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Transferring Detail

Transferring high polygon detail to a remeshed model

There will be times that you wish to retopologize your model while keeping all the detail that has been sculpted on the model. There are two approaches to achieve this. Choose the one that best fits your model:

Freeze Subdivision Levels

  1. Select the SubTool you would like to retopologize with ZRemesher.
  2. Click the Freeze Subdivision Level button located in the Tool >> Geometry sub-palette (right below the SDiv slider). This will freeze all subdivision levels and drop your selected SubTool to level one.
  3. If level one doesn’t have enough polys to maintain the sculpt’s form, we encour­age you to first choose the subdivision level with the desired silhouette and then use the Del Lower button. This will make the selected level the lowest one, after which you can return to the highest and Freeze Subdivision Levels.
  4. Use ZRemesher with any desired settings.
  5. Once the remesh is complete, click the Freeze Subdivison Level button again. ZBrush will now recalculate your subdivision levels and project the details onto the new mesh topology.

Note: The projection quality is controlled by the various settings in the Tool >> SubTool >> Project All UI group.

Advantage of this technique:

You are able to retain your subdivision levels and details with just a couple mouse clicks. This feature prioritizes your original polygon count over how many subdivision levels your model originally had. If your new topology has a very different polygon count compared to the original base subdivision level, your final model after using ZRemesher may have more or fewer subdivision levels.

Duplicating your SubTool

  1. Duplicate your selected SubTool by clicking Tool >> SubTool >> Duplicate.
  2. Hide all other SubTools, including the duplicate. The only one that should be vis­ible is the one that you will use ZRemesher on.
  3. Use ZRemesher with any desired settings.
  4. Turn on the copy of the SubTool that has the sculpted details. Make sure that this SubTool is at the highest subdivision level.
  5. With the remeshed model still selected, click the Tool >> SubTool >> Project All button. The controls in the Project All UI group can be adjusted to refine the projection as you work. The Dist slider is the one that you will most likely use the most.
  6. Subdivide the remeshed model to create level 2. Project All again.
  7. Repeat step 6 until until you have the desired number of subdivision levels and all of your sculpted detail.
  8. You can now delete the original version of the SubTool.

 

Note: It’s recommended that after each projection you turn off the detailed SubTool and check to ensure that you are happy with the projected results. If you aren’t satisfied, press Ctrl+Z to undo and then modify the Project All settings before projecting again.

Advantage of this technique:

By copying the detail one subdivision level at a time, you will have more control over the projected results. This process can be faster than the Freeze Subdivision Levels approach.