Decimation Master and Then Zremesh Again Baking Normals

With Decimation Principal you can easily reduce the polygon count of your models in a very efficient way while keeping all their sculpted details. This solution is one of the fastest available and is able to optimize your high polycount models from ZBrush, allowing you to export them to your other 3D software packages.

Sculpt your model with ZBrush, add all your small details and push your artistic skills, then optimize your ZTool. Export it to your favorite 3D package which will now be able to open your sculpting to create specific textures like Normal Maps or Ambient Apoplexy maps by baking the high resolution mesh data on a low resolution mesh.

Some other use is to export your model for a Rapid Prototyping process (3D press) and bring your virtual art to a real object but too displaying your model in a real-time viewer such every bit PDF 3D. The possibilities are infinite!

Main features

• • Loftier quality optimization with accuracy details.
  • Two different optimizations for a better control of the result.
  • Optimization based on the polypainting information
  • Back up of Masks for details protection.
  • Border protections.
  • Support of the symmetry and fractional symmetry.
  • Optimization of your UVs for exporting models for 3D Colour printing
  • Presets for single click pre-process and decimation

Extras

• • Consign all SubTool as one OBJ file
  • Clone all SubTools

Important!

Decimation Master is automatically installed with the default installation of ZBrush. To install Decimation Principal run the full ZBrush installer once again.

The same model with 3 dissimilar qualities of decimation. The loss of details starts to be visible at
250,000 vertices.

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Decimation Master in 3 Steps!

Using this plugin is very easy and tin can be done by but clicking on three buttons!
Load a ZTool to optimize, similar the Demo Soldier and in the ZPlugin palette, open the Decimation Master carte. Let's start!

1. Set whatsoever desired options.

2. If you take 1 SubTool, press the "Preprocess electric current" push to launch the optimization computing. If you desire to optimize all visible SubTools at once, press the "Preprocess all" button.

3. When information technology'southward done, cull a quality and printing "Decimate" or "Decimate all", de­pending of the previous step.

It'due south done!

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Preparing the Model

Before decimating your ZTool, you lot can set up your model using the ZBrush fea­tures described beneath. This will change the decimation's outcome.

Symmetry

The plugin supports your ZTool's default symmetry. If you want a symmetric deci­mated result, and so ascertain the model'south symmetry plane by using Transform >> Activate Symmetry to choose the desired axis.

The vertices on the symmetry plane will be decimated like other vertices and won't be frozen, to improve the decimation vertex count.

Fractional Symmetry is supported and the Plugin will try to keep the decimation equally sym­metrical as possible similar shown by the orangish arrow on the film beneath.

Important!

Note:
If you lot define a symmetry airplane which does not match the model's symmetry, the decimation process can have more time because the internal process will check for a symmetry plane which doesn't be. The outcome volition be an asymmetrical decimation, merely not a failure in the result.

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Masking

If you want to locally reduce the decimation on your model, you lot can use Masks. Information technology's a skilful solution to protect specific areas of your mesh if you desire to keep the maximum quality of your details.

You can too change the intensity of the Mask to partially protect an expanse.

On the top, the ZTool with some parts which have been Masked – the right Mask is at 100%, the others at 58% of intensity. On the eye, the result of the decimation with the Masks. on the bot­tom, the same decimation without the Masks.

Important!

Note:
Decimating a model with or without a Mask will consequence in the same polygon count. Masking simply provides a elementary way to control the density of the decimated model'due south polygons in specific parts of the model.

SubTools

The plugin tin piece of work on the ZTool and its SubTools. You can decimate the current SubTool or all visible SubTools.
However, working on all SubTools at once for the decima­tion process means that the same quality value will be applied to all SubTools.

Sometimes, depending on the visual aspect and the details of a model, it's better to work on each SubTool individually subsequently Pre-processing (see below) and apply different quality settings to each. You can and then recombine the new models together using the Tool >> SubTool >> Append feature.

