ZBrush Tip: ZBrush BPR Pass Workflow — Depth, Mask