Tool > UV Map
The UV Editor is a dedicated application for creating, unwrapping, editing, and packing your SubTools' UVs. You open it from ZBrush, do your UV work, and send the result back to your model in ZBrush. You don't need to export a model to another application to give it UVs.
The UV Editor uses Cinema 4D technology. Cinema 4D already had a mature UV toolset, so ZBrush (also owned by Maxon) uses the same technology. If you have unwrapped models in Cinema 4D, ZBrush's UV tools work the way you expect.
The ZBrush version is for UV work only and leaves out menus and tools that have nothing to do with UVs. Some features center on ZBrush itself, such as unwrapping by Polygroup (see Unwrap by PolyGroup).
The UV Editor is part of ZBrush on the desktop and isn't available in ZBrush for iPad.
Opening the UV Editor
The UV Editor button is in the Tool > UV Map sub-palette. Next to it, three options set which SubTools go to the UV Editor:
- All sends every SubTool, whether it is visible or not.
- Visible sends only the SubTools whose eye icon is on in the SubTool list.
- Selected sends only the selected SubTool.
To open the UV Editor, make sure you've selected one of these three options, then click UV Editor.
Important!
The UV Editor runs as a separate application. While it's open, ZBrush is locked and you can't work in it. To return to ZBrush, close the UV Editor with Apply UV Edits or Cancel UV Edits (see below).
Tip!
The Water Dragon demo project is a good model to practice on. Every SubTool in it except Blanket Micropoly already has UVs.
The UV Editor Window
The UV Editor window has these areas. Positions below are for Layout 1. Other layouts arrange the same areas differently (see UV Editor Layouts).
| Area | Position in Layout 1 | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Objects panel | Top left | Lists the SubTools you sent, each with its tags. See Tags in the UV Editor. |
| 3D view | Bottom left | The panel labeled with its camera, Perspective by default. Shows the model in 3D. You can select points, edges, and polygons here as well as in the UV view. |
| UV view | Center | The panel labeled UV Editor. Shows the UVs of the selected SubTool. The View, Display, Filter, and Textures menus and the Resolution and TD fields run along its top. |
| UV toolbar | Left side of the UV view | Holds the selection modes (Model, Polygons, Edges, Points), the Move, Rotate, and Scale tools, and selection tools such as Rectangle Selection. |
| Workflow tabs | Below the UV view | Create UVs, Unwrap Tools, Edit UV Tools, and Packing Tools. See Unwrapping and Packing UVs. |
| Attributes panel | Right | Shows the settings of the selected object, tag, or tool. |
| Options | Bottom right | Rotates the selected UVs in 90° steps (90° CCW, 90° CW), moves them (Up, Down, Left, Right), and moves them to another UV tile (Move to tile). |
Sending UVs Back to ZBrush
Two buttons at the bottom of the UV view close the UV Editor and return you to ZBrush:
- Apply UV Edits sends your UV changes back to your SubTools.
- Cancel UV Edits closes the UV Editor without changing anything in ZBrush.
When you click Apply UV Edits and your UVs have changed, the UV Editor asks: "Do you want to send back the UV edits?" Click Yes to send them back and return to ZBrush. Click No to stay in the UV Editor and keep working. If nothing has changed, there is nothing to send back.
UV Editor Layouts
The UV Editor comes with four layouts, each designed from artist feedback and arranged around UV work. Switch between them with the Layout 1 to Layout 4 tabs in the top-right corner.
Most layouts move the object list to a new position. Layout 4 keeps it where Cinema 4D has it.
You can also build your own layout. The menu with three dots, next to the layout names, lets you:
- Choose which layouts appear in the list.
- Save and load custom layouts.
- Set the layout the UV Editor opens with every time.
For details on the layout commands, see Customize in the Cinema 4D documentation.
Tags in the UV Editor
Each SubTool you send appears in the Objects panel with its tags next to its name. Two kinds matter most when you start:
- The Polygroup tag (highlighted below) carries the Polygroups from ZBrush into the UV Editor.
- A material tag (visible below on the Blanket Micropoly SubTool) appears on any SubTool that has a texture map in ZBrush. The texture then shows in the UV view.
The Normal and UVW tags work as they do in Cinema 4D. The UVW tag holds the SubTool's UVs. The Normal tag holds its vertex normals, which control shading. When you run Unwrap by PolyGroup, the SubTool also gets an Edge Selection tag named Seams. See Unwrapping and Packing UVs.
To see a SubTool's Polygroups, click its Polygroup tag. The Polygroup colors appear on the model in the 3D view and in the UV layout while the mesh is selected.
Be aware that display changes don't update the 3D view by themselves. When you change what the UV view shows for a selected mesh, click the matching tag on that mesh to see the change in the 3D view. Cinema 4D works the same way.
Navigation and Shortcuts
The UV Editor uses ZBrush's right-click navigation, so you can move around the same way you do in ZBrush.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Rotate (3D view) | Right-click and drag |
| Zoom (3D view and UV view) | Ctrl+Right-click and drag |
| Pan (3D view and UV view) | Alt+Right-click and drag |
Several shortcuts are different from Cinema 4D. The ZBrush shortcuts match what most ZBrush artists already use. The move, rotate, and scale keys echo controls found in Maya.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Model mode |
| 2 | Polygons mode |
| 3 | Edges mode |
| 4 | Points mode |
| W | Move |
| E | Rotate |
| R | Scale |
| C | Disconnect UVs (cut the selected edges) |
| P | UV Packing (pack the UVs) |
| S | Frame the selected mesh |
| H | Frame all geometry |
The default selection tool is Rectangle Selection, the tool most UV artists prefer. Double-click to select a whole UV island.
To assign your own keyboard shortcuts, use the Command Manager. For how it works, see The Command Manager in the Cinema 4D documentation.
More About the UV Tools
Most ZBrush UV tools work the same way as in Cinema 4D. For tools found in both applications, this guide links to their pages in the Cinema 4D documentation. For an overview of all of them, see The UV Editor and Its Tools. The ZBrush version leaves out some Cinema 4D options since it's made for UV work only.
For help on any button, slider, or option in the UV Editor, right-click it and choose Show Help. Documentation for that item opens.
To learn the unwrapping process step by step, see Unwrapping and Packing UVs.
For the other ways to create UVs in ZBrush, such as the Tool > UV Map sub-palette and the UV Master plugin, see UV Mapping.