LA_507174polymesh 7/26/05 5:55 PM Page 1

POLYGROUPS ZBrush Sculpting

Polygroups allow us to establish selection sets to
selectively hide or show parts of the model. You Polymesh
can find the Polygroup sub-menu in the Tools
palette.

There are three ways to create Polygroups: Auto

Groups, UV Groups, Group Visible.

Auto Group will assign each separate geometry shell its own group ID.

UV Group is the most useful way to group objects. Each distinct UV region will be given
its own group ID which will be useful later on if you have to deal with multiple displace-
ment maps.
2D & 3D PAINTING, MODELING & TEXTURING
Group Visible is useful and faster than establishing your UVs first. To use this, you must
hide the portions of the model that you do not want to be part of the group.

USING POLYGROUPS
To show just one group at a time, press CTRL + Shift and click on the part of the mesh you want to Headquarters Address:
display. Pixologic Inc.
320 West 31st Street
To show all of the mesh, press CTRL + Shift and click outside of the visible mesh.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
To show a few groups at a time, follow the steps below:
E-mail:
1. CTRL + Shift and click on one of the groups that you want to remain visible.
Sales: sales@pixologic.com
2. Invert this selection by pressing CTRL + Shift and clicking and dragging outside the visible mesh.
3. CTRL + Shift and click on the next Polygroup that you want to remain visible. This will hide it. General Info: info@pixologic.com
4. Invert this selection by pressing CTRL + Shift and clicking and dragging outside the visible mesh
to show only those two groups. Telephone Number:
Toll-free: 1-888-748-5967
OTHER POLYMESH ADVANTAGES Customer service and technical support are available
Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Sculpting with a PolyMesh in ZBrush opens many, many doors. A PolyMesh can be detailed in Projection
Master; it can store a morph target and it can be used to generate difference maps.

In the next guide we will look at ways to take our models to the next level of detail with Masks, Stencils
and Projection Master. Remember to visit the forum at www.zbrushcentral.com and post your works-
in-progress. Enjoy the Pixols!
Patents Pending ~ ' 1997-2005 Pixologic, Inc. all rights reserved ~ Pixologic
and the Pixologic logo, ZBrush and the ZBrush logo are registered trademarks
QuickStart:
www.ZBrush.com
Page 4 www.ZBrushCentral.com
of Pixologic, Inc. All other trademarks, trade names, service marks, or product
names mentioned hereinare property of their respective owners.
Production Series
LA_507174polymesh 7/26/05 5:55 PM Page 2

