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ZBrush 4R3 what’s new guide

ZBRUSH 4 R3

WHAT’S NEW DOCUMENTATION

Model courtesy of Olivier Drion.

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WELCOME

Welcome to the ZBrush 4R3 What’s New documentation. While much of ZBrush 4R3 is very similar to version 4 to 4R2b, there are quite a few new features to help make your ZBrushing even more productive and creative. We hope that the information you find here helps you understand the differences between this release and previous versions of ZBrush.

This document only covers what’s new in version 4R3. To learn more about the fea-tures introduced in previous versions of ZBrush 4, we invite you to read the ZBrush 4 /4R2/4R2b What’s New Guides, located in the ZBrush 4R2/Documentation folder.

You’re invited to visit our ZClassroom for a huge database of free high quality movies explaining all the main features of ZBrush. Here you will also find the Artists Spotlight, where famous 3D Artists explain how they use ZBrush, helping inspire you to create like the pros.

Don’t forget to subscribe for free to our ZBrushCentral community with over 300,000 members to discover tips, view artists’ creations, locate useful help for all things related to ZBrush or post your works-in-progress!

We encourage you to regularly visit our ZBrush Blog where you will find all the news related to the ZBrush universe, from the most recent Interview to new plugins or gallery additions.

ZClassRoom Portal: http://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/

Artist Spotlight: http://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/artistspotlight/

ZBrushCentral: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/

ZBlog: http://www.pixologic.com/blog/

Pixologic.com: http://www.pixologic.com

The Pixologic Team

© 2012 Pixologic, Inc. All rights reserved, Pixologic and the Pixologic logo, ZBrush, and the ZBrush logo are registered trademarks of Pixologic, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of

their respective owners.

http://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/

http://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/artistspotlight/

http://www.zbrushcentral.com

http://www.pixologic.com/blog/

http://www.pixologic.com

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MAC OS X & WINDOWS VERSION OF ZBRUSH

Instead of the Windows Ctrl key, the Macintosh uses the Command (Apple) Key. This documentation will always refer to using the Ctrl key name, although it may sometimes list both as Ctrl/Command. When the Ctrl key is mentioned anywhere in the documenta-tion a Macintosh user will want to use the Command key instead.

The same is true for the Windows Enter key, which the Macintosh calls Return. When seeing the Enter key mentioned anywhere in this documentation, a Mac user will want to use the Return key instead.

The Close/Quit, Hide, Minimize and Maximize buttons are located on the top right in Windows and at the top left on Mac OS X.

ZBrush 4R3 Documentation - version 1.00

This documentation has been written by Thomas Roussel, Paul Gaboury and Matthew Yetter

For all documentation questions and inquiries, please contact us at [email protected]

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I ABOUT ZBRUSH 4R3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

II INSTALLATION, UPGRADE & ACTIVATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1. Minimum requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82. Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83. Activation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94. Re-activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115. Deactivation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126. Activation Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137. Upgrade Process to 4R3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

7.1 Upgrade process on Windows: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147.2 Upgrade process on Mac OSX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

8. GoZ and ZBrush 4 and ZBrush 4R2/R2b/R3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159. Un-installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1610. Support Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

III AUTO UPDATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1. Auto Update In Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182. Auto Update Within ZBrush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

IV CREATING VECTOR DISPLACEMENT MAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

1. About the Vector Displacement Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202. Diagnostic File for the Perfect Export Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 223. UV Seams and Vector Displacement Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244. 16-bits and 32-bits Vector Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245. Vector Displacement Map Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246. Vector Displacement Map Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

6.1 Vector Displacement Tangent / World . . . . . . . . . . . . 256.2 Vector Displacement 32-Bits /16-Bits . . . . . . . . . . . . 266.3 Vector Displacement Smooth UV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266.4 Vector Displacement Surface Normals . . . . . . . . . . . 266.5 Create and Export Vector Displacement Map . . . . . . 266.6 Create Diagnostic Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266.7 Vector Displacement Flip Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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V NOISE MAKER ADDITIONS AND PLUGIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

1. Noise Maker Mask Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292. Noise Maker Interface and Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293. Mixing Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304. Noise Maker Plugin Common Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315. Procedural Generator Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

5.1 Brick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315.2 Camouflage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325.3 Checkerboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325.4 Cheetah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325.5 Corrugated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335.6 Dents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335.7 Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335.8 FBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345.9 Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345.10 Granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345.11 Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355.12 HexTile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355.13 Houndstooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355.14 Nested Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365.15 Perlin Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365.16 Plaid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365.17 Psychedelic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375.18 Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375.19 Simple Marble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375.20 Simplex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385.21 Snake Skin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385.22 Speckled Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385.23 Spheres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395.24 Spiral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395.25 Stripes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395.26 Turbulence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405.27 Voronoi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405.28 Voronoi Tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405.29 Weave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405.30 Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415.31 ZigZag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

6. Changes and additions in Noise Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416.1 3D Navigation in the Surface Noise Interface . . . . . . 416.2 Noise Alpha Texture Thumbnail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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VI FIBERMESH ENHANCEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

1. FiberMesh Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432. Revolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443. Working with Curves Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

3.1 Length Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453.2 Width Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453.3 Revolve Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463.4 Gravity Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463.5 Color Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

4. Texture Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465. Exporting FiberMesh as Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476. Exporting FiberMesh as Vector Displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

VII OTHER ADDED FUNCTIONS AND CHANGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

1. BPR to Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492. Spin Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503. Improved Shadows with FiberMesh and MicroMesh . . . . . . . 504. Open EXR File Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505. Micromesh Location and Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516. Auto Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

VIII USER INTERFACE CHANGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

1. Collapsable Sub-Palette Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522. Magnify Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

IX THANK YOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

X NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

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I ABOUT ZBRUSH 4R3

ZBrush 4R3 not only implements various minor enhancements and polish to existing features, it also introduces major new features which can dramatically enhance your abil-ity to create major models or illustrations fully in ZBrush.

These new functions and workflow enhancements will help you push beyond the lim-its of your creativity. It will also help you be more of an artist and less of a technician by helping you focus only on the visual aspects of your art without worrying about complex iterations to achieve your desired results.

ZBrush 4R3 is packed with new and exciting features, additions and changes de-signed to fit your needs and the way you work.

• Significant advancements to the FiberMesh.

• Vector Displacement Maps exportwith both 16-bit and 32-bit maps

• You can now convert your MicroMesh and FiberMesh renders into actual geom-etry with a single click.

• The NoiseMaker plugin allows you to create a wide variety of noise and patterns.

• Various render enhancements with the ability to cast shadows and silhouettes based on any Micromesh and FiberMesh.

• OpenEXR file format has been added for a better pipeline integration.

• Sub-palette sections will allow you to control the length of each sub-palette simply by collapsing or un-collapsing sub-sections.

• New Magnify option allows you to zoom into portions of the canvas or interface.

