Modeling in ZBrush and Maya Simultaneously

#1

Hey all,

A few weeks back I saw a video where someone was modeling in Zbrush, then went to Maya to do some tweaks, and then went back to Zbrush from some more organic modeling
And what impressed me was that when he finished modeling on one program, it would auto update in the other…I had never been able to use both of the programs like that and it caught my attention.

Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of the video but I remember very clearly that simultaneous update
And would like to ask if anyone knows how something like that is achieved?

#2

Goz plugin

#3

Thanks!

I just checked it out via this video and I noticed that it wasnt auto updates but rather a faster version of the expor>Import step?

Is there an option for Goz to update the models automatically whenever you make whichever program back to becoming the active window?

This was the video I saw on the process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk3kDuPhu_M

#4

That’s actually the point of GoZ. Almost. It’s a ping-pong sort of process. For example…

  • Model a base mesh in Maya, Blender, C4D, or whatever.
  • Click the GoZ button to send it to ZBrush.
  • Sculpt the base in ZBrush
  • Click the GoZ button to send it back to your core 3D suite (eg. Maya, Blender, etc.)
  • Make some tweaks to the base mesh
  • Click GoZ to send the tweaked mesh back to ZBrush

This process continues until you’re done and updates the model each time you click your GoZ button. Just keep in mind that ZBrush will typically only send back your lowest subdivision level (ie. your base) to your main app. That’s fine for a few reasons though.

  1. If you wanted to send the final sculpt back, you could just freeze your subdivision levels and send that over instead. This would be the sort of thing you’d do when you have to retopo the sculpt into something more game and animator friendly. In this sense, your sculpting efforts won’t be lost since you’ll turn them into normal or displacement maps to be then used on the more optimized base mesh.

  2. Most 3D programs don’t handle multiresolution sculpting as ZBrush does (or as well).

As far as the process happening automatically every time you switch focus, it wouldn’t make that much sense. ZBrush, afaik, does this transfer via some intermediate files. Hitting GoZ sends the message to the other program to open that file. This is why the process is only semi-automated. In a sense, however, this is much better. Imagine keeping the whole thing in memory only to lose it to a crash. Semi-automated is, ultimately, safer.

The video above does the GoZ button ping-pong dance I described above.

#5

Thanks Cooke!

Its nice to know that only the lowest subd is sent from zbrush to other app and the workaround for that

Also nice to know that the semiautomation process is safer and thus better than having everything just auto update simultaneously, thats true

#6

One other thing is that the guy imported the mesh from Maya and it was all nice and scaled/positioned in ZBrush relative to the image planes…you gotta set all that up before you can get into the sculpt.

#7

Thanks imhotep, could you explain how exactly to set that up?

#8

If you’re primarily sculpting in ZBrush here’s a good tut. for setting up reference planes from Pixologic:

If you’re primarily modeling I would suggest setting the base mesh up in Maya or whatever app you are using that has proper scale measuring/adjustment tools. It may serve you better to always start this way and then take it into ZBrush and set up the image reference planes there, but you have to determine that for yourself and your method of working.

The GoZ plugins for whichever app are here plus videos on their basic use and setting it up:
http://pixologic.com/zbrush/features/GoZBrush/

The basic process is to install the plug-in for whichever modeling app you use (probably restart the app) and then with both apps open you designate the path to your modeling app from ZBrush GoZ and it pops the mesh over.

The documentation for it and all the videos available all over the interwebs for GoZ are pretty useful. GoZ was released about 5 years ago and while it’s received updates a lot of new informational videos have gone away, because it’s “old hat” for some of us and it’s more utility then hot feature. There are also a lot of other people are hell bent on eliminating any tools other then ZBrush from their personal development processes, which is why there’s not that much recent info on GoZ even though there are new people coming in everyday.