ZBrush Tip: Baked Maps and BPR Passes for Crisp Turntables and Stills

Elevate your turntables and stills by pairing clean bake maps with ZBrush BPR passes, then compositing for a crisp, controllable final presentation.

Prep the mesh

• Finalize forms at the highest subdivision; keep a clean lower SubDiv for map generation.
• Generate UVs (Zplugin > UV Master). Enable Symmetry and Use Existing Seams if you have partial work.
• Name SubTools clearly; these names carry into exported maps and BPR passes.

Multi Map Exporter (Zplugin > Multi Map Exporter)

• Displacement:
  • Enable Displacement, set 32-bit, Adaptive, Smooth UV (if the target renderer smooths UVs).
  • DPSubPix 1–2 for sharper capture; export EXR or 32-bit TIFF.
  • Record Mid (0.5 default) and Scale for consistent render intensity downstream.
• Normal:
  • Enable Normal, Tangent space, Smooth UV; pick OpenGL or DirectX (Flip G as needed by your DCC/engine).
  • 8–16 bit TIF/PNG is typical; maintain 2K–8K depending on asset scale.
• AO and Cavity:
  • Enable Ambient Occlusion and Cavity for broad and micro shadowing. Keep rays moderate (32–64) to control bake time.
  • Export AO as 16-bit for smoother gradation; Cavity can stay 8-bit.
• ID/Color:
  • Polypaint flat colors per material ID (Tool > Polygroups to assist), then export Texture from Polypaint.
• Global options: Use Flip V for most external apps; set Map Size Per SubTool for consistent resolution.

BPR setup (Render > BPR)

• Tune Shadows and AO: Increase Rays and Angle moderately; use VDepth 2–4 for softer AO falloff.
• Materials: One strong base material (e.g., SkinShade4/Basic), add a second pass with a specular-friendly MatCap if needed.
• Render > BPR RenderPass: Export Shaded, Shadows, AO, SSS, Specular, Mask, and Depth (ZDepth).
• Optional: LightCap for quick HDR-style lighting; BPR Filters for gentle sharpen/bloom—avoid overdoing in-render effects if you plan to composite.

Compositing quick recipe

• Base: Shaded.
• AO: Multiply, 30–60% opacity; avoid double‑occlusion if you’ll also use baked AO on textures.
• Shadows: Multiply, mask where needed to control grounding.
• Specular: Screen/Add, levels-adjust to taste.
• SSS: Screen/Soft Light, low opacity for subtlety.
• Cavity (baked): Overlay/Multiply for micro-contrast on edges and pores.
• Depth: Use as Z-Depth for DOF; blur via lens blur with accurate gamma (linear workflow recommended).
• Mask: Isolate SubTools/polygroups for per-part color correction.

Pro tips

• Keep a “maps readme” with displacement Mid and Scale for the lookdev team (or future you).
• Use 32‑bit displacement for hero shots; 16‑bit may band on closeups.
• When time is short, combine a lower‑ray BPR AO with a baked cavity to save render time while retaining perceived detail.
• Batch via SubTool Master + Multi Map Exporter for consistent naming and pass coverage.

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