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I've been using the bas-relief function in ZB since it came out. The settings adjust the fine detail and draft angles of the relief, but they don't change the underlying structure. I use depth maps a lot too, but only from my own relief sculptures. Neither ZB or Relief Maker creates 'proper' relief, but they can be handy. RM has the edge though, defintely.

I think I understand what you mean. There's no reason why you couldn't apply reliefs to the sides of a cube in the way you describe. The only issue might be that as each individual model is very high poly, you might end up with an unwieldy project. There's several ways to mitigate that, though.

@@mattbonaccorsi Is there any tutorial out there that shows how to take an already made object and cut it in pieces, so that you obtain as many new parts as you want out of it? Is there an existing function in ZBrush (cut?) or this is what you meant by "mitigate" (use other procedures to obtain the same effect)? Thank you thank you!

You can try Blender, which is free and has sculpting tools, or SculptGL, which is perhaps a bit easier to learn. It's also free.

@@mattbonaccorsiDo you happen to know if currently Blender has this "Project BasRelief" facility/tool to take in a 3D scene/model and make it into a basrelief? Or is there any similar procedure that one can apply in Blender to achieve this, even in multiple steps?

@@straightlevel.cruising2644 I think it's only ZB that has this feature, but there are workarounds. You can use Blenders depth and mist render passes to make a relief map that you then edit in a graphics package (if need be) and use as a displacement map to create your relief. It's convoluted, but it works.

Hi, I can't really help you with that one. I don't work with normal maps at all. I sculpt for CNC, so all the detail stays on a high poly model. I don't make low poly versions. I would take a look on the ZBrush forums. There's probably information already on that topic.

@@mattbonaccorsi thanks

Once you've completed the relief sculpture, there's several ways you can remove the background. When I'm working straight from reference artwork (rather than playing with the project releif function), I tend to mask off my working silhouette first, then sculpt within it. This means I can use deformation to add a slight platform to the model, which is necessary for coin dies, then create polygrouyps from masked, and delete the background area.

Hi Paul, I agree with you, but I think designers and artists will have to change their definition of what creativity looks like. I spent much of last year teaching on a graphic design degree, and ai is definitely a threat to 'decorative' design. I spent a lot of time teaching my students to leverage their conceptual skills in terms of symbolism, satire, inference etc. It's the human connection stuff that AI can't do. Regarding the plate. It's one I made myself so isn't in the zb defaults. I wanted something with no back mesh, and a particular separation between the resolution of each subdivision. I'll upload it to my site and post a link if that's helpful.

@@mattbonaccorsi wheres the link lol

@@user-oe1vb2jd9u Apologies - I forgot! Just added it to the video description.

@@mattbonaccorsi thats amazing! thank you i still have a long learning curve for zbrush but i'm having a good start

Sorry for the delayed reply. I have many plans for tutorials, but life and work keep getting in the way! If you're interested, I'll put together some vids about 'proper' bas-relief sculpting...

Sorry - I missed this comment. Notifications weren't switched on! Are you looking for help just on using the ZB bas-relief tool, or are you talking about coins in more general terms? Sculpting bas-relief from scratch is quite involved....

@@mattbonaccorsi just the bas relief won't work. It doesn't apply a relief, just outs the model onto the coin blank. But yeah coins in general would be great. I'm trying to make some to CNC machine for my D&D group.

@@jamieskunk Could you drop me a screenshot of the result you get? It's easier to see where the problem might lie. Have you got any designs for your d&d coins? It might be easier to do a walkthrough with one of them.

@@mattbonaccorsi ill try get a SC over tomorrow. One side was a bust. I was going to use one of Franz Karfka as it's linked in to the sessions and on the otherside like a D20 or depending on size of the coins add a few different dice types. I dod the brush capture thing but when I press and drag on the surface it just adds the bust/model. I practised with a free bust model of a random roman woman before buying the kafka model.

@@jamieskunk The bas-relief projection tool isn't click/drag so it sounds like you're using a different function. If you got 2 subtools - a flat plane as a background (with a decent level of polygons), and your bust aligned in front, you just have to select the plane and then hit the 'project relief' button. The relief projection settings and button are located on your tools panel on the right side of the screen...

I use a flat plane with 3 subdivision levels. 500k, 2.2 mill, and 8 mill polygons. I do most of the detail work in the second layer, and use the top layer only for very fine lines or for polishing surfaces.

