the [Source] folder where the brush stores its alpha if part of the saving process (eg for the Rake Brushes)
I can't answer your question yet about the edit or smoothing curves 'cos I havn't worked out the naming convention for the macro steps!
I'm interested to spot that the StandardBrushes set has a line
"[iset,Brush:Auto Smooth,2]" Is this why it acts as a smooth brush for me?
Does ZBrush only utilise stated lines when switching form macro to macro? So for example if you use a macrobrush containing say a particular alpha then you use another brush that was saved without checking the alpha parameters does it 'remember' the alpha used in the previous brush, or switch to a default alpha??
Time for me to start experimenting I thinks!
Dunno Noggin .. I've spotted something else weird going on http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/sho...d=1#post367721 (post #92)It appears ZB multiplies Edit Curve settings in certain circumstances, resulting in strangely acting brushes. Logically you would expect ZB to leave all settings as they are when switching from Brush to Brush, except for those elements specifically saved with the new brush. But that appears not to be the case .. I can't think that's deliberate, but a glitch in the code.
Ah yes I see from Marcus comments what's going on with your curves issue.
I'm still a bit bemused by the quirky behaviour of these macro brushes but I suspect that's more down to my lack of understanding about whats happening in the background.
I'm going to have a go at uploading my 'return to default' brush in the hope that it might be useful to others_ I make no claims for it correcting all the parameters set by preceding macro brushes but so far it seems to work for me.
Just extract into your zbrush root "using folder names"
(edited with new zip containing brush with reset size parameter)
Thanks, Noggin. Let's dissect the brush text file and see what it does.
//ZBRUSH MACRO - written by BrushManager plugin version 1.0[IButton,???,"Press to select brush preset",
[IShowActions,0]
[IConfig,2.496]
[ISet,Brush:Std,1]
[IPress,Stroke:FreeHand]
[ISet,Brush:Gravity Strength,0]
[ISet,Brush:CavityMask,0]
[ISet,Brush:CavityInt,100]
[ISet,Brush:Alt Brush Size,2]
[ISet,Stroke:Mouse Avg,1]
[ISet,Stroke:LazyMouse,0]
[ISet,Stroke:LazyRadius,30]
[ISet,Stroke:LazyStep,0.25]
[ISet,Stroke:LazySmooth,8]
[ISet,Alpha:MidValue,0]
[ISet,Draw:Focal Shift,0]
[ISet,Draw:MRGB,0]
[ISet,Draw:RGB,1]
[ISet,Draw:M,0]
[ISet,Draw:Zadd,1]
[ISet,Draw:Zsub,0]
[ISet,Alpha:ItemInfo,1]
[IPress,Macro],,1,,,]
Right, so that's the Standard brush type. Freehand stroke. Gravity and Cavity mask both zero (ie turned off), so the only Brush info saved is the Alt Brush size (that's the smooth size for the brush). Mouse Average is set at 1 and Lazy Mouse is zero (so turned off). The Alpha 'Mid Value' slider is set at 0. Draw details .. Focal Shift 0, RGB is selected (value = 1 ie turned on). ZSub selected.
What's missing? Draw size .. it would be good to get that back to the default 64. ZIntensity. There's no Edit curve or Smoothing curve (the -ED.zcv and -SM.zcv files that you'd find in the Source sub folder). And I guess all the other sliders that might have been changed in a previous brush.
I think, maybe, the best way to save a default brush would be to close and restart ZB, then immediately save out a brush with all options selected in Brush Manager.
If you check out the little WinZip tut I link to in the first post, that shows how to set up folders so that you can get the 'path' details in WinZip so that all files can be extracted with one click. If you check the path details as you saved them, the path starts at Program Files. What you really want is the path starting at ZStartup. WinZip always starts the path from the root of your hard drive .. the tut shows how to trick WinZip.
You did good, citizen, and your reward for sticking your head above the parapet is to try again! Ooo I'm so stern! Heh heh. :D
Thanks Moochie_ and thanks for the dummy zip_ most handy!
I've re-written the brush to include the draw size set at the default 64 and re uploaded.
I feel a bit guilty calling it Noggin's default (because its actually ZBrushes default) but at least its easily identified and deleted if folks prefer to do their own.
btw Moochie I have in mind to create a few alpha fixed brushes to great things like stitching on clothes, rivets, screws etc. Is there a way to have each instance of the alpha follow along a line at a fixed spacing.
I like the "point small" rapid brush with it's red guide line_ this is the 'lazy mouse' function_correct?_ that should allow accurate placement of stitching along seams but the stitching space needs to be consistent.
Any tips?
For a simple stitch, create a black square and draw a vertical white line which starts and ends a reasonable distance from the top and bottom edges. For the brush use the dot stroke brush with Roll turned on and experiment with Lazy Mouse settings (both in the Strokes palette). I just tried it and it works quite well.
For a more advanced stitch, I'd try creating a piece of thread using a torus, turned on edge so it's facing you sideways on, manipulating it so it's more thread-like, then pushing it back through the clipping plane, so only the leading edge is visible. Save an alpha using ZDepth info. Incorporate that in a brush as previously.
For even more detail, add some twist into the torus whilst it's a parametric object, then use the masking / row / columns options and deformation to create a bit of additional surface detail to the thread. Then capture the ZDepth info.
Thanks Moochie, that sounds like a good solution_ I only just spotted that "Roll" button.
In the meantime I've been busy creating some juicy brushes (I hope)
All of these are surface texture effects rather than sculpting brushes, so they'll need to be applied to a well divided mesh. Still I hope they might appeal and be useful for adding displacement like information.
Most of the brush use DragRec stroke type (my choice) but of course this and brush size, zdepth can all be changed on the fly.
All the alphas (placed in the [source] subfolder of a new [NogginsBrushes] directory are created ain FilterForge (this is a whizzy new filter suite that allows you to render out bump information)
http://www.filterforge.com/ (for those that are interested)
Anyway without more addo here's the link to my first set of 14 Macro Brushes
(external link because the alphas make it too large for upload her: 4Mb)
www.nigelpickering.mistral.co.uk/uploads/NogginsBrushes1.zip
Did I do well Master? :)
Noggin ... you did brilliantly! Excellent brushes. You even worked out how to make a macro sub-folder in your name. :tu: :tu:
You don't need the .zsc files in the zip, as ZBrush builds those automatically. And one of the rivet brushes has Alpha Tile x2, but an Alpha Tile count of x1 hasn't been saved for the other brushes, so once the double rivet brush is used, all the subsequent brushes keep the alpha tile x2 setting. But those are minor quibbles (very minor).
I had great fun trying the brushes out. Thanks for sharing them. :D
I'm working on a series of skin and hair brushes at the mo .. I'm getting much better results in ZB3 with polypainting than I ever managed in ZB2. When they're done they might just end up being given as a sort of prize to those who take part in the challenge. Heh heh.