Welcome to The Quickstart: Production Series - WORKING WITH MRME THE ART OF MRME
Sculpting Polymesh Guide. The goal of this guide
is to introduce you to the concepts of sculpting a Let's look at the settings in the Geometry sub-menu of the Tool palette. It is MRME is an artist's tool. It enables modelers to think
Polymesh in ZBrush. important to note that our options for the PolyMesh are different than the about modeling in the same way sculptors think about
Sphere3D from the Sculpting Basics guide. This is because Sphere3D is a ZBrush form development.
Our first concept to grasp is that in ZBrush our model primitive which is a special ZBrush geometry format. In order to use MRME Resolution Level 1:
1,684 Polygons
is called a "tool". You can import and export OBJs you will have to start with a base mesh or with ZSpheres. At the first resolution level of your model you will be
but you save your model as a tool (Tool:Save As). able to sculpt general forms and establish the model's
To add levels of resolution to your model go to Tool:Geometry:Divide. If you overall gesture. You will not be able to sculpt toe nails
Why is it called a tool? Because everything we do in save your model now as a .ZTL (Tool:Save As) it will keep these levels of or wrinkles.
Resolution Level 3:
ZBrush is a tool to create Pixols. Pixols are the heart resolution. 26,072 Polygons
of ZBrush. There are many advantages to the Pixol At the resolution level of, say, 3 an artist may be able
and we will look at them later. For now, we only When you divide your model you can divide it smoothed (Smt) or unsmoothed to begin developing more specific forms such as the eye
need to know that our model is a Tool. (Smt off). You can also smooth its UVs (Suv). muscles or the individual lips.
Resolution Level 6:
For character work, you will most likely divide the model with smooth on (Smt) but with At resolution level of, say, 5 the artist should be able 1,668,608 Polygons
smooth UV's (Suv) off. to begin developing forms such as the crease of the
upper eye lid or wrinkles.
SCULPTING GENERAL PROPORTIONS For more mechanical objects or architectural facades you will want to Divide the model
with Smt off. This will add the necessary geometry without altering the form. By working from the general forms up to the specific
To bring in a ZBrush tool that we have created, go to Tool:Load. A ZBrush forms, you will be using time-honored methods of sculpting that have been used since ancient Greece.
tool holds all your geometry information, a texture map and an alpha map. To go up and down the levels of resolution you can use the slider, press the Lower Res or Higher Res
button, or use the hotkeys: "D" goes up, "Shift + D" goes down.
To bring a model into ZBrush that we started in another program we must
import it as an .OBJ or .DXF. Go to Tool:Import and browse to where your
model is.
ZBrush uses the Catmull-Clark subdivision algorithm to divide a model. If you are bringing in a broken
model where the head is separated from the neck it will shrink the edges of each part inwards.
USING DRAG RECTANGLE TO HIDE / SHOW PART OF MESH
To begin modeling, draw your model onto the canvas and enter EDIT mode. By pressing CTRL + Shift then clicking and dragging over the model you can selectively hide or show
To address this, in your Tools:Geometry sub-menu press the Crease button. This will lock down the
parts of your model to either create your own Polygroups or to focus in on specific areas.
edge of each separate piece of geometry. To remove a crease, press Uncrease.
MULTI-RESOLUTION MESH EDITING Where ever possible, you will want to
To hide the area outside of the rectangle, press CTRL +
Shift and click and drag over the part of the model you
combine and merge verticies before
The most significant advantage that poly modeling in ZBrush want to remain visible.
bringing the model into ZBrush.
offers to the artist is the ability to sculpt at different levels
of resolution and have those changes propagate up and To hide the area inside of the rectangle, press CTRL +
Consider having a separate model that
down the chain of command. Modifications at level 1 will Shift, click, drag and then release shift over the part
is just for sculpting in ZBrush.
affect level 6 and vice versa. of the model you want to hide.

The ability to go up or down levels of resolution is known To invert your selection, press CTRL + Shift and click
as Multi-Resolution Mesh Editing (MRME). MRME has allowed and drag outside of the visible mesh.
artists to increase their productivity and has returned the
art of modeling to the hands of the artists. To show all, press CTRL + Shift and click outside of the
visible mesh.
From left to right: undivided, Subdivision level 2 without Crease, Suvdivision
From left to right: Subdivision level 6, Subdivision level 1. level 2 with Crease
Edited subdivision level 1. Return to subdivision level 6.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