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The Decimation procedure

The decimation process is quite easy, just it needs to be done in 3 carve up steps. The commencement step (setting the options) is optional depending on your needs. The sec­ond and third steps work together and are required.

The Decimation Main sub-palette with its options

1. Setting the options

This is the first step in which you can choose some options:

Freeze Borders

This pick avoids the decimation of edges and vertices which are on the border / opening of an object. If your model to decimate is part of an associates, you will be able to weld them perfectly later the decimation procedure.

Keep UV's

This option will use the existing UV's of your original model and will pre-process them for a future decimation. The UV's will exist optimizing the same way equally the vertices. Just because of the UV's seams, the optimization will exist less important on UV'due south seams. The decimation of the UV'due south volition give better results on hand unwrapped UV'due south than AUV or GUV tiles.

Of import!

Note:
If yous don't demand the UV's on your decimated model, don't pre-procedure them. The computing of the UVs requires l% more memory than the same decimation without the UV's.

Polypaint Weight

This slider uses the polypaint to adjust the quality of a decimation. The default value fits most needs in terms of quality, simply if you lot want to have a specific optimization depend­ing of one or the other criteria, alter this slider setting.

Proceed & Use PolyPainting

This preference will practice a specific optimization to take in consideration the PolyPaint­ing of your ZTool to have the all-time result after the decimation. The quality of decimation will be based on your polypainting which tin be adapted in the Decimation Main Pref­erences.

Of import!

Note:  The "Keep & utilise PolyPainting" option will increase the pre-processing fourth dimension.

ii. Pre-processing

This is the 2d footstep. Internally, the plugin will compute the decimation for 100% quality to 0% quality and will create a series of temporary files (named "Progressive mesh"). Then in the decimation step that follows, the plugin will read this progressive mesh to apply the decimation effect. This pre-procedure computing time depends on your current ZTool and its polygon / Active points count.

When clicking "Pre-process Current" or "Pre-process All", a progress bar volition announced with information virtually the preprocess' status.

Each SubTool must have a unique name to be processed. If you have several SubTools with the same name, rename them kickoff.

If you launch a new pre-process on a decimated model, the current quality will be­come the original model for the future decimations.

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3. Decimating

This is the 3rd step. Cull the quality of the decimation to apply. 100% ways no decimation, 0.01% means maximum decimation.

Yous can also choose a target value for the number of vertices/points or polygons, in thousands of polygons.

When y'all accept chosen the quality, click on "Decimate Current" to decimate the se­lected ZTool/SubTool, or "Decimate All" for all the visible SubTools.

• For high quality decimation (40%-100%), the visual result will be nearly the same as the original model even with so many polygons removed. You may demand to scale your model to run into the modification.
• For low quality decimation (2%-40%), you will start to encounter noticeable changes in the model's details. This will vary from model to model depending on its details and structure. You can also choose to display the wireframe to better see the changes on your ZTool. Do this by clicking the "Frame" pick in ZBrush.

Beneath is a comparison between an original file and several decimation quality set­tings. You will notice that the visual quality is still very good at 2% decimation and starts to decrease at one%. Y'all may need to look very closely at this image to see the deviation!

Notes:
The decimation is applied based on the ZTool and its parameters equally they existed when doing the pre-process. If you remove a subdivision level, add a mask, etc. after launching the pre-pro­cess, the decimation won't accept these changes into consideration.

A short delay can happen between the time you click on the "Decimate" push button and the result, based upon the corporeality of information to read from the hard bulldoze. A progress bar will appear with information about the decimation's status.
Decimate All can accept some time depending of the number of SubTools

From top left to bottom right, the original file, the aforementioned model decimated at ten%, ii% and 1%

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Presets

The presets options

The preset buttons requite the option to pre-process and decimate your model with a single-click. Choose from the different buttons or set a custom value in the slider earlier pressing the Custom push. The Custom setting is saved between ZBrush sessions.

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Utilities

This prepare of utilities will help you when working with the decimation:

The different utilities.

Delete caches

This button deletes all the temporary files (progressive meshes). This activeness can't exist undone. Please read the "Temporary files" section of this document.

Export All SubTools

This button volition export the current ZTool and its SubTools to one unique OBJ file. Used in place of ZBrush'due south single OBJ file export, this utility will export only the geometry and the UV's, with a single group for each SubTool. No polygroups are exported.

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Temporary files

The Decimation plugin uses temporary files for two purposes:

• • The first purpose is to reduce the amount of memory overhead, thus increasing the number of polygons that can be handled by this decimation process.
  • The second reason is to let yous reload a previously pre-processed ZTool and decimate information technology direct, without the need for another time consuming pre-process phase.

If you lot don't need to decimate a ZTool anymore yous can choose to delete these tem­porary files by pressing the "Delete Caches" push in the utilities section.

Important!

Note: These files can become quite large on very high polygon meshes. ZBrush won't automatically delete these files when quitting, and so don't forget to delete them from fourth dimension to fourth dimension.

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Preferences

Some parameters of Decimation Master accept been moved in the Preferences pal­ette. This makes the default behaviors easier to understand. Alter these settings only if yous have very specific needs.

Uniform Mesh

This choice keeps a constant aspect to the decimated polygons by creating a kind of compatible decimation divers by areas, similar low details and high details. Activating this option tin slightly change the result of your decimation.

On the left, the original model. On the center, the default style. On the right, the Uniform Mesh mode.

Number of Threads

This slider lets you choose how many threads you desire to apply, based on your com­puter's processor. The Decimation Master plugin is multithreaded, and it will utilize your reckoner's resource as much as possible to improve the computing time. Reducing this number will increment the pre-process time but will allow y'all to work on other tasks at the same time.

Delete caches at first

This pick lets you definie the behavior of the plugin regarding the temporary files in its information cache. (Explained in an before section.) These files can accept a lot of disk space if you never make clean them. This choice when activated will erase all the temporary files on ZBrush Startup. If you lot would like to decimate a ZTool or Subtool(south) in multiple sessions without having to pre-procedure again uncheck this setting.

Relieve Preferences

Click on this button to shop the plugin preferences. Using the ZBrush default "Store Config" function won't relieve the Decimation Primary plugin preferences.

64-chip Decimator

This preference is activated by default when ZBrush is running on a 64 bit organization. And so when in action, Decimation Master will use all the memory available for the pre process which is very useful when decimating a model and keeping its UVs.

Notes: The Decimation Main preferences are not bound to ZBrush ones. You lot don't need to do a Store Config to save them. They are automatically saved in the DecimationMaster.cfg file, located in the DecimationMaster Information folder.

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Troubleshooting

• • Polygroups are non optimized. The resulting model won't have the original poly­groups. This is considering a model'southward polygroups are dependent upon the points of its everyman resolution level. Decimation Master'due south very purpose is to change the everyman resolution of the mesh, which will of course affect the polygroups.
  • If the model has been edited between the pre-process and the decimation, yous must re-launch a pre-process. If not, the decimation will be based on the original model. In case you are not sure, practise a new pre-process.
  • If a model has been pre-processed in a previous ZBrush session and y'all load in a new session a different ZTool with the aforementioned name (for example: PM3D_sphere) it is necessary to practice a new pre-process or any decimation will be based on the previous ZTool.
  • After you optimize, if ZBrush is displaying a different SubTool from the one you just processed it's because these SubTools have the aforementioned name. To solve this trouble, rename the SubTools and pre-procedure them again. Another solution is to delete the caches past clicking the plugin's Utilities >> Delete Caches button.
  • If yous decide to impale the Decimation Principal process in your operating arrangement's procedure manager, ZBrush won't be affected. However, the ZScript which is working with the plugin volition continue to run and go on the focus over the ap­plication. To stop the ZScript, printing the ESC key. You may have a remaining progress bar which is but an artifact of the procedure you simply killed.

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Source: http://docs.pixologic.com/user-guide/zbrush-plugins/decimation-master/

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