Greeble Pack for Zbrush 4R7

[gmp1993]

Sweet Video. Might have to try something similar in Element 3D. Keep it up loving your progress

[kilik128]

interessing any Quixel workflow for lowpoly result ?

[boozy floozie]

Enjoyed watching your videos today. Some very knacky tips with fascinating results.
I am presenting you with a Boozy badge of merit and my thanks for taking the time to communicate your findings.
Always fascinating to see what people get up to in their laboratories

[megacal]

Sweet Video. Might have to try something similar in Element 3D.

Thanks!

E3D by itsself looks amazing.
(just found out it's an AE plugin, not a standalone app).

Integrating different apps is a lot of fun....each one does something best and/or different.

[michalis]

interesting any Quixel workflow for lowpoly result ?

Of course, not in zbrush though.
The general idea is:
Don't even think to use prebaked "panels" (tangent space normal maps) same way as the displacement maps. Rotating and placing UV islands on such maps will result to wrong XYZ tangent coordinates.
This said, you need an app that supports multiple UV maps and can transfer/convert/bake displacement maps into a second UV set, well distributed for the task.
Most of the well known 3d packages-apps can do it, blender among them.
Zbrush can bake tangent normal maps from multiresolution. So, applying displacement maps, delete UVs, recreate appropriate UVs and bake N-maps will work. However, 3d community avoids such approaches, for very well known issues.

[megacal]

Great dialogues.....I hope others will join in, ask questions, show their works using GreeblePack2
or at least the using the maps you gave us.

This is only a small part of ZBrush, but is so important for detailing, and exporting models to use
in other apps.

ZBrush has finally become one of my core apps......really essential for complex modeling.

Here is the text I put together so far of what's been said. I find it very helpful to print it out so I
can mentally chew on it as I apply it in ZBrush. Also handy when I have to wait somewhere, e.g.
the checkout Q.

Also printed out the 4R7 "What's New Guide".....very helpful for learning ArrayMesh, NanoMesh, etc.

I'm off to the desert till Friday, and hope to have something to show then.


Here's the text......

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?191993-Greeble-Pack-for-Zbrush-4R7/page6


Paleo3D
Here's how I do it...for each subtool...


- After you have properly UVed your ( finished) low polymesh ( with as many repeats as you like )
divide, divide, divide into the millions...
- Import your displacement map as a TEXTURE
- With Mrgb turned ON ( or "rgb/m" for other subtools ) click FILL OBJECT and your displacement
map will appear on you object ( or subtool ) with ALL of your repeats.
- Click Masking/Color/Intensity and now your object will be proportionally masked to your
displacement map.
- INFLATE at will in the Deformation subPalette
- Clear the Mask ( and color/texture to your liking).


( try the ZMetal material to better visualize the effects )


And Voila!!..your object is now fully "displaced" with ALL of the repeats
Quick 3D Edit is still ON and you can send this object to KeyShot, if you so desire, with Zero
problems with displacement info.
.................................................. ........................
michalis
a possible workaround on displacements:
Preview your map, adjust tilling etc etc, when you're happy,
1. turn off subdivisions and export obj.
2. re import obj and UVs now perfectly work on displacement panel.
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http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?191993-Greeble-Pack-for-Zbrush-4R7/page7
michalis
Some comments on the last video tut:
1. The use of inflate deformation. You don't really need to do so.
Under displacement panel, there is a mid value slider. It determines how the grey scale (displ map) will work.
By default it's 0.5. Grey will be neutral, black carves deeper, white extrudes. Value 0 mean black will be neutral. Everything will work as inflate deformation. You may preview how it works (mode displ On). Fortunately it works when applying displ. Oh yeah, lol.


2. The use of tiff displ maps. Tiff 16 bit. JPG adds noise of course, it is also 8 bit, will produce nasty scale effect on gradients.
3. To upload maps, my suggestion is dropbox. Zip (compress these tiff files and upload / share in dropbox.
Example, using IMM greeble brush, seamless (in Pshop), tiff B&W 16 bit, 2044x2044 ~ 8.5 Mb. Zipped ~165 k only.
Dropbox download link
BTW, michalis = Michael.
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GMP
The more you play with Displacements the More you understand you dont need super complex Geometry. All I did was Pull out some shapes with Snake Hook brush and use the move a bit on a DynaMesh sphere, then Zremeshed at the Defaullt values to get a 5k mesh then start exploring with uv's change the tilling till I saw something I liked, did all the displacement process, and finally took over to Keyshot did my little lighting trick with reapplying my Depth Map as a Bump Map, Viola something Cool and Unique.
.................................................. ...........................................
GMP
re: seamless tiles
Did find that its nice to be seamless when applying UVp and UVtile on lowres models it'll wrap seamlessly around a edge. With PUV/GUV not Necessary.
.................................................. .................................................. ...................
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?191993-Greeble-Pack-for-Zbrush-4R7/page8
michalis
Of course, not in zbrush though.
The general idea is:
Don't even think to use prebaked "panels" (tangent space normal maps) same way as the displacement maps. Rotating and placing UV islands on such maps will result to wrong XYZ tangent coordinates.
This said, you need an app that supports multiple UV maps and can transfer/convert/bake displacement maps into a second UV set, well distributed for the task.
Most of the well known 3d packages-apps can do it, blender among them.
Zbrush can bake tangent normal maps from multiresolution. So, applying displacement maps, delete UVs, recreate appropriate UVs and bake N-maps will work. However, 3d community avoids such approaches, for very well known issues.
.................................................. ...................................

[michalis]

@megacal
For low poly assets with normal maps (tangent) support, we may need another thread devoted to this surprisingly difficult task.
So many hidden secrets there. However, this displ method of sculpting via UVs is on the right direction.
A normal map is not a depth map. In fact there isn't any depth information on such a map. The curvature only, the light.
A sharp simple cube on a plane, by example. On a depth map we'll see two shades. The depth information. On a normal map (tangent) we'll see just a plane blue. Nothing. Add some beveling on this cube. Now we have some information.
It goes further though. More issues arising. For instance, rotate a UV island on such a map (UV editor/UVmaster etc etc). A mess. And… a few more hidden nasty things. LOL
Zbrush does not support "bake to custom cage".

[kilik128]

and what's about use NoiseMaker for displacement ?

[gmp1993]

kilik128

and what's about use NoiseMaker for displacement ?

I've used NoiseMaker for Displacements, but not to often, just put your depth/displacement in Alpha, turn on Alpha, and use UV on NoiseMaker instead of 3D then start adjusting scale and strength.

kilik128

interessing any Quixel workflow for lowpoly result ?

Bit of a Pain to get Baked Maps out for Quixel and Substance Painter. I've done it but drove myself crazy trying to achieve it all in Zbrush.

michalis @megacal
For low poly assets with normal maps (tangent) support, we may need another thread devoted to this surprisingly difficult task.

Heck it may take several Threads to discuss this. Lol

[gmp1993]

Coming up with a Workflow to Quickly get into E3D with the Displaced Models to Start Animating them. It's not too Difficult, here's a Quick Test Below. Enjoy ;-)

[paleo3d]

Michalis,
You are correct in pointing out that a Normal Map ( Tangent ) only gives the illusion of depth, kind of like
a glorified Bump Map. In ZB, if I understand this, the Bump effects are integrated as part of the displacement
wich is probably why ZB does not support application of T-Normal Maps to our static meshes. Maybe in ZB5...

On the other hand the transforming, of UV Islands ( Translation/Rotation/Scale ) in Apps such as Blender
is what makes them superior as UV editors. I really wish we could do the same in ZB and , actually,
we are close to doing so, but unfortunatly after UVing our models and flattening them in the
( 0.1 ?) UV Texture space, Translating/Rotating/Scaling the Islands is useless since the Texture translates
with the Islands!!! What good is that? Again, maybe in ZB5...

[ThePriest]

........................edit

[michalis]

Here's a test, GoB(lender) addon. After a little Zmodeling. Very fast, just some edits in blender UV editor and back. ZBrush UV editors don't help at all, sorry. Everything works, displacements are well done in both apps. ~4 M faces.
See BPR and Cycles(blender) renders.

[lensman888]

Very nice, michalis. Can you tell us what you did here in Blender: "Very fast, just some edits in blender UV editor and back. ZBrush UV editors don't help at all, sorry."

[michalis]

@lensman888
All unwrapping methods in Zbrush produce square faces on a UV map. (GUV, AUV…)
Playing with Zmodeler, you'll have everything but squares. For instance on beveled edges.
So, I created groups, GUV, and had distorted results on beveled areas and elsewhere.
GoBlender, in UV editor, I selected the faces, U to unwrap / follow active quad / length average mode. That's it.
I also had to deal with different dense areas, I resized these UV islands accordingly. This could also be done in UVmaster, however there isn't any preview when doing it.
GoB back to zbrush, changed the tilling to 1x1, that's all.