Yes, so it's still not a perfect bas relief, as it doesn't know to cheat. It's good at analysing the 3D model and pressing it flat in a sympathetic way, but that's all.

@@mattbonaccorsi its still looks off to me that the left knee of the girl with the sword has such a high depth.

but there is also a new option on the left side for bas relief producing a relief you can drag around, maybe this would work better in this case

One off Pixologic's reveal videos showed an option to automatically mask off the projected relief. You could use the mask to clip the relief from your background. I'll try and find the vid again...

@@mattbonaccorsi thank you

I have a template mesh that I tend to use - it has 3 subdivisions, with 3 million+ish) polys. I only use the highest sub for things like this, so I get the highest detail. I do most of my work in the middle sub. As everything goes straight to CNC, the topology doesn't really matter as long as it's reasonably uniform and dense. My biggest issue with the relief projection is the high jagged set edge, but that might just need some playing around with settings.

​@@mattbonaccorsi I know this video is old, so I'm hoping you still read this, but when you say you send this to CNC, do you send them an OBJ or do you convert this to a CAD file somehow? I'm really interested in machining sculpts and so far I've only found that I would have to do a base model in Fusion, export it as an OBJ, bring it into ZBrush, then sculpt, bring it back to Fusion and do a conversion there. Maintaining quads all the way through is very important from what I see. I'm just wondering if there's a quicker/easier way to get a STEP file for machining directly from ZBrush. Also, if you can directly mask the relief, have a look at this video for some tips about smoothing out the edging that it produces - czcams.com/video/RByXIvjcS7U/video.html

@@CRyanBurg I usually export an obj or stl file that gets imported into a package called Carveco (it was previously known as Artcam). Most relief CNC machiners and mints use this software as it's designed very much around producing 2.5d products. I think that the issue you're going to run into is trying to get STEP files out of a polygon mesh. There are 2 basic approaches to 3D modelling - polygon and NURBS. Polygon modelling creates a 'net' of triangles (or quads) that is distorted into the required shape. The more dense the net, the more detail you can achieve. NURBS modelling uses a mathematical approach to simulate 3D shapes rather than a 'net'. Think of the difference between a jpeg and a vector graphic. The advantage of NURBS is that you can be very specific and accurate with measurements as the model will not lose integrity when scaled. The downside is that it's not very good for organic sculpture. Polygon modelling is great for organic sculpture, but lacks accuracy due to the high number of polygons needed for close measurement. Converting a polygon model to a NURBS is tricky. There are methods of translating Polys to NURBS, but they usually involve converting each polygon in a model to individual NURB triangles, which makes a huge, unwieldy file. The only software I know of that works well across both processes is Rhino, which is used by a lot of jewellers as they need a blend of sculptural freedom and engineering accuracy. If you're having success importing obj files into Fusion, then the simplest process is to do all your modelling in ZB, and then just export the final file, rather than jump back and forth. Of course, it depends on what kind of sculpts you're making....

@@mattbonaccorsi Thanks for the quick response. I'll definitely check out the Carveco software. Sounds like what I might need for doing coins. As for the other stuff, I'm aware of the difference between the types of modelling and each others shortcomings. I do most of my poly modelling in Blender and jump in ZBrush for details and such forth and then project those back onto different models/maps depending on the need case. Down the road I might have to created STEP files that have a ton of details like engravings and fancy embossing. This video has given me an idea of how to get sculpt details into STEP files by using the Project tool in ZBrush to project on to a subdived quad mesh that is exported from Fusion - czcams.com/video/eQ7QgAyTOOw/video.html. It seems like it takes some time, so perhaps the models will need to be broken up into smaller parts and then rejoined somehow for machining.

@@CRyanBurg It would be helpful to get some idea of what you're trying to make. You mention making coins, and that's what I spend 90% of my time doing. I wouldn't consider using a NURBS package to sculpt anything up other than lettering and rim profiles (tbh, I do most of my lettering in Blender). I've used Blender to convert textures to mesh before. It's useful in the right context, but easier in ZB because you can really boost the poly count to get the detail, then decimate it back before exporting so that it doesn't take an age to process. I model at about 3 million polys in ZB, and then decimate to about 700k before I export. Keeps the detail but loses the file size...

Can you post an image of your result? I'm interested to see what you're trying to do.

​@@mattbonaccorsi It only makes shallow reliefs.....if i make z-depth more, the result is not acceptable.

@@cnu73 I see. I like the shallower effect as it works better for coinage, but I can understand your issue...

Thanks for that comment - much appreciated! Almost back to normal now, although my sense of smell is still 'lacking'.

What settings are you using within the 'project relief' box? I've found that the quality of the projected relief depends on tweaking the settings, but more importantly on the resolution of the projected mesh, AND the plane onto which you are projecting. I project onto a base mesh of 3 million polygons, and it works pretty well.

@@mattbonaccorsi repeat count - 1000 contrast 1 , tolerence - 0 radius- 0 , then used Adjustlast slider ............

@@mattbonaccorsi Base mesh about 1 million poly

@@mattbonaccorsi the issue is, grabdoc gives good results at higher z-depth and this new bas-relief is only to make very shallow models, i.e. 100:1 ratio

True, I've done that in the past too, but as it only takes me 3 hours to create a sculpt, the time saved by using alpha isn't worth the loss of quality.

Thank you! I work mainly for collectible coinage, so the most common size is a 38mm diameter, with a maximum of 0.35mm relief. The designs are usually CNC/laser engraved as dies (3d printing doesn't capture the detail) for striking. As the products are struck, there can't be any undercuts on the model.

@@mattbonaccorsi Very cool! Is there any kind of post processing like polishing involved? I am wondering if such small detail and survive any kind of finishing work.

@@ikbo Traditionally, the engraved die would be hand finished to replace any fine detail lost 8n the process (I originally trained as a hand engraver and die sinker), but modern CNC and laser machines are so good at maintaining detail that it's not really necessary anymore. Some of the smallest coins I've worked on have relief scales of around 0.08mm, and its still visible on the struck coin. A lot of that is down to sculpting so that light bounces off the model in the right way and highlights the detail.

I use mainly 'clay tubes constant' for doing the bulk, then 'hpolish', 'planar' for smoothing out the planes, and 'damstandard' for detail. I have several damstandard tools with different alphas, based on hand engraving tools that I used to use.

Hi Richard, Scan came from the customer. It wasn't actually that good, which was the reason for the video in the first place. I'm not sure if it was laser or contact scanned, but in my experience, the best scans usually come from contact probes such as made by Renishaw Renishaw.com). In cases such as this one, I usually remake any lettering/ geometric features from scratch.

The video shows you how to reorganise the polygons so that you can sculpt in detail. This process will not sharpen the detail for you. You can sculpt on the portrait to add detail, but to make the letters sharp, you must create new ones.

@@mattbonaccorsi can you guide me how make new letter and how to set same position position of stl file

@@sonuverma2796 Sir, we have had this discussion. To guide you in making new letters, I will also have to train you to use the correct software. This would take to much time, and be very expensive. My advice is to obtain a copy of Inkscape and Blender (both are free). There are many tutorials online so you can become familiar with these programs. When you understand how to use the software, then it will be easier to explain how to make new letters.

Sir can you make video for me letters designing and set letters actual position

@@sonuverma2796 Please understand. I cannot create a video of this for free, as it will take a long time to make. The process cannot be done in ZBrush alone. You will need 2 more programs to do it. I cannot show you the process if you do not know how to use the programs. Please trust me - this is my business. I create replicas and new coins every day.

Hi Sonu, I'm sorry. Posting that video would show my sculpting process and methods. If you have specific questions, I am happy to answer.

@@mattbonaccorsi sir I am engraver so I have many STL designing , but their details not sharpned , like portrait hairs details not sharpned , and letters boundaries not sharpned ,so how to given sharpness in STL file . please guide me

@@sonuverma2796 The sharpness comes from the sculpting. It is difficult to advise without seeing an example of the problem. If your STL files do not have sharp detail, they may be too low in resolution, or the original sculpture may not have enough detail. Are you able to send me a sample stl file?

Sir please give me your email address I sent my STL file

@@sonuverma2796 You can send it to info@mavericknumismatics.com

Hi Luis, apologies for my delay in replying! I would be happy to advise prices and give you more information. Please email me at info@mavericknumismatics.com and give me an idea of what you might be looking for, so I can advise you correctly. Kind regards, Matt

It makes you feel sorry for Owen.