LA_507174polymesh 7/26/05 5:55 PM Page 2

Welcome to The Quickstart: Production Series - WORKING WITH MRME THE ART OF MRME
Sculpting Polymesh Guide. The goal of this guide
is to introduce you to the concepts of sculpting a Let's look at the settings in the Geometry sub-menu of the Tool palette. It is MRME is an artist's tool. It enables modelers to think
Polymesh in ZBrush. important to note that our options for the PolyMesh are different than the about modeling in the same way sculptors think about
Sphere3D from the Sculpting Basics guide. This is because Sphere3D is a ZBrush form development.
Our first concept to grasp is that in ZBrush our model primitive which is a special ZBrush geometry format. In order to use MRME Resolution Level 1:
1,684 Polygons
is called a "tool". You can import and export OBJs you will have to start with a base mesh or with ZSpheres. At the first resolution level of your model you will be
but you save your model as a tool (Tool:Save As). able to sculpt general forms and establish the model's
To add levels of resolution to your model go to Tool:Geometry:Divide. If you overall gesture. You will not be able to sculpt toe nails
Why is it called a tool? Because everything we do in save your model now as a .ZTL (Tool:Save As) it will keep these levels of or wrinkles.
Resolution Level 3:
ZBrush is a tool to create Pixols. Pixols are the heart resolution. 26,072 Polygons
of ZBrush. There are many advantages to the Pixol At the resolution level of, say, 3 an artist may be able
and we will look at them later. For now, we only When you divide your model you can divide it smoothed (Smt) or unsmoothed to begin developing more specific forms such as the eye
need to know that our model is a Tool. (Smt off). You can also smooth its UVs (Suv). muscles or the individual lips.
Resolution Level 6:
For character work, you will most likely divide the model with smooth on (Smt) but with At resolution level of, say, 5 the artist should be able 1,668,608 Polygons
smooth UV's (Suv) off. to begin developing forms such as the crease of the
upper eye lid or wrinkles.
SCULPTING GENERAL PROPORTIONS For more mechanical objects or architectural facades you will want to Divide the model
with Smt off. This will add the necessary geometry without altering the form. By working from the general forms up to the specific
To bring in a ZBrush tool that we have created, go to Tool:Load. A ZBrush forms, you will be using time-honored methods of sculpting that have been used since ancient Greece.
tool holds all your geometry information, a texture map and an alpha map. To go up and down the levels of resolution you can use the slider, press the Lower Res or Higher Res
button, or use the hotkeys: "D" goes up, "Shift + D" goes down.
To bring a model into ZBrush that we started in another program we must
import it as an .OBJ or .DXF. Go to Tool:Import and browse to where your
model is.
ZBrush uses the Catmull-Clark subdivision algorithm to divide a model. If you are bringing in a broken
model where the head is separated from the neck it will shrink the edges of each part inwards.
USING DRAG RECTANGLE TO HIDE / SHOW PART OF MESH
To begin modeling, draw your model onto the canvas and enter EDIT mode. By pressing CTRL + Shift then clicking and dragging over the model you can selectively hide or show
To address this, in your Tools:Geometry sub-menu press the Crease button. This will lock down the
parts of your model to either create your own Polygroups or to focus in on specific areas.
edge of each separate piece of geometry. To remove a crease, press Uncrease.
MULTI-RESOLUTION MESH EDITING Where ever possible, you will want to
To hide the area outside of the rectangle, press CTRL +
Shift and click and drag over the part of the model you
combine and merge verticies before
The most significant advantage that poly modeling in ZBrush want to remain visible.
bringing the model into ZBrush.
offers to the artist is the ability to sculpt at different levels
of resolution and have those changes propagate up and To hide the area inside of the rectangle, press CTRL +
Consider having a separate model that
down the chain of command. Modifications at level 1 will Shift, click, drag and then release shift over the part
is just for sculpting in ZBrush.
affect level 6 and vice versa. of the model you want to hide.

The ability to go up or down levels of resolution is known To invert your selection, press CTRL + Shift and click
as Multi-Resolution Mesh Editing (MRME). MRME has allowed and drag outside of the visible mesh.
artists to increase their productivity and has returned the
art of modeling to the hands of the artists. To show all, press CTRL + Shift and click outside of the
visible mesh.
From left to right: undivided, Subdivision level 2 without Crease, Suvdivision
From left to right: Subdivision level 6, Subdivision level 1. level 2 with Crease
Edited subdivision level 1. Return to subdivision level 6.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

LA_507174polymesh 7/26/05 5:55 PM Page 2

Welcome to The Quickstart: Production Series - WORKING WITH MRME THE ART OF MRME
Sculpting Polymesh Guide. The goal of this guide
is to introduce you to the concepts of sculpting a Let's look at the settings in the Geometry sub-menu of the Tool palette. It is MRME is an artist's tool. It enables modelers to think
Polymesh in ZBrush. important to note that our options for the PolyMesh are different than the about modeling in the same way sculptors think about
Sphere3D from the Sculpting Basics guide. This is because Sphere3D is a ZBrush form development.
Our first concept to grasp is that in ZBrush our model primitive which is a special ZBrush geometry format. In order to use MRME Resolution Level 1:
1,684 Polygons
is called a "tool". You can import and export OBJs you will have to start with a base mesh or with ZSpheres. At the first resolution level of your model you will be
but you save your model as a tool (Tool:Save As). able to sculpt general forms and establish the model's
To add levels of resolution to your model go to Tool:Geometry:Divide. If you overall gesture. You will not be able to sculpt toe nails
Why is it called a tool? Because everything we do in save your model now as a .ZTL (Tool:Save As) it will keep these levels of or wrinkles.
Resolution Level 3:
ZBrush is a tool to create Pixols. Pixols are the heart resolution. 26,072 Polygons
of ZBrush. There are many advantages to the Pixol At the resolution level of, say, 3 an artist may be able
and we will look at them later. For now, we only When you divide your model you can divide it smoothed (Smt) or unsmoothed to begin developing more specific forms such as the eye
need to know that our model is a Tool. (Smt off). You can also smooth its UVs (Suv). muscles or the individual lips.
Resolution Level 6:
For character work, you will most likely divide the model with smooth on (Smt) but with At resolution level of, say, 5 the artist should be able 1,668,608 Polygons
smooth UV's (Suv) off. to begin developing forms such as the crease of the
upper eye lid or wrinkles.
SCULPTING GENERAL PROPORTIONS For more mechanical objects or architectural facades you will want to Divide the model
with Smt off. This will add the necessary geometry without altering the form. By working from the general forms up to the specific
To bring in a ZBrush tool that we have created, go to Tool:Load. A ZBrush forms, you will be using time-honored methods of sculpting that have been used since ancient Greece.
tool holds all your geometry information, a texture map and an alpha map. To go up and down the levels of resolution you can use the slider, press the Lower Res or Higher Res
button, or use the hotkeys: "D" goes up, "Shift + D" goes down.
To bring a model into ZBrush that we started in another program we must
import it as an .OBJ or .DXF. Go to Tool:Import and browse to where your
model is.
ZBrush uses the Catmull-Clark subdivision algorithm to divide a model. If you are bringing in a broken
model where the head is separated from the neck it will shrink the edges of each part inwards.
USING DRAG RECTANGLE TO HIDE / SHOW PART OF MESH
To begin modeling, draw your model onto the canvas and enter EDIT mode. By pressing CTRL + Shift then clicking and dragging over the model you can selectively hide or show
To address this, in your Tools:Geometry sub-menu press the Crease button. This will lock down the
parts of your model to either create your own Polygroups or to focus in on specific areas.
edge of each separate piece of geometry. To remove a crease, press Uncrease.
MULTI-RESOLUTION MESH EDITING Where ever possible, you will want to
To hide the area outside of the rectangle, press CTRL +
Shift and click and drag over the part of the model you
combine and merge verticies before
The most significant advantage that poly modeling in ZBrush want to remain visible.
bringing the model into ZBrush.
offers to the artist is the ability to sculpt at different levels
of resolution and have those changes propagate up and To hide the area inside of the rectangle, press CTRL +
Consider having a separate model that
down the chain of command. Modifications at level 1 will Shift, click, drag and then release shift over the part
is just for sculpting in ZBrush.
affect level 6 and vice versa. of the model you want to hide.

The ability to go up or down levels of resolution is known To invert your selection, press CTRL + Shift and click
as Multi-Resolution Mesh Editing (MRME). MRME has allowed and drag outside of the visible mesh.
artists to increase their productivity and has returned the
art of modeling to the hands of the artists. To show all, press CTRL + Shift and click outside of the
visible mesh.
From left to right: undivided, Subdivision level 2 without Crease, Suvdivision
From left to right: Subdivision level 6, Subdivision level 1. level 2 with Crease
Edited subdivision level 1. Return to subdivision level 6.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

LA_507174polymesh 7/26/05 5:55 PM Page 1

POLYGROUPS ZBrush Sculpting

Polygroups allow us to establish selection sets to
selectively hide or show parts of the model. You Polymesh
can find the Polygroup sub-menu in the Tools
palette.

There are three ways to create Polygroups: Auto

Groups, UV Groups, Group Visible.

Auto Group will assign each separate geometry shell its own group ID.

UV Group is the most useful way to group objects. Each distinct UV region will be given
its own group ID which will be useful later on if you have to deal with multiple displace-
ment maps.
2D & 3D PAINTING, MODELING & TEXTURING
Group Visible is useful and faster than establishing your UVs first. To use this, you must
hide the portions of the model that you do not want to be part of the group.

USING POLYGROUPS
To show just one group at a time, press CTRL + Shift and click on the part of the mesh you want to Headquarters Address:
display. Pixologic Inc.
320 West 31st Street
To show all of the mesh, press CTRL + Shift and click outside of the visible mesh.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
To show a few groups at a time, follow the steps below:
E-mail:
1. CTRL + Shift and click on one of the groups that you want to remain visible.
Sales: sales@pixologic.com
2. Invert this selection by pressing CTRL + Shift and clicking and dragging outside the visible mesh.
3. CTRL + Shift and click on the next Polygroup that you want to remain visible. This will hide it. General Info: info@pixologic.com
4. Invert this selection by pressing CTRL + Shift and clicking and dragging outside the visible mesh
to show only those two groups. Telephone Number:
Toll-free: 1-888-748-5967
OTHER POLYMESH ADVANTAGES Customer service and technical support are available
Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Sculpting with a PolyMesh in ZBrush opens many, many doors. A PolyMesh can be detailed in Projection
Master; it can store a morph target and it can be used to generate difference maps.

In the next guide we will look at ways to take our models to the next level of detail with Masks, Stencils
and Projection Master. Remember to visit the forum at www.zbrushcentral.com and post your works-
in-progress. Enjoy the Pixols!
Patents Pending ~ ' 1997-2005 Pixologic, Inc. all rights reserved ~ Pixologic
and the Pixologic logo, ZBrush and the ZBrush logo are registered trademarks
QuickStart:
www.ZBrush.com
Page 4 www.ZBrushCentral.com
of Pixologic, Inc. All other trademarks, trade names, service marks, or product
names mentioned hereinare property of their respective owners.
Production Series
LA_507174polymesh 7/26/05 5:55 PM Page 1

POLYGROUPS ZBrush Sculpting

Polygroups allow us to establish selection sets to
selectively hide or show parts of the model. You Polymesh
can find the Polygroup sub-menu in the Tools
palette.

There are three ways to create Polygroups: Auto

Groups, UV Groups, Group Visible.

Auto Group will assign each separate geometry shell its own group ID.

UV Group is the most useful way to group objects. Each distinct UV region will be given
its own group ID which will be useful later on if you have to deal with multiple displace-
ment maps.
2D & 3D PAINTING, MODELING & TEXTURING
Group Visible is useful and faster than establishing your UVs first. To use this, you must
hide the portions of the model that you do not want to be part of the group.

USING POLYGROUPS
To show just one group at a time, press CTRL + Shift and click on the part of the mesh you want to Headquarters Address:
display. Pixologic Inc.
320 West 31st Street
To show all of the mesh, press CTRL + Shift and click outside of the visible mesh.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
To show a few groups at a time, follow the steps below:
E-mail:
1. CTRL + Shift and click on one of the groups that you want to remain visible.
Sales: sales@pixologic.com
2. Invert this selection by pressing CTRL + Shift and clicking and dragging outside the visible mesh.
3. CTRL + Shift and click on the next Polygroup that you want to remain visible. This will hide it. General Info: info@pixologic.com
4. Invert this selection by pressing CTRL + Shift and clicking and dragging outside the visible mesh
to show only those two groups. Telephone Number:
Toll-free: 1-888-748-5967
OTHER POLYMESH ADVANTAGES Customer service and technical support are available
Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Sculpting with a PolyMesh in ZBrush opens many, many doors. A PolyMesh can be detailed in Projection
Master; it can store a morph target and it can be used to generate difference maps.

In the next guide we will look at ways to take our models to the next level of detail with Masks, Stencils
and Projection Master. Remember to visit the forum at www.zbrushcentral.com and post your works-
in-progress. Enjoy the Pixols!
Patents Pending ~ ' 1997-2005 Pixologic, Inc. all rights reserved ~ Pixologic
and the Pixologic logo, ZBrush and the ZBrush logo are registered trademarks
QuickStart:
www.ZBrush.com
Page 4 www.ZBrushCentral.com
of Pixologic, Inc. All other trademarks, trade names, service marks, or product
names mentioned hereinare property of their respective owners.
Production Series