• ZBrush 4R3 includes a new web-enabled update feature. Enjoy “click of a button” access to check if new updates or plugins are available from Pixologic.

We look forward to seeing your ZBrush 4R3 creations and comments on our users forum: ZBrushCentral.com!

http://www.zbrushcentral.com

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II INSTALLATION, UPGRADE & ACTIVATION

This is the useful information that you will need to know when installing ZBrush on your computer. This chapter also describes the activation and de-activation process.

1. MiniMuM requireMents

Recommended:

• OS: Windows Vista, 7 or newer, 32 bits or 64 bits; Mac OS X 10.5 or newer. (ZBrush 4 is a 32-bit application, but can use up to 4 GB of system RAM)

• CPU: Pentium D or newer (or equivalent such as AMD Athlon 64 X2 or newer) with optional multithreading or hyperthreading capabilities.

• RAM: 2048MB recommended for working with multi-million-polys.

• Monitor: 1280x1024 monitor resolution set to Millions of Colors.

• Pen tablet: Wacom or Wacom compatible.

Minimum System Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP; Mac OS X 10.5.

• CPU: P4 or AMD Opteron or Athlon64 Processor. (Must have SSE2 -- Streaming SIMD Extensions 2. All CPU’s from 2006 or later support SSE2.)

• RAM: 1024MB. (2048 MB recommended)

• Monitor: 1024x768 monitor resolution set to Millions of Colors.

2. installation

Installation process:

1. After purchasing ZBrush 4R3 through our web store (powered by Cleverbridge) or when receiving your upgrade to it a serial number and a download link will be provided to you. Save this information for your records! You will need your serial number any time you install ZBrush 4R3.

2. Download the ZBrush installer file and double-click on it to run the Install Wizard. Follow the on-screen steps to be guided through the installation. You choose from a default installation with the most common options or a custom install that will allow you to specify the destination path and other options.

3. When the installation process is done, double-click on the ZBrush shortcut creat-ed on the desktop or launch it through the Program Files (x86) >> Pixologic >> ZBrush

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4 R2 >> ZBrush.exe on Windows. For Mac OS X it will be the application located in the Application >> ZBrush 4R2 OSX >> ZBrush folder.

4. For Windows Vista or 7: On first launch ZBrush will need to be run as an Admin-istrator. Right-click on the desktop shortcut for ZBrush or on the ZBrush.exe file in the root ZBrush 4R3 folder and choose “Run as Administrator”. A Windows popup will then ask you to allow this.

Notes (should not be necessary, but are provided in case the installer fails to configure ZBrush correctly for your environment):

If ZBrush displays a Windows error on first launch, please install the vcredist_x86_VS2008_sp1.exe located in the TroubleshootHelp folder. It may also be necessary to disable DEP as described in the text file found in the TroubleshootHelp folder.

If you are a Mac user and receive a virtual memory error upon launching ZBrush, the permis-sions will need to be changed. Get Info on the ZBrush 4R3 folder and change permission for the Everyone group to “Read & Write”. Also click the gear icon underneath the permissions group and select the option to apply to enclosed items.

Please check that a “vmem” folder is available on the root of ZBrush 4R3 folder, and also a “TempFiles” folder in the ZStartup folder.

DO NOT ever attempt to run ZBrush in compatibility mode for an earlier version of Windows. Doing so will prevent activation or will break activation on a copy that was previously running.

3. activation

This step must be completed in order to launch ZBrush successfully.

The single-user ZBrush license allows you to have ZBrush activated on two of your computers, provided that both copies are not actually used at the same time. For ex-ample it may be activated on a workstation and a laptop. Please keep in mind that only one copy of ZBrush should be run at any given time.

Volume licenses allow only the number of activations for which seats have been purchased.

Floating licenses do not use activation and can ignore this section.

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ZBrush activation window.

• Launch ZBrush.

• From the splash screen, select your desired activation method.

• If your computer is connected to the internet (or can be temporarily connected), use Web Activation. This activation method is faster and more accurate. After ZBrush has displayed the End User License Agreement window, your web browser will be opened to a page that requests your serial number, the email address associated with your account, and a description that you can use to identify this computer should you ever need to see a list of your activations. Upon submitting this form you will be given an activation code. Click the button to select the code, then press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac) to copy it. Switch back to ZBrush and click the button to “Enter Activation Code”. A new window will open with a red text line. Click in that line and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac) to paste the activation code. Now press Enter/Return to complete activation.

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The Web activation form

Or

• If your computer cannot be connected to the internet, use Phone Activation. PLEASE NOTE THAT DURING THE WEEK FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF VER-SION 4R2b, HIGH CALL VOLUME MAY MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO REACH SUP-PORT FOR PHONE ACTIVATION. After ZBrush has displayed the End User License Agreement window, a new screen will open with your request code and a phone num-ber to call. Please have your serial number ready before calling! When you call you will be asked for your serial number, request code, email address and desired computer description. An activation code will be created and sent to the email address on record for your account. If you cannot conveniently check your email, the phone representa-tive will be able to read the 32-letter activation code to you. To enter your activation code into ZBrush, click the option to “Enter Activation Code”. Click in the red text line within the window that will open, type your activation code and press Enter/Return to complete your activation.

• Instead of calling, you may follow the steps above but write down the request code that ZBrush gives you. You may then shut down ZBrush. From any computer that has internet access you can submit a Support ticket at https://support.pixologic.com. In your ticket, provide the following information: The request code from ZBrush, your serial number, your email address, and your desired computer description. You should receive a response to your Support ticket within one business day (often within one or two hours) containing your activation code. At that point, launch ZBrush and choose the option to “Enter Activation Code”. (Note: Do not start a new Phone Activation.) Click in the red text line within the window that will open, type your activation code and press Enter/Return to complete your activation.

• Once activated, ZBrush will start immediately.

4. re-activation

ZBrush 4R3 will count against your serial number as a new activation, even if you already have the previous version of ZBrush installed and activated on your computer. (This is different from the upgrade to version 4R2 which counted as the same activa-

https://support.pixologic.com

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tion as ZBrush 4.) For this reason, it is highly recommended to deactivate your existing ZBrush 4R2/4R2b before updating to ZBrush 4R3.

Please note that single-user licenses allow two activations per user. This is mainly to let you have ZBrush running on your workstation and as an example, on your laptop. However, this is for your personal use and it is a violation of the license to run both cop-ies at the same time (such as you on one machine and your friend on another). Volume licenses only allow a number of concurrent activations equal to the number of seats that have been purchased. They allow several artists to use ZBrush simultaneously.

On entering the license information, the Activation process can offer you a license re-activation.

5. Deactivation

Launch ZBrush and go to the Zplugin >> Deactivation menu. There are two options: Web Deactivation and Manual Deactivation.

The Deactivation plugin in the ZPlugin menu.

