ZAppLink Guide

ZAppLink 4 Manual
for ZBrush 4 -

2010 Pixologic, Inc. All rights reserved, Pixologic and the Pixologic logo, ZBrush, and the ZBrush logo are
registered trademarks of Pixologic, Inc. Various patents pending. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.

ZAppLink Guide

I Introduction
ZAppLink 4 is a ZBrush plugin that allows you to seamlessly integrate your favorite
image editing software into your ZBrush workflow. Call up your image editing package while in ZBrush, use it to modify the active ZBrush document or tool, and then go
straight back into ZBrush.
ZApp Link 4 can be accessed from your Document palette. ZApp Link 4 will allow
the artist to do the following:

Create New ZBrush Layers in Photoshop

Create ZBrush Stencils in Photoshop via selection tools
Mask out parts of the ZBrush canvas using Photoshops Layer Mask
Store views for your model to be painted in your image editing software.
Generate a character sheet with all the views of your model
Save and Load views

II Installation
As with most ZBrush plugins, the installation procedure is simple:
1. Quit ZBrush
2. Extract the zip file to a temporary folder.
3. Copy the ZAppLink_4.0.zsc to your ZPlugs folder. With a default PC installation this will be found at C:\Program Files\Pixologic\ZBrush4\ZStartup\ZPlugs. With a
default Mac installation this will be in /Applications/ZBrush 4 OSX/ZStartup/ZPlugs.
4. Also copy the ZAppLinkData_4.0 folder and its contents to the ZPlugs folder
5. Launch ZBrush.
6. Open the Document palette where you will find the ZAppLink button. Press the
button to launch ZAppLink.

Notes:
If you already have ZAppLink installed, remove first the ZAppLink.zsc file and ZAppLinkData
folder first.
ZAppLink must not be installed in the ZBrush 4/ZData/ZPlug folder but in the ZBrush 4/
ZStartup folder.

III Quick Guide

1. Draw a model on the canvas and enter edit mode.
2. Set Tool: Geometry: SDiv to the highest level.
3. Position the model to the view you want to paint on.
4. Press ZAppLink in the Document palette.
5. Press Enable Colorization if the pop-up appears.
6. Press Drop Now. You can also choose to enable perspective to work in perspective mode.
7. In your image editor of choice start painting in Layer 1. When done, save your
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image and return to ZBrush.
8. Press Re-enter ZBrush. If confronted with a screen that says OK(Unchanged)
and Return To External Editor, press Re-check to force ZAppLink to update the
temporary file or Return To External Editor and make sure your document was saved.
Then return to ZBrush.
9. Press Pickup Now.

IV Painting on Views
1. Draw a model on the canvas and enter edit mode.
2. Set Tool: Geometry: SDiv to the highest level.
3. Position the model to its fr ont view.
4. Press Document: ZAppLink Properties: Front
5. Position the model to its right view.
6. Press Document: ZAppLink Properties: Right
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for all the other views you want to paint on.
8. Press ZAppLink in the Document palette.
9. Press Enable Colorization if the pop-up appears.
10. Press OK. You can also choose to enable perspective to work in perspective
mode.
11. In your image editor of choice start alt + click on the Layer 1 you want to work
on to hide all other layers. Then turn on the visibility for the shading layer directly
above it. When done, save your image and return to ZBrush.
12. Press Re-enter ZBrush. If confronted with a screen that says OK(Unchanged)
and Return To External Editor, press press Re-check to force ZAppLink to update the
temporary file or Return To External Editor and make sure your document was saved.
Then return to ZBrush.
13. Press Accept for each view to keep the texturing information. Press Cancel to
not accept the view.

V Load / Save Views

ZApp Link 4 allows you to store views for front, side, top, bottom... Its very easy to
store a view. Simply position the model and then press the corresponding view.
If the transform is already defined, and you want to change it, then first press the
Clear To switch followed by the button of the transform to clear. Then press the transform button again to store it. The LEDs should indicate which views have transforms
stored.
Use the Save Views button to save the .vws file for your tool, that way you can use
the Load Views button to get them back if you need them later.
Once you store a view the ZAppLink Views switch will be turned on. This will tell
ZBrush to export all of your views when
going to Photoshop. Turn this off if you only want to export your current view.
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VI Creating a Character Strip

Character Strip allows the artist to quickly create a .PSD document with all the
views stored for the model.

1. Draw a model on the canvas and enter edit mode.

2. Set Tool: Geometry: SDiv to the highest level.
3. Position the model to its front view.
4. Press Document: ZAppLink Properties: Front
5. Position the model to its right view.
6. Press Document: ZAppLink Properties: Right
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for all the other views you want to be part of your character strip.
8. Press Document: ZAppLink Properties: Make Character Sheet.

VII Create Stencils in Adobe Photoshop

You can import an Alpha Channel selection from Photoshop and have it automatically become a stencil in ZBrush.
1. Draw a model on the canvas and enter edit mode.
2. Position the model to the view you want to apply the stencil to.
3. Press ZAppLink in the Document palette.
4. Press Enable Colorization if the pop-up appears.
5. Press Drop Now. You can also choose to enable perspective to work in perspective mode.
6. In Photoshop , make the selection you want using marquee tools, Quick Mask
or other selection tool.
7. Save the selection by pressing Select: Save Selection. Make sure to name it
Stencil.
8. Return to ZBrush.
9. Press OK (Unchanged) or Re-enter. Which screen you are presented with will
depend on whether you painted anything while in Photoshop or not. Your stencil
will come through even if you havent painted anything in Adobe Photoshop .
10. Press Enter on the keyboard and your stencil will appear.
11. To turn off the stencil press Stencil: Stencil On.
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VIII Working With ZApp Link: Illustration

ZAppLink can create a connection between ZBrushs 2.5D canvas and your image
editor of choice. To do this you can not
have a model in 3D edit mode on the canvas. Make sure to turn Edit off to send just
canvas information.

IX Adding Layers To Your Canvas In External Editor

1. Press Document: ZAppLink
2. Press OK
3. In your image editor create a new layer and paint in it.
4. Return to ZBrush
5. Press Re-enter ZBrush. If confronted with a screen that says OK(Unchanged)
and Return To External Editor, pres Return To External Editor and make sure your
document was saved. Then return to ZBrush.
6. Press Keep New Layer to keep the layer.
When you add a new layer in your image editor, and then go back to ZBrush,
ZBrush looks for a number embedded in the layer name to determine which ZBrush
layer the external layer is imported into. For example, if the name of your layer in Photoshop is Squid11, the image in that layer will be imported into ZBrushs layer 11

Note:
When creating a new layer in your external image editor, make sure the number in its name
is higher than the highest-numbered existing layer in ZBrush. Otherwise, you may import the new
image over top of an existing ZBrush layer.

The Z values of the new layers pixols will be chosen to place it before all layers
that are beneath it. Any parts that are hidden by layers above will be pushed behind
those layers pixols. This makes all visible new layer parts have the same Z depth.
When you accept the new layer, it will be applied with blending. You will also be
given the options of reapplying the new layer without blending.

Note:
The Flat material will be used for any new layers created outside of ZBrush.

X Deleting Layers
If you delete a layer, you will be asked whether to delete it when returning to
ZBrush. If you delete a layer, then add a new one; be sure to make its number larger
than the existing ZBrush layers that were transferred so that the new layer is not inadvertently matched to an existing layer.
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XI ZDepth
When exporting all of ZBrushs layers, ZApp Link will include an 8 bit depth mask of
your canvas for Depth of Field and
other post-processing effects.

XII Restrictions
If you want to merge layers, its better to do this in ZBrush, as the pixol depth will
more properly be taken into account there. Merging layers externally will cause one
layer to be deleted, and the other layer to accept the edited values at a fixed Z depth,
for areas over the background, and at the existing Z depth, for areas that overlap the
existing layer.
Layers should only be reordered in ZBrush. Reordering layers in an external editor
will confuse ZAppLink, and it will not recognize the edits.

ZAppLink Guide

XIII Notes