chadtheartist

I'm not sure what you mean by importing it back into Z2. This model was first made in Silo, then imported into Z2. So there wasn't any level 1,2 etc... when I started out with this head in Z2. Can you explain a bit how you were able to get two levels on an imported .obj in Z2, without subdividing it after import?

I have done some Zbrush work with this, but I'm going to be redoing the character in AM especially concerning the UV's, via decaling. This screenshot is from Silo, which I modeled her in. The things I had to edit were, the many edgeloops around the mouth, and the close wireframes that start at the corner of the eye and go up to the top of the head. I also had to remove the little connectors for the wires on the head because it really, really slowed down AM. I'm planning to use simple geometry for that, and if it works, a displacement or bump map to make it look like the original model. I'm probably going to redo the wires on her head too. That way I can do the UV's, via decal on one, then copy and paste it and one decal will work for all! I'm really impressed with how this looks in AM though, especially concedering the amount of geometry that is there. I'm working on the entire body, so this should be a fun test to do. I'll be updating it as I go. Thanks for looking.

With the help of KenH, and JohnArtbox, I was able to figure out how to get a model into AM V11, and have it look halfway decent! I had to edit the .obj before I brought it into AM to lighten it a bit, but it came in without a hitch, and as you can see looks great, thanks to Porcelain.mat. Anyway, my first tests, and more will follow. My next goal is to decal this head, and try displacement tests with it. Wish me luck!

The bmp was a color map, not the displacement map. There wasn't a need to send the bmp with the color for this because it would have made the download twice the size it is now. What I was doing was opening, in AM, the tif file after I imported the .obj. I guess that was the problem. Maybe if I convert it to a bmp map it will import fine? Thanks for the help! PS: I downloaded V11 this morning. I'll load it up tonight when I get home. I don't have a PC here at work to use it. Only a Mac.

Yup, you're right. I exported it in groups. Stupid! Well it's an easy fix in Z2, but I'm still lost as far as the bump/displacement settings in AM. I also had a texture applied to this guy, which is what the bmp file is. The tiff image is 16 bit, so that may need to be converted for AM. How did you set the tif image as the bump/displacement on the model? That's what I can't get right.

OK, I got my copy of 10.5 in the mail yesterday. I was able to get the .obj import working perfectly, and now I'm having problems with the bump/displacements. I'm working on the Alien model to test out displacements, you can find the model with the displacement map here: http://homepage.mac.com/chadtheartist/.Public/Alien.zip The displacement works fine in Z2, but when I go to do the same thing in AM, all I get is a strange bumpy mess all over the mesh. Does anyone have any insight as to how to get the displacement, or bump map to work right in AM? Thanks in advance!

You can send it too chadtheartist@mac.com Thanks.

I believe it might be an issue with Maya. I had to import the model into Maya, and I'm sure the UV's were messed up in there. Maya has a tendency to renumber the vertices, and the UV's, so there might be an issue with it. But I think the only thing that had UV's was the face. The head clamps probably don't have any at all. What I'm probably going to do from now on is use AM to do the UV's. That way I'll know it works. But I'm still pretty happy with how it's turned out though. Thanks for taking the time to play around with this, hopefully it will help you out too!

That's awesome! I'm impressed that it actually imported the mouth wireframes too. I remember that splines are "more" smooth with less wireframes, and I'm pretty impressed with how smooth this came out. Thank you to both Ken and John! You guys rock! WIth the displacement settings, and following the Zandoria tut for UV's, I think I'll be working in AM in no time! Is the .mdl that you guys made from this headgear.obj compatible with 9.5? If so, would one of you care to upload it so I can check it out firsthand? I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks for all the help! I got a feeling I'm going to be participating a lot more in this forum.

I tried the reinstall, still a no go on the plugin. That's ok though, I'll wait for V11 whenever it gets here! I wonder if Hash will tweak the displacements in AM to make use of 16bit tiffs in the near future? From what I've seen from your posts Ken, is some of the detail is still lost in the displacement. Although I think a clever workaround might be to use a the displacement map as a bump map too, but I don't know if you can do both in AM. I'm hoping to get this all figured out soon. Oh, another question. Is it possible to use 9.5 models in 11? If so, I'm thinking about redoing my machineflesh entry entirely in AM, that way I won't have to worry about import/export stuff. Especially if I can figure out how to do the UV's in AM. By the sample I've seen on Hash's feature list, it doesn't look like the UV's are in a 0 to 1 ratio. Is there a way to make them 0 to 1 in AM? I forgot to bring (to work) my .zip file with the displacement in it to test out, but I did have a version of the head saved on my website. If you'd like to Ken, I'd appreciate it if you could see if this head converts over to AM half-way decent. It's all quads. If you want to play around in Z2 and make a displacement for the head to see how it works too, that would be great! Right Click And Save .obj

Yes, I downloaded that obj.hxt file. And I checked all of the plugin/import functions, and it's still not showing up. I followed this Model/New/Right Click/Plugins/Import/ PLY, 3DS, AV2 is the only formats that are there. I checked the hxt folder, and the obj.hxt file is still there. I'm going to try reinstalling AM. Maybe that will work. And your background looks pretty cool. I think I've seen your work in the pixolator forum. I didn't know it was AM and Z2 that you were using. Thanks for sharing that!

OK, I downloaded the hxt file (thanks by the way, ), put it in the hxt folder, and I'm stumped. Still no import/export function anywhere. I checked in the import, export, plugin, wizard, and anywhere else I could find the import option. I even checked to make sure that the hxt folder was highlighted in the options screen, of which it is. Is there something else I should do to get it to work?

Yup, it's a hxt folder. I even tried making a hie folder and placing the two hie obj files in the main AM folder to see if that would work too. Neither one worked. I'm pretty impressed with your results so far! I'm wanting to test a head I'm working on right now, and I might upload the .obj and the displacement map if you want to check it out. Here is the model, in Zbrush. I'm sure it will look just as good, or close to it in AM if your tests are an indication of what I should expect. I've made a .zip file of the model, displacement, and .mtl file, but I can't upload it tonight. I'll upload it tomorrow if you want to have a crack at it Ken. I'd appreciate it if you could see how it looks in AM for me. Hopefully I'll get version 11 in the mail soon. I'm pumped!

I'm currently trying to figure out how to get the .obj plugin working. I've downloaded the 96kb .hxt file, and it's in the .hxt folder, but it won't show up in any of the import, plugin menus. I'm using 9.5 right now, so maybe that's the problem. If that's the case, does anyone happen to have the 9.5 version of the .obj import/export plugin? I've got some ideas for testing, and if it works out OK, then I'm going to be hitting AM hard the next few weeks! Thanks