Deactivation process:

If your computer has internet connection, use Web Deactivation. This will launch your browser to a page that asks for the email address associated with your ac-count. Submit that form and then click the confirmation button to instantly complete your deactivation of ZBrush.

or

If your computer cannot be connected to the internet, you will need to use Manual Deactivation. In this case you will be given a deactivation code. You may either call the number on the screen to deactivate by phone (only available during normal business hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday) or you may submit a Support ticket at https://support.pixologic.com. Please note that by either method you will also be required to provide the email address that is associated with the account.

Note:

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Once deactivation has been started, it is not possible to stop it. The moment you press the button for your desired deactivation method, ZBrush will shut itself down and will not be able to be restarted without a new activation. However, the deactivation will not be credited back to your serial number until you have submitted the Web Deactivation form or contacted Support with your manual deactivation code.

6. activation troubleshooting

“Activation Failed” after entering activation code:

• Make sure you are not trying to use your serial number as an activation code. Serial numbers are 16 characters in length, with both letters and numbers. Activation codes are longer and have all letters. You will never enter your serial number directly into ZBrush. It is always used via Web or Phone activation to create an activation code.

• Make sure you are not trying to use an outdated activation code. Any time you install ZBrush you must begin with a new Web or Phone activation to create a new activation code. Codes from previous activations cannot be reused.

• Make sure that your system clock is set to the correct date, including year. If the date is wrong, activation will fail. After correcting the date you will need to start the activation process over from the beginning.

• Make sure that you are logged into the computer as an administrator when install-ing and activating ZBrush. After it has been activated it may be run by any user on that computer, but the initial installation and activation must be done under an admin account.

• (Mac Users) If you launch ZBrush and immediately receive an error message (such as a virtual memory error) that must be resolved before activation can be done successfully. This error is typically caused by permissions. For most environments, simply get info on the ZBrush OSX 4R3 folder. Unlock permissions and then assign Read & Write permission to the “Everyone” user group. Next, click the gear icon un-derneath the users list and choose the option to “Apply to Enclosed Items”. When the process completes you should be able to launch ZBrush without an error message and may then proceed to activation.

If the above troubleshooting items do not resolve your issue, please contact Pixologic Support for assistance. Make sure to state from the beginning that you have already tried activation and it failed. Phone activation uses the same system as Web activation, so if Web activation failed you will have the same problem with Phone. We need to resolve the issue rather than just trying under a different method.

7. upgraDe process to 4r3

Note:The Upgrade portions of these instructions only apply to users who are upgrading from an

earlier version of ZBrush. People for whom 4R3 is an original purchase should skip to the “Activa-

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tion Process” section.

ZBrush 4R3 is provided as an updater for users who already have ZBrush 4R2 in-stalled.

Note:If you currently have ZBrush 4 or an earlier version you will need to upgrade to version 4R2

before you will be able to update to 4R3. To do this, please submit a Support ticket at https://sup-port.pixologic.com. Be sure to include your purchase and/or license information so that we may locate your account and upgrade you in a timely manner. After upgrading to 4R2 you will then be able to use the 4R3 updater.

ZBrush 4R3 also includes enhancements to the activation system. Because of this, it is highly recommended that you deactivate version 4R2 prior to installing the update. To do this, launch ZBrush and click the Zplugin >> Deactivation >> Web Deactivation but-ton and then enter your account’s email address in the web page that will open.

Note:Failure to deactivate 4R2 prior to updating to 4R3 will cause 4R3 to count as an additional acti-

vation against your serial number and may require you to contact Pixologic Support before you will be able to successfully activate 4R3.

The upgrade process will automatically add and remove files within your existing installation of ZBrush in order to transform your ZBrush 4R2 to a fresh new ZBrush 4R3.

Original files created by you will not be affected, but if you modified a legacy file of ZBrush 4R2 (such as a default brush setting which has been saved to overwrite the origi-nal brush it was created from) the update to version 4R3 will revert that item to its original default settings. This applies to Brushes, MatCaps, Alphas, default Project files and of course your customer User Interface settings.

Please BACKUP ALL OF YOUR CUSTOM ITEMS before updating. This may be done simply by making a copy of your ZBrush 4R2 folder.

7.1 upgraDe process on WinDoWs:

• If you are using ZBrush 4.0 (or earlier), you must upgrade it to 4R2 before updat-ing to ZBrush 4R3.

• Deactivate your copy of ZBrush 4R2 by launching it and clicking Zplugin >> Deac-tivation >> Web Deactivation. This will launch your web browser to a page that asks for the email address associated with your account. Submitting that information and then confirming the deactivation will remove this computer from your activation list so that the machine won’t be counted twice after activating 4R3.

• Quit ZBrush 4R2 if it is already running.

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• Make a backup copy of your ZBrush 4R2 folder.

• Put the “ZBrush 4R3 upgrader.exe” file in the root folder of your ZBrush applica-tion. (If you installed 4R2 using the default settings, you will place the updater in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Pixologic\ZBrush 4R2 folder.)

• Run the ZBrush 4R3 upgrader.exe application and follow the instructions. Be sure to read the information windows as they appear.

• When the process is done, you can delete the updater or save it for your archives.

• Run ZBrush and proceed with its activation. Please read the “Re-Activation” chap-ter below for more information regarding this process.

• As a precaution, the updater will create a Backup folder within the ZBrush 4R3 folder. This folder will contain a copy of all files which have been removed or replaced by the process. After running ZBrush 4R3 for a few days without issues you can safely delete this folder and its contents. But if you find that you need to revert any legacy files, you will find them here.

7.2 upgraDe process on Mac osX

• If you are using ZBrush 4.0 (or earlier), you must upgrade it to 4R2 before updat-ing to ZBrush 4R3.

• Deactivate your copy of ZBrush 4R2 by launching it and clicking Zplugin >> Deac-tivation >> Web Deactivation. This will launch your web browser to a page that asks for the email address associated with your account. Submitting that information and then confirming the deactivation will remove this computer from your activation list so that the machine won’t be counted twice after activating 4R3.

• Quit ZBrush 4R2 if it is already running.

• Make a backup copy of your ZBrush OSX 4R2 folder.

• If the ZBrush OSX 4R2 folder has been moved to another location than the default Mac OSX Applications folder, please temporarily move it back to its default location. (Applications/ZBrush 4R2 OSX/)

• Execute the ZBrush 4R3 Upgrader.pkg file. Read the information windows as they appear and follow their instructions.

• When the process is done, you can delete the updater or save it for your archives.

• Run ZBrush and proceed with its activation. Please read the “Re-Activation” chap-ter below for more information regarding this process.

8. goZ anD Zbrush 4 anD Zbrush 4r2/r2b/r3ZBrush 4 and ZBrush 4R2/R2b/R3 can be used together with GoZ as main compo-

nents are remaining the same, but it’s not possible to work on the same project between

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ZBrush 4 and ZBrush 4R2 at the same time. It’s only possible to take files from ZBrush 4 into ZBrush 4R2; the opposite is not possible as ZBrush 4 can’t open ZBrush 4R2 files.

If you start a project with ZBrush 4R2/R2b/R3 or if you open a ZBrush 4 file in R2/R2b /R3and then save it, you will not be able to open the file in ZBrush 4 by any method – not even through GoZ.

9. un-installation

This process completely removes ZBrush from your computer.

Un-installation process:

1. In the ZPlugin menu, choose Web Deactivation and proceed with the license de-activation as explained in a section above. If you do not deactivate prior to un-instal-lation, the un-installed machine will continue to count against your serial number and potentially prevent you from reactivating!

2. On Windows, use the Windows Control Panel uninstall utility and follow the steps. On Mac OS X, simply move the ZBrush folder and the Users/Public/Pixologic folder to the Trash.

3. Check the location where ZBrush was installed for extra files which haven’t been deleted by the installer. You can delete those folders if you do not intend to use ZBrush on this computer again.

Note:

With the exception of GoZ, ZBrush doesn’t write files outside its own folder.

10. support registration

Beginning with ZBrush 3.5 it is now required to have a current Support account at http://support.pixologic.com in order to receive technical support for ZBrush. This account is free.

Activating an earlier version of ZBrush is not the same as having a registered Support account. The Support system is an independent platform. It does not use any existing log-ins that you might have for ZBrushCentral, Cleverbridge or any other ZBrush-related sites.

If you have not already registered on the Support site:

1. Go to https://support.pixologic.com.

2. Click the Register icon.

3. Enter your email address and whatever password you would like to use for the Support site. These will become your login info for the future.


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4. Fill in your system information. We need this info in order to respond to your sup-port requests more efficiently.

5. Also provide your ZBrush 4 serial number and the Cleverbridge reference number for your copy of ZBrush 4R2/4R2b. This information identifies you as someone who has actually purchased a ZBrush license.

6. After you submit the form you will receive a confirmation email at the address you used to register. Follow the instructions in that email to complete your registration.

If you have already registered on the Support site:

7. Go to https://support.pixologic.com.

1. In the box on the right, use your email address and password to log in.

2. The box on the right will now have a “My Account” button. Click this to manager your account.

3. Update your account to make sure that your system information is current.

4. Also update your account to have your new ZBrush 4/4R2/4R2b.

Once your Support account is current with your ZBrush 4/4R2/4R2b license informa-tion you will be able to submit tickets to receive technical support. You will also be able to call for phone support. All phone support calls will create a support ticket, which you will then be able to follow up on via the Support system or by email.


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III AUTO UPDATE

ZBrush now includes an auto update system which at your request will check with the Pixologic servers to see if a new update is available.

This will support a variety of updates: those to upgrade ZBrush itself, the release of a new plugin, changes to existing plugins, GoZ upgrades, documentation changes, etc.

This process is initiated manually and is voluntary. It is recommended that you run it from time to time to see if a new update is available.

1. auto upDate in action

The auto update is a separate application named ZUpgrader.exe (.app for Mac us-ers), located at the root of your ZBrush folder.

This program can be executed by itself and when you wish to check for a new update or upgrade. Simply double-click it to run it.

An installer-like window will open. From there, simply follow the steps to check for any available updates. The application will tell you whether or not something is available for download.

• If no update is available, the software will automatically quit.

• If an update is available, the software will start the download. When the update has finished downloading, it will be launched automatically.

Auto Update in action.

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The update installer is similar to the ZBrush full install process. Just follow the steps to install the new components. The auto updater will automatically place all files in their proper locations. When installation is finished the updater will close and you can launch ZBrush to enjoy the new features or changes.

You will also find the update as a new program in the root of your ZBrush folder. You can keep it for future use or simply delete it. We recommend that you keep the most recent update and delete any older ones.

Note:Each new update will include all items since the most recent ZBrush version release. This

means that if you’ve just installed ZBrush you will not need to download multiple updates – a single download will be all that’s necessary to bring your installation up to date.

2. auto upDate Within Zbrush

The auto update process can be executed within ZBrush via the Auto Update plugin located in the ZPlugins palette.

The Auto Update button in the ZPlugin palette.

When checking for an update, ZBrush will notify you whether or not a new update is available. You will then have the choice of continuing to use ZBrush or quitting ZBrush to run the auto update as described in the section above.

An update is available. Continue working and update later or quit ZBrush to install immediately.

Note:It is not possible to run ZBrush while updating.

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IV CREATING VECTOR DISPLACEMENT MAPS

In addition to traditional Displacement and Normal Map creation, ZBrush 4R3 intro-duces the option to create Vector Displacement maps. This map type provides the best of both worlds and helps your other software’s rendering engine recreate all the fine details originally found in your sculpture.

Model courtesy of Olivier Drion.

1. about the vector DisplaceMent Maps

To understand Vector Displacement, it is important to have a solid grasp of how tra-ditional Displacement maps work.

When creating a displacement maps, ZBrush compares your model’s currently se-lected subdivision level with the details of its highest level. It then calculates a map that represents the differences between the two levels, capturing the details of the high-level sculpt.

Displacement maps are generated as a grayscale image that uses the black-to-white intensity variations to push the rendered surface in or pull it out, effectively changing the silhouette of the model. It is important to note that this deformation is always along the point’s surface normal – perpendicular to the model’s surface.

Normal maps do not move rendered points. Instead, these maps alter the surface

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normal, using RGB color values to tell the rendering engine how to change the way light reacts to the surface. They create the illusion of fully 3D detail within the silhouette of the model but cannot actually deform the surface’s shape.

Normal maps render extremely quickly and work best with high resolution details. Displacement maps take longer to render, but are the only way to reproduce details that change the shape of the model. Many artists find it useful to create a normal map for the highest resolution details and a separate displacement map for medium resolution details. This combination combines the shape changes of a displacement map with the speed of a normal map.

Most of the time, displacement and/or normal maps are enough to reproduce your high resolution mesh with all its details. But there are a number of scenarios where traditional maps can’t accurately reproduce the ZBrush model’s surface. One of the best examples is a simple mushroom: If your base mesh is a 4 sided polygon and your finished sculpt is a nice mushroom, a displacement map will only accurately reproduce the mushroom’s cap. The stem would look like an extrusion from the cap’s outer edges.

In short, displacement maps are useless for any type of surface change that is not perpendicular to the base mesh’s polygons.

Vector displacement incorporates elements of a normal map by using RGB colors to add a directional value to each of the map’s pixels. Like other difference maps, it com-pares the model’s current subdivision level with its highest level, but because of the vec-tor value it can move the rendered surface to perfectly match the high resolution sculpt.

Above is the sculpted mushroom, rendered with a vector displacement maps and a “traditional” displacement map

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Not all rendering engines support vector displacement maps. If your rendering en-gine is one that does, we recommend using them as they will produce the most accurate results.

