ZBrushCentral

Tutorial: Generating quick game geometry from simple photographs!

Wanted to share a quick pipeline process I found recently using Zbrush and Autodesk’s Photofly. Using a digital camera, Zbrush and Photofly you can create quick highly detailed game geometry extreamly fast. The first images show some of the test examples I have created. The youtube links are to the HD versions of the tutorial Videos.

[stump1.jpg]

HD Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyL8g1tlMMY
HD Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm9MJKWiyuU
HD Part3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPuuEIkGKUw
HD Part4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJdwefzdobU

Happy Zbrushing!!

-Joseph

Attachments

stump2.jpg

wall1.jpg

This is incredible. the possibilities are endless!!!

:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:

:smiley: thank you so much :smiley:

Wow that was really cool!

Unbelievably great tutorial! Thanks so much!!!

truly awesome! thanks for sharing :+1:

Great too see some new technique for production, thank you Joseph.

Emmanuel.

Great stuff Joseph, thanks for sharing :sunglasses: :+1: !

wow. great tutorial. I’m already trying my own modeling experiments…thanks!:smiley:

:+1:.

wait, what :qu:

WICKED… Thanx

brilliant tutorial!.. now all we need are normal map generation tips!

Great tutorial BUT you should have explained more about the camera you used, the camera settings and camera techniques you used to take the photos otherwise it’s hard to know if the technique can be done with a normal camera and settings or not. Also, an idea about how many photos should be taken for a good level of reconstruction would be good (at least a minimum amount).

Paul
(mix_mash)

mix_mash, your post wasn’t directed to me, BUT…

I think Piggyson, did his bit here.

It took me exactly 30 seconds to go to the Photofly website and be directed to this youtube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YNrQA6eofI

Personally I think producing 4 videos in both regular and HD versions is enough for one free (and EXCELLENT) tutorial from any forum member here.

amazing tutorial, would you mind explaining how you scaned the face, that would be realy nice. thnx

@mix_mash: The process can be done with any normal cameras. I didn’t use any special settings I just took a camera and started walking in a circle taking pictures. As long as the camera produces EXIF data it will work.

A minimum of 2 pictures are required to generate the 3d effect (same process that was used in the old viewmasters back in the day, and the current 3D craze with TV’s.) You just need to take enough pictures for the program to stitch together the subject you want to capture (if you have a camera that does panoramic mode that would help in making sure you don’t miss any areas.)

@Grfx: The stump took longer to capture then the face. The face was captured in the shade so that the lighting was even. Then I just rotated around the subject exactly like the stump and took 11 pictures (tests I have done are never exact in the amount of pictures. For a head it’s turned out to be 11-12 photos, it all depends on how many steps I take around the subject.)

After it is captured you should get a mesh that is decent (first raw model in the image) and a excellent diffuse texture. Applying the diffuse as a bump will help increase the quality of the raw model (I have been quickly dumping the diffuse to photoshop equalizing the channels then seperating the blue channel to use as a bump.) The rest of the process was just quick Zbrush sorcery using masking, retopology, projections, and simple sculpting. Creating a tutorial to cover the head process I use is on my list of to do’s.

Another quick example of a head 12 pictures with a Canon 7D were used. (just the raw data from photofly)
[headexample2.jpg]

-Joseph

wow this is awesome! very useful thanks!

Really cool indeed !
Have you tried puiting the subject on a rotating plateform ? I have the feeling that would not really work with this kind of thechnic, am I wrong ?

Thats really great, its the a plan to make a stand alone version or its imposible due to calcualtion?
Standalone would be great :wink: