Creating Normal Maps in Substance Painter from ZBrush

Learn how to take your high resolution mesh in ZBrush and create a normal map in Substance Painter in this free tutorial by dcbittorf. I will walk you though step-by-step how to bake your high resolution detail from ZBrush into Substance Painter using the Bake Mesh Maps.
I want to be your Digital Art Mentor. I've been teaching 3D at the college level for over 15 years. I also tutor students in Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Procreate and Blender one-on-one. Please subscribe to my channel to keep up to date.
TIMECODES:
0:00 Intro
1:05 Exporting High Res Mesh to Substance Painter
4:50 Exporting Low Res Mesh to Substance Painter
5:36 Importing Mesh Into Substance Painter
6:29 Baking Normals from High Res Mesh in Substance Painter
TUTORING SERVICES:
Wyzant: is.gd/sfw3Mw
ART PORTFOLIO:
Personal: www.ArtStation.com/dcbittorf
Student's: www.artstation.com/platt
3D STORES:
Tutorials : dcbittorf.artstation.com/store
3D Assets: www.cgtrader.com/dcbittorf
FOLLOW ME:
Art Station: www.ArtStation.com/dcbittorf
Twitter: / dcbittorf
Linked In: / davidbittorf
Instagram: / dcbittorf
Sketchfab: sketchfab.com/dcbittorf
#dcbittorf #davidbittorf #artstation #ZBrush #SubstancePainter #3Dmodeling #digitalart #baking #normalmaps #tutorial #free #dcbittorf #highresolution #detail #stepbystep #process #workflow #digitalartist #art #design #creative #artwork #3Dart #CGI #gameart #film #animation #maya #blender #rendering #texturing #learning #education

[@matthagan9467]

I feel very fortunate that I had you as an instructor at Platt. You are a fantastic artist. I look forward to your future videos. Keep up the good work!

[@davidbittorf]

Thank you so much Matt! Please let me know if you ever need anything from me. You are definitely a 3D rockstar!!

[@AlexMartinez-nn2cm]

BLESS YOU!! i've had a lot of problems to get my zbrush details to transfer to substance and this worked wonders, thank you so much!

[@davidbittorf]

You're very welcome!

[@sralkerum5263]

Gracias, al fin alguien que lo explica realmente bien.

[@gabrieladarocha.digital]

Great tutorial, you are very didactic. It was clear, concise, and very helpful.Thank you!

[@davidbittorf]

Thank you so much for the feedback. Please check out www.davidbittorf.com for additional training and recourses.

[@dreambadger]

Thanks, this worked for me. Now I just need to learn how to paint :)

[@MatthewsFILMs]

Is this just a alternative way to just using the projection tools in zbrush and bringing into substance to bake out the maps. Or is this easier because I can’t tell

[@davidbittorf]

Yes it’s an alternative way. Do whatever method you prefer they provide the same results.

[@monty5047]

omg , u solved my problem with ur simple tutorial, thank u so much

[@davidbittorf]

That’s great to hear! Glad I could help. Make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already to see new weekly videos!

[@monty5047]

@@davidbittorf already subscribed bro, great learning content, please upload a pipeline workflow of simple model in Maya then sculpt in zbrush then texture in substance painter then import to maya for arnold renderer, I'm getting stuck in last section of maya the details of model is gone in Maya , when I render in arnold maya it shows me low poly model with color effect of high poly model but with no depth, i think it is the displacement map but i can't use it right now easily , I'm frustrated right now cause i did this whole pipeline proces 3 times, please help me, I'm working on my showreel

[@davidbittorf]

@@monty5047 I would suggest checking out my “workflow” playlist. A lot of the trex videos show exactly what you are asking for. I love you idea and will definitely make that in the future but swamped with work right now so it won’t be for a while.

[@davidbittorf]

Maya / Substance / ZBrush Workflow Tutorials kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKSWd3uqZ7ebpKM

[@monty5047]

@@davidbittorf thanks 😍 u so much , let me check vdo

[@SuperCoolHandle94]

I have a question, let’s say I have a mesh with pours and small details so it needs millions of poly gons right and I don’t want to reduce to resolution to be able to export the model so I keep it at a high resolution in zbrush and I just bake out the normal maps instead but the mesh has UDIMS so now I have let’s say 3 normal maps, how do I bake more then one normal map into substance painter? I know how to export multiple normal maps from substance, but how do I have multiple normals in the initial bake because I can only seem to bake with one normal map?

[@davidbittorf]

You would need to use the UDIM workflow. Please check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJqzq4pmaqete8k

[@Rowletlove]

Hello! May I ask in what order do u work for ur t-rex? Because I am pretty confused whether I should export from zbrush to maya first to UV unwrap, then create the displacement maps and export to maya, export the whole maya file in fbx to substance painter and texture, and then apply the textures in maya…

[@davidbittorf]

You want to model in Zbrush, uv map in Maya, texture in substance, normal map in substance, displacement in Zbrush, apply textures and render in Maya

[@Rowletlove]

@@davidbittorf thank you so much for replying! Sorry if I keep asking questions because I’m new to this workflow. So basically I don’t export the displacement map and apply to the model in maya at the beginning of the process while uv unwrapping?

[@davidbittorf]

@@Rowletlove No, the UV mapping needs to be finalized before a displacement map can be created. The displacement can be created as one of the last steps.

[@user-ym3br4ne3u]

Thankyou!!!

[@davidbittorf]

You are welcome! Thank you for checking out my channel!

[@soanfn]

Sos un capo man

[@davidbittorf]

Gracias!

[@shashwatkauraw8085]

Thankyou for the tutorial, When I am trying to bake my textures, after baking nothing is visible on the mesh. Any idea why it is happening? thanks

[@davidbittorf]

hmmm.. there are a lot of possibilities. Is there a way you can send me a screen recording of your process?

[@Aditya90sKZ]

1 doubt. For the high poly which is already there without the uv unwrapped and the low poly which has uv unwrap, will this method work still? Or do i have to make the low poly unwrap and go to high subdiv make the details in zbrush and then use the high mesh to bake?

[@davidbittorf]

Great question. The high poly does not need to be UV unwrapped.

[@Aditya90sKZ]

@@davidbittorf Well whatever may be the case, it did not work for me.

[@davidbittorf]

@@Aditya90sKZ Sorry to hear that. Make sure you do not move your high or low poly model. They both need to be in the exact same location for this to work properly.

[@Aditya90sKZ]

​@@davidbittorf yeah it had moved by a inch, now it worked thanks

[@studiotoolbox373]

Thank you for this video, it was really informative. I'm sorry to ask this like a student, but ZBrush is really confusing. I want to UV within ZBrush, and I can do that, but ZBrush requires that my mesh must consist of 1 subdivision level, and that's fine, I can just isolate it, but when I do some retopology, it deletes my UV map. Ontop of that, reprojecting doesn't fix it, and ontop of thaaaat: even when I am using a high poly mesh, ZBrush requires that I am on the lowest subdivision level to render a normal map, it can't have both. I don't know what the program wants. This is why I found your video so helpful, but I still can't figure out this UV issue. Any advice helps honestly. I appreciate it.

[@davidbittorf]

That is a great question. You must do things in a specific order. 1) Sculpt your Model 2) Retopologize your Model 3) UV map the Retopologized Model 4) Project your High Detail to your New Topology 5) Create Normal Map This video will show you the process: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmmYiXyaqbB0ftE Hopefully this was helpful. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@studiotoolbox373]

@@davidbittorf Sorry for the late reply. Thank you so much for putting the concept in a really nice format that I could follow along with and fix the exact problem, I seriously appreciate your help, because I couldn't find other videos on this exact process. Keep it up, you rock :)

[@davidbittorf]

@@studiotoolbox373 absolutely! Glad to hear that it helped you out! Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@Play-to-earnn]

I have a question if you can help me... I want sculpting and export normal map for my low poly to unreal ungine this is normal ? Or use decimation master !!!!

[@davidbittorf]

You want to create a normal map for your low poly in unreal. This will maintain proper edge flow. When you decimate it destroys edge flow. I suppose if it was a background element you could get away with it but that would be not be my first thought.

[@Play-to-earnn]

@@davidbittorf thank you ❤

[@ricebowl9412]

Is it possible to import a displacement map into substance from Maya? I sculpted my model in z brush, retopoed it in Maya, brought it back into z brush and exported a displacement map, brought it back into Maya and applied an Ai standard surface material and connected a displacement shader. The detail is present in the render but when I bring it into substance my texture detail is gone. Is there a way I can bring that displacement map into substance too?

[@davidbittorf]

Yes but it seems a little gimmicky. Check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXymgWmgaq9mfNk

[@godzoookie]

You prefer Substance to Marmoset for baking?

[@davidbittorf]

Haven’t baked in Marmoset, not because it’s not as good just don’t feel the need. Do you like baking in Marmoset?

[@jessicahinkins7804]

Hi, when I import my exr maps into substance the previews are completely black and the displacement doesn't show up on the model. I'm assuming that this is because all of the details are in the red channel... how do I get this working in substance?

[@davidbittorf]

Hi Jessica! I would start by opening the exr in Photoshop and looking at the channels to see if there any info on any channel. If not its an exporting issue. If it is there try resaving in Photoshop to see if that helps

[@jessicahinkins7804]

@@davidbittorf I think I got confused between commenting on which video but the topic is still similar haha kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXymgWmgaq9mfNk But yeah, I checked in nuke and all the information is stored in the red channel and I can see it when I change it to RGB, is there a setting for that in substance ?

[@davidbittorf]

@@jessicahinkins7804 No Substance is pretty basic. I would export an RGB file for substance (the map should be gray) then plug that in and it should work. Displacements in Substance are kind of gimmicky anyway so I don't really care about them too much.

[@ashimashi9011]

hi, i have a question how to export udim normal map from zbrush, i'm trying but its not fitting with model and i'm sure that something is wrong with exporting normal from zbrush ... help me please...

[@davidbittorf]

Make sure you are following the video exactly. If it is still not working it’s probably because your uvs somehow shifted. I would try reimporting from the beginning and double check the uvs

[@user-fv9gt8yf4x]

i have a question please.i have some experience in zbrush but i have a question.if i decide painting a base color on hight poly and put the texture on low poly the texture fit fine?is necessary open uv just the low poly?i ant modeling and painting on zbrush and export to practice?

[@davidbittorf]

You can paint on the high poly then transfer to the UV map. The size of the UV map will determine if how much detail is supported. Then the image from the UV map can be placed on the low poly model. BTW only the Low Poly mesh has to be UV Mapped.

[@user-fv9gt8yf4x]

then i need open uv on hight poly too to transfer to low poly or not? i thought need open uv only in low poly.or you means the base color from hight poly i transfer to uv map low poly?

[@davidbittorf]

​ If you Poly Painting is independent of the UVs

[@user-fv9gt8yf4x]

ok,but on hight poly need open uv to transfer to low?this is my doubt.

[@user-fv9gt8yf4x]

then dont mind if i painting is on the polypainting hight poly,but in hight poly need open uv?this is my doubt.

[@abdullaharshak.n7870]

My normal map is always flipes when i export to blender or substance painter. Even i used flip texture in zbrush still it doesn’t work for me

[@davidbittorf]

Thats odd. If that's the case I would not use flip texture in zbrush. To double check look at the UV map in ZBrush and look at the uv map in Blender or Substance. That way you will know if it needs to be flipped. Later if you realize you should have flipped it (or not flipped it) you can open in photoshop and flip it.

[@user-fv9gt8yf4x]

i can put the lo poly in level 2,some problem?

[@davidbittorf]

Yes, you can use level 2 as your low poly

[@nftcollectorguy1326]

Does anyone know why when I finish baking my textures the thumbnail appears with a number 1?

[@davidbittorf]

That is because Substance now allows UDIMs (More than one UV map per character). If it had 4 maps it would have a 4 on the thumbnail. If you only have 1 UV map when starting the project, uncheck UDIM workflow and the number will not appear. If you want to learn more about UDIMs check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJqzq4pmaqete8k

[@joshbecerril5083]

How do I export this to maya?

[@davidbittorf]

Sorry for the late reply. I'm not sure how I missed this... Watch this video to see how to export to Maya kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGmkhZ-wgrN2mq8

[@boitahaki]

My normal maps are ALWAYS completely messed up, I have no idea why it happens, the low poly mesh's polys appear in the normal map

[@davidbittorf]

I think the difference in your low poly and high poly are probably too extreme

[@boitahaki]

@@davidbittorf Hello, I found out what happened with the help of a friend, the issue is that the object didn't have "shade smooth" activated, something I didn't even know that was exported in the FBX... since it was shaded flat, both Blender and Substance Painter made the low poly's edges visible... thanks for the reply anyway, have a great day.

[@tomsm06]

That's great but that is unfortunatly no the same result :/

[@davidbittorf]

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Can you share a screenshot shot so I can see what went wrong?

[@tomsm06]

@@davidbittorf Oh, thank you for your answer :) I meant by that the amount of details you had on Zbrush is really different from the one you've got on Substance. On this last one it seems a bit less precised (or maybe it's because or the roughness that I haven't seen the details) 🤔

[@arghayakamalbanerjee209]

Trex is missing nostrils

[@davidbittorf]

Oops! Good call! 😳