As with displacement maps, you can create 16-bit maps (which need an additional factor value to render your sculpt accurately), or 32-bit maps (which effectively have the factor value baked in). Of course, if your rendering engine supports 32-bit maps it is best to work with that format.

2. Diagnostic File For the perFect eXport settings

Bear in mind that vector displacement maps are not yet standardized within the in-dustry. Each rendering engine approaches them in a different way, and can execute the various render steps in a different order. As a result, a map that works perfectly in one rendering engine will likely produce an inaccurate render in other engines. You will need to experiment to find the correct combination of color order and direction for your pipeline.

There are 48 possible combinations of export settings located in the Import Export

Preferences, such as NormalMapFlipX or NormalMapFlipYZ,

The Flip and Switch options, located in the Preferences >> Import-Export palette.

To avoid you having to manually testing all these different combinations, ZBrush has an option to Creates diagnostic files based on your export settings in the Tool >> Vector Displacement Map sub-palette. These diagnostic files are comprised of an OBJ file, a diffuse map and the generated vector displacement map.

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The Diagnostic file, rendered in modo from Luxology. Notice the 1st square with the perfect sphere, even if some UVs seams are visible.

All you need to do is load all the OBJ file into your favorite 3D package and create a material in which you import the vector displacement map and the diffuse map. Now ren-der the 3D model to see a grid with floating 3D shapes in front of a numerated checker. One of the shapes should be a perfect sphere while the others are degenerated models or non-spherical shapes.

Note:You only need to worry about how perfectly spherical each shape is. Your result may have UV

seams visible or some polygon artifacts, but that doesn’t matter for the diagnostic test.

Beneath each shape is a number. Note the number found beneath the perfect sphere shape. Then you simply need to return to ZBrush and set Preferences >> Importexport >> FlipAndSwitch as well as Tangent FlipAndSwitch to this value. For example, if you are creating a World map for use in Maya 2012 you would see the sphere to be over the number 7 and that is what you would set ZBrush’s FlipAndSwitch slider to. Now save your settings by clicking Preferences >> Config >> Store Config. Alternatively, use the Ctrl+Shift+I (Cmd+Shift+I for Mac) keyboard shortcut.

Once your Importexport sliders have been set for your target application and saved, all of your vector displacement maps will export correctly for that particular renderer.

Here are the settings for a few external applications:

• Maya 2012: 7 FlipandSwitch for a World map.

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• Modo 501 SP6: 1 TangentFlipandSwitch for a Tangent map.

• 3DSMAX 2012: 7 FlipandSwitch for a World map.

3. uv seaMs anD vector DisplaceMent Maps

As with normal maps, vector displacements are really sensitive to UV seams. De-pending on your settings and target application, these seams may be more or less vis-ible. Unfortunately, this problem can’t be avoided. As powerful as vector displacement maps are, they do mix the negative aspects of displacement maps and normal maps.

The best practice is to carefully place your UV seams on areas which will be hidden (or at least less visible) in the final render.

4. 16-bits anD 32-bits vector Maps

Just like with traditional displacement maps, ZBrush can produce 16-bit and 32-bit vector displacement maps. The main advantage of 32-bit maps is that you don’t need to enter a depth factor to producing an accurately displaced render. This means less effort for an even more accurate result.

The information provided by ZBrush when generating a 16-bit map with its factor value.

Due to their increased accuracy and reduced effort, most rendering engines now support the 32-bit mode. If it is at all possible for you to do so, we recommend using this mode.

ZBrush can export vector displacement maps in the RGB TIFF and OpenEXR file for-mats. OpenEXR is advised for most applications, including Luxology modo or Autodesk Maya and 3DSMax.

5. vector DisplaceMent Map WorkFloW

As with the generation of traditional displacement and normal maps, ZBrush must compare the low resolution and high resolution levels of a model to calculate the differ-ences between them. ZBrush then creates a map of these differences, using the object’s UVs.

Before generating your vector displacement maps, follow these steps:

1. Make sure that your model has more than one level of subdivision and UVs.

2. Go to the lowest level of subdivision.

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3. Define your UV Map size in the Tool >> UV Map sub-palette.

4. Use the Tool >> Vector Displacement Map sub-palette to set the options of your choice for the map’s depth, mode and smoothing options.

5. Click the Create and Export Vector Displacement Map button to generate and export your map.

6. For 16-bit maps: Upon export, ZBrush will display the map’s depth factor in the progress bar near the top left of the interface. Please write this number down for use in your shader settings in the rendering application. (If you are creating a 32-bit map, this value will always be 1.)

7. Export your base mesh model as an OBJ file or use GoZ to export it to your ap-plication of choice. Either way, you can now set up your materials.

Note:GoZ doesn’t support vector displacement maps at this time. This means that you must manu-

ally add the map to your existing shader and adjust its corresponding options.

6. vector DisplaceMent Map options

Vector Displacement maps have only few options which can impact the final result. These settings are quite important, however, and may dramatically improve the compat-ibility with your target rendering solution.

The Vector Displacement Map sub-palette, located in the Tool palette.

6.1 vector DisplaceMent tangent / WorlD

The vd Tangent option sets how the vector displacement map is computed – whether it’s based on the normal of the polygons or based on the world axis. With it turned on, ZBrush will create a Tangent map. Turned off will produce a World map.

Because animated objects are in motion relative to the world coordinate system, Tan-gent mode must be used any time your model will be animated. World mode is suitable

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for static (non-animated) renders.

6.2 vector DisplaceMent 32-bits /16-bits

The vd 32Bit mode defines the depth of the computed map and of course, its ac-curacy. With the vd 32Bit button activated, ZBrush will generate a 32-Bit map. With this button deactivated ZBrush will generate a 16-bit map. In this latter case it is important to note the alpha depth factor value which will be displayed at the top of the interface once the map has been created.

The benefit of 32-bit maps is that you don’t need to set a depth value in your render engine to produce accurate results.

Please refer to the 16-bit and 32-bit Vector Maps section above.

6.3 vector DisplaceMent sMooth uv

When turned on, the vd SUV option smooths the model’s UVs when producing the displacement map. This option should be enabled if your rendering engine uses smoothed UVs.

6.4 vector DisplaceMent surFace norMals

The vd SNormals option smooths the low resolution model’s surface normals and results in a smoother map.

6.5 create anD eXport vector DisplaceMent Map

The CreateAndExport VDMap button will take all other settings into account to com-pute your vector displacement map. It will open a system window asking you for your file name and the location where you wish to save it.

You will have the option to save the map as a TIFF file or Open EXR.

6.6 create Diagnostic Files

This operation will generate a set of diagnostic files, useful to determine the correct Preferences settings for your vector displacement maps when rendered in your particular target application. These files will be created based upon the other settings in the Vector Displacement Map sub-palette.

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Please refer to the Diagnostic File for the Perfect Export Settings section (above) for more information.

6.7 vector DisplaceMent Flip options

These options, located in the Preferences >> Importexport sub-palette have a huge impact on the result of your render. They define whether the axis vectors are flipped or not. Please refer to the Diagnostic File section above.

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V NOISE MAKER ADDITIONS AND PLUGIN

Some Noise samples, generated through the Noise Maker plugin.

First, some history:

Surface Noise was first introduced in ZBrush 3.5 and provided a way to display pro-cedural effects on the surface of your model. Enhancements in subsequent releases provided many new ways to generate the surface noise as well as the ability to convert this noise into actual geometry.

Because this noise is procedural, you can apply advanced modifications to both to-pology and PolyPaint without altering your current model. However, at any time you can convert the rendered effect into actual geometry and/or PolyPaint – either on the entire model or to specific portions using Masks to protect the rest of the surface.

ZBrush 4R3 introduces the Noise Maker Plugin. This adds a full set of powerful noise generators to the existing Noise Maker functions from ZBrush 4R2. The key difference to the noise created by NoiseMaker is that it is being generated in 3D instead of 2D.

Most of these generators have common and specific settings, which produce almost instantaneous visual results. The workflow for using Surface Noise is the same as from ZBrush 4R2 except that you can now replace the default noise with one that is generated by the NoisePlug settings.

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1. noise Maker Mask MiXing

It is now possible to mix two different scales and intensities of the same noise on an object. This is done using the Mask capabilities of ZBrush by first painting a Mask area where you wish to alter the scale of the noise. After opening the Noise Maker interface, modify the two new settings:

• Magnify by Mask slider: Changes the scale of the current noise within the Mask area.

• Strength by Mask slider: Changes the intensity of the current noise within the Mask area.

By default, the result of these modifications won’t be visible until you change the Strength by Mask setting. Revert this value before validating if you don’t wish to change the Strength value.

This new capability is helpful when you wish to hide visible changes on your surface when using the mesh UV’s or simply to add some variation across your model surface.

Different variations of a noise, defined by different Mask intensity values.

2. noise Maker interFace anD WorkFloW

To open the noise Plugin, open the NoiseMaker interface by clicking Tool >> Surface >> Noise. Now click the NoisePlug-In button, which will open a new floating window.

The NoiseMaker Plugin is composed of three main elements:

• The list of Noise Generators, located on the left of the interface.

• The Noise Generator settings in the center of the interface.

• The common settings for each Noise Generator, at the bottom of the window.

The basic workflow is to select your desired Noise Generator from the list, then modi-fy the settings. The noise will be updated in real-time in the NoiseMaker preview window. If needed, changing the common controls settings will globally affect the Noise applied to your model.

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Note:It’s recommended to turn up the Strength settings all the way to 0.5 or -0.5 before clicking on

the NoisePlug-In button. This will help you see the real-time interaction with the various noises. After closing the Plugin window you can then adjust the Strength to finalize the noise effect.

The Noise maker plugin interface.

When done, close the NoiseMaker Plugin. You can now also use the various settings in the NoiseMaker preview window to further adjust and refine the applied noise.

If you need to modify the Noise such as by switching to a different Generator or alter-ing the common settings you will need to get back to the NoisePlug-in by disabling it and then enabling it again. This last operation won’t change the current settings; it will simply reopen the plug-in interface so that you can modify those settings.

3. MiXing colors

The Noise generators can blend your model’s PolyPaint with colors defined in the NoiseMaker preview window. If you wish to mix two colors, you must first set the base color on your model by filling it via the Color >> Fill Object command.

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4. noise Maker plugin coMMon controls

The common controls

Each Noise that is generated has common Offset, Angle and Scale settings along the X, Y, and Z axis which affect how the noise will be applied to the model. Alter these settings to change the scale, orientation and position of the noise relative to the model’s surface.

Please remember that the selected projection method (defined in the ZBrush’s Noise-Maker preview window as 3D or UVs) can cause the same Noise type to produce very different results.

The Interactive Update button (enabled by default) makes your changes visible in real-time in the preview window. If a noise Generator requires too much computing time you can disable this option to speed up your workflow.

5. proceDural generator Description

This section provides a list of all 3D generators available in the plug-in, with a short description and the overview of their main settings. Be aware that all generators have common settings like Offset, Angle and Scale.

5.1 brick

The Brick generator creates bricks by defining the size of a single brick (Width, Height and Depth settings), combined with the distance between each brick (Mortar Thickness setting).

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5.2 caMouFlage

The Camouflage generator creates a random pattern similar to military camouflage. It does this by using a Frequency setting to change the random aspect, modulated by a Threshold slider which changes the transition between the areas. (At Threshold 0, it displays the Surface setting color and at 1, the ZBrush front color. The color settings are based on a grey scale adjustment.)

The colors can be swapped or modulated by changing the base and the Layer 1 and 2 sliders.

5.3 checkerboarD

The Checkboard generator creates a regular checker pattern. Each square can be subdivided into smaller squares by modifying the Depth slider.

Enabling the Colors Randomize setting lets you apply a random color on each square by using the ZBrush front color combined with the active color of the Surface settings. This can be further refined by changing the Variability slider.

5.4 cheetah

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The Cheetah generator simulates the cheetah fur pattern with irregular spots. The shapes of these spots can be altered through the Spot slider.

5.5 corrugateD

The Corrugated generator creates constant rings around the model with different styles available, from smoothed borders to one-sided sharp borders.

5.6 Dents

The Dents generator simulates a corrosion-like effect on the surface, perfect for old metal surfaces.

5.7 erosion

The Erosion generator produces a result which is close to the Dents generator except that it focuses on edges rather than surfaces.

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5.8 FbM

The FBM generator applies a global noise over the model. The Detail value affects the density of the effect.

5.9 graDient

The Gradient generator creates a linear gradient over the mesh in the direction de-fined by the X, Y and/or Z button.

5.10 granite

The Granite generator simulates the real-world granite material. The effect is modu-lated by the number of Octaves to create the amount of detail while the Frequency setting defines detail density.

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5.11 griD

The Grid generator creates a grid on the top of the model where the Randomize but-ton affects the intensity of the colors applied to the tiles.

5.12 heXtile

HexTile creates hexagonal tiles. The Randomize, Minimum and Maximum settings can affect the color of both the mortar and the tiles.

5.13 hounDstooth

The Houndstooth provides a set of different patterns like Chevron, Onyx or Sherlock. To change the orientation of these patterns, use the Angle sliders located in the Common Controls.

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5.14 nesteD shapes

Similar to the Houndstooth generator, Nested Shapes applies large scale patterns like Square, Tube, Cube or Sphere to your model, modulated by the Thickness slider.

5.15 perlin noise

The Perlin Noise generator produces one of the most used and famous noise effects for your model. It can be used to create a large array of results. Increasing the Octave settings will produce high detail noise for your geometry’s deformations.

5.16 plaiD

The Plaid generator simulates the pattern of fabrics, composed mainly of a set of vertical and horizontal lines. Their Frequency can be modified, as can their colors.

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5.17 psycheDelic

The Psychedelic generator creates a random pattern similar to the metallic elements found in some large floor plates.

5.18 scales

The Scales generator creates patterns based on scales and offers you a great control over its color aspect.

5.19 siMple Marble

The Simplex generator creates a very basic noise with very few irregularities. It is modulated by the Detail setting.

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5.20 siMpleX

The Simplex generator creates a very basic noise with very few irregularities. It is modulated by the Detail setting.

5.21 snake skin

Similar to the Scales generator, Snake Skin simulates the scales found on serpents. It offers great control over the scales’ colors. To make the scales look natural, apply some Scale Variability and especially some Amplitude.

5.22 speckleD stone

The Speckled Stone generator simulates small flakes within polished rock. It will pro-duce a low level noise which is perfect when you want an effect that is only slightly visible.

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5.23 spheres

The Spheres generator creates random circle dots on your model with the option to Hollow them.

5.24 spiral

The Spiral generator applies stripes over your model in a spiral pattern. The Spiral Rate setting controls the amount of bend in these stripes.

5.25 stripes

The Stripes generator applies straight lines over your model. The effect can be mod-ulated by different styles like a Perlin Noise, Triangle Shapes and more.

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5.26 turbulence

The Turbulence generator creates an irregular noise with an important depth for both deformation and colors. This noise is perfect as a sculpting basis for wall details and more.

5.27 voronoi

The Voronoi generator recreates a pattern similar to microscopic organic cells. The style can be drastically changed through the Type and Method settings.

5.28 voronoi tiles

The Voronoi Tiles generator simulates irregular patterns based on the Voronoi algo-rithm to produce effects like cracked and pitted pavement.

5.29 Weave

The Weave generator lets you use an over/under woven pattern. It is really use-

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ful for fabrics, plastic items or specific materials like carbon fibers. The specific effect is achieved by changing the Pattern style. It includes several color settings which give control for fine tuning for your patterns, whether they will be used for texture or mesh modification.

5.30 WooD

The Wood generator recreates the grain of sliced wood. It can be modulated mainly by the Amplitude slider which creates irregular rings.

5.31 ZigZag

The ZigZag generator creates an oblique set of rectangles for a zig-zag pattern. The Randomize color mode adds extra rectangles between the main zig-zag patterns.

6. changes anD aDDitions in noise Maker

6.1 3D navigation in the surFace noise interFace

The standard ZBrush 3D navigation and right-click navigation options have been add-ed to the default Noise Maker interface. Also, simple buttons have been added in the cor-ners to help with 3D navigation if you are not used to ZBrush’s standard 3D navigation.

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6.2 noise alpha teXture thuMbnail

When loading an Alpha as a Noise Maker pattern in the editor, a thumbnail preview is now displayed in the bottom left of the interface window.

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VI FIBERMESH ENHANCEMENTS

Several Fibers generated with the new settings.

Introduced in ZBrush 4R2b, FiberMesh changed the way you create fibers, hairs, grass and other “growing” models. You will discover that several new enhancements and additions have been made in ZBrush 4R3 to expand the possibilities for what can be achieved in your FiberMesh creations!

1. FiberMesh presets

By clicking the Save button located at the top of the FiberMesh sub-palette, you can save all the current settings for your FiberMesh Preview so that they can be reused later. Saved presets make an excellent starting point for any new model, saving you time by duplicating a specific “look” that you really liked on an earlier model.

To save your current settings, simply click the Save button and select a location of your choice. It is advised to save them in the ZFibersPresets folder located at the root of

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the ZBrush folder. This allows you to browse through and select from them quickly using LightBox, which now has a FiberMesh section.

The FiberMesh presets in LightBox.

Instead of LightBox you can of course use the Tool >> FiberMesh >> Open button.

2. revolve

The Revolve Curve in action.

This new setting allows you to create curling Fibers in just a few clicks with high con-trol over their shape. This is accomplished through two settings:

• Revolve Rate: Defines the amount of rotation applied to the Fiber.

• Revolve Radius: Uses a curve to define where the rotation effect will be applied. A linear curve from the bottom left to the top right will create a Fiber where the revolve effect is applied most strongly at the tip and not at all at the root. See the section below for more information about curves.

3. Working With curves proFiles

To provide more control over your settings and more variant possibilities, several Fi-berMesh parameters now have a curve editor. This editor operates in exactly the same manner as for all other curves in ZBrush.

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When used with Fibers, all curve profiles correspond with the root at the left side and the tip at the right side. Strength goes from 0 at the bottom to 100% at the top.

3.1 length proFile

This curve affects how the segments along the fibers will be propagated. The default curve will generate a constant length for each segment. Modifying the curve can do such things as concentrating the segments at the Fiber’s root or tip.

This setting can affect the result of other settings. For example, if you wish to have a Revolve setting concentrated at the tip of your Fibers, you would want to have more segments there than at the root.

3.2 WiDth proFile

This curve affects the width along your curve, letting you creating custom profiles.

An example of how Width Curve affects Fibers.

Note: Because of this addition, the Root/Tip Scale and Flare settings are redundant and have been

removed.

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3.3 revolve raDius

This curve defines the where the Revolve effect will take place along the Fiber length. Please refer to the Revolve section, above.

3.4 gravity proFile

This curve controls how the gravity will impact the Fiber along its length.

3.5 color proFile

This curve defines where the root and tip colors will be applied along the Fiber length.

4. teXture selector

In addition to the textures which can be applied manually through the Tool >> Texture Map sub-palette, you can now directly apply a texture in preview mode. This allows you to see how the Fibers will look with your texture even before you’ve converted them to a FiberMesh object.

Frenchy Pilou like texture applied on the fibers.

There are several parameters associated with this feature:

• Max Size: Defines the maximum width and height of your texture in pixels. If you select a texture with a higher value, ZBrush will warn you and ask if you wish to

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proceed. You may cancel by pressing No. If you say Yes, ZBrush will automatically resize the texture before applying it to the Fibers. For memory management and faster processing, it is recommended to use the smallest possible texture size that will still retain an acceptable level of detail.

• Horizontal Tile: This slider sets how many times the texture will be repeated across the width of the Fibers.

• Vertical Tile: This slider sets how many times the texture will be repeated along the length of the Fibers.

• Transparent Mode: When enabled, pure black pixels within the texture will be-come transparent.

Note:Only pure black (0,0,0) is seen as transparent. Anything even slightly different from that (such

as 0,1,0) will be rendered as color. For this reason, it is recommended to not use antialiasing in your image editor when creating textures that will have transparent regions. ZBrush can then antialias the edges for you at render time. See Antialiased Mode, below.

• Antialiased Mode: This option helps remove “jaggies” from edges within the tex-ture. It is especially useful in conjunction with Transparent mode (above), since it will result in clean edges on the visible surfaces.

5. eXporting FiberMesh as guiDes

ZBrush can now export your sculpted FiberMesh object as guide curves to be used with the Hair and Fur system in the software of your choice.

ZBrush can export native modo, Maya and LightWave files, OBJ files with curves for applications which support them, as well as FMG (FiberMeshGuide; a dedicated file format for the developers who would like to create an importer).

Before exporting, it is important to set the PRE Visualization slider to the percentage of Fibers that you will need as guides. When you click the Export Curve button, ZBrush will display statistics about the number of exported guides.

The PRE Viz slider, which defines the number of exported curves and the Export Curves button.

For optimum results, it is advised to switch to Fast Preview mode and set the PRE Visualization slider value before exporting your guides.

6. eXporting FiberMesh as vector DisplaceMent

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Instead of exporting your Fibers as guides, an alternative is to export your Fibers as a vector displacement map. This is especially useful when your Fibers have settings affect-ing their width and form, as those values cannot be exported with guides and so would need to be reconstructed in your other application.

When exporting your fibers as a vector displacement map, ZBrush will export an OBJ file and a vector displacement map corresponding to the extrusion of the Fibers.

The OBJ file is composed of one polygon per Fiber root. The texture file then has the information needed to give the Fibers their correct shape when rendered in a program that supports vector displacement maps.

Please read the Vector Displacement Map chapter of this document to learn more about the Tangent and 32-bit modes.

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VII OTHER ADDED FUNCTIONS AND CHANGES

1. bpr to geoMetry

This new function, located in the Tool >> Geometry palette is meant for use with the MicroMesh and FiberMesh features. It allows you to convert what you see in your BPR render to actual geometry which may then be sculpted, exported to other programs or used to create a vector displacement map.

To convert a MicroMesh or FiberMesh, simply click the Convert BPR to Geo button. ZBrush will automatically use all settings that would normally create a BPR render to instead calculate actual geometry. This will be added as a new SubTool.

The converted MicroMesh with edited geometry and PolyPaint.

Please keep in mind that this operation can generate many millions of polygons at once – possibly more than your computer can handle.

Note:Don’t forget that you can temporarily hide parts of an object or a set of fibers to make your

BRP to Geometry operation easier.

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2. spin eDge

This command, located in the Tool >> Geometry sub-palette rotates the visible vertex points. This operation is really useful to adjust the orientation of a MicroMesh. It is also useful when you need to adjust the Root and Tip Anisotropic results or the HTangent and VTangent of a FiberMesh

If you don’t have a MicroMesh preview on the polygons, you won’t be able to see the result of this operation.

The top right polygon has been rotated using Spin Edge.

Note:You can temporarily hide polygons to only spin the visible ones.

3. iMproveD shaDoWs With FiberMesh anD MicroMesh

BPR shadows have been improved to support texture transparency applied to a Mi-croMesh or FiberMesh. This results in a more accurate and natural-looking render.

4. open eXr File ForMat

ZBrush now supports the Open EXR file format when exporting textures. This file format is strongly recommended when working with 32-bit maps as its file size is a lot

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lower than for 32-bit TIF files.

5. MicroMesh location anD previeW

The MicroMesh function is now found in the Tool >> Geometry sub-palette rather than Display Properties.

The MicroMesh preview has been improved to support PolyPainting color as well as better control over the model’s preview dots density.

6. auto upDate

ZBrush now incorporates an Auto Update system on both Windows and Mac OSX. At your request, this feature checks with the Pixologic servers to see if a new upgrade is available for ZBrush or one of its components such as plugins, GoZ or documentation.

You can start an update check in two ways:

• Execute the ZUpgrader.exe (.app for Mac users) file located at the root of the ZBrush folder. This will walk you through the steps to check for an update and apply it if one is available.

• Execute the Auto-Update plugin from within ZBrush. This checks to see if an update is available. If one is, ZBrush will ask if you wish to launch the Auto Update process. If you say yes, will quit and the update will begin downloading.

Notes:ZBrush won’t automatically check for updates. Please run the updater from time to time to see

if any updates are available.

Your computer must be connected to the internet for the Auto Updater to work.

While ZBrush can be running while checking for an update, it must not be running while an update is being downloaded and applied.

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VIII USER INTERFACE CHANGES

1. collapsable sub-palette sections

To help with User Interface (UI) organization, sub-palettes have now been broken into sections called UI Groups. These sections can be collapsed simply by clicking the divider line at the top of the section. This will hide everything within that section, replac-ing it with a description of the elements within that section. To expand the section again, simply click its title.

Not only do collapsed UI Groups help prevent clutter, their names can help you find specific options more quickly and easily.

The UI group separator and below, collapsed groups.

Shift+clicking on a UI Group name or separator will expand or collapse all UI Groups in that sub-palette.

Note:

At this time, when customizing the UI it is not possible to create your own UI Groups.

2. MagniFy glass

This new option is located in its own section of the Preferences palette. It displays a magnifying glass which moves with your cursor, enlarging everything (including interface elements) within its area.

This addition is very useful for artists recording video ZBrush tutorials, whether through ZBrush’s native movie recording features or via an external recording applica-tion.

It’s also of use for people who have trouble reading some of the interface text, espe-

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cially at high display resolution settings.

The magnify Glass in action

There are a number of settings that you should be familiar with. All are found in the Preferences >> Magnify Glass sub-palette:

• MagnifyGlass: Toggles the feature on and off. The default hotkey for this is M, but can be changed like any other hotkey.

• Radius: Defines the size of the magnifying glass circle.

• Zoom: Defines the how strongly items within the magnifying glass circle will be enlarged.

• Curvature: Changes the amount of refraction within the magnifying glass circle. It’s simply a visual effect that mimics real-world lenses.

• Fade: Increasing this slider value causes the edges of the magnifying glass to become partially transparent. Higher values cause the fade effect to extend farther in from the border of the magnifying glass.

• Shadow: Darkens the edge of the fade area to produce an internal shadow at the edges of the magnify glass. This helps add to the illusion that the magnifying glass is a real lens. This setting has no effect if Fade is set to 0.

• GColor: Defines the tint of the lens by coloring the Shadow.

• Frame: Defines the width of the outline at the outer border of the magnifying glass.

• FColor: Defines the color of the Frame border.

• Magnify Curve: Allows you to adjust the strength of the Curvature effect from the border (at the left) to the center (at the right). This Curve has no effect if the Curvature slider is set to 0.

• Opacity Curve: This Curve operates the same way as for Magnify Curve, but af-fects the strength of the Shadow across the radius of the magnifying glass. It has no effect if the Shadow slider is set to 0.

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IX THANK YOU

Pixologic would like to thank everyone who has participated as a beta tester for ZBrush 4R3.

Happy ZBrushing, and thank you again!

The Pixologic Team

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X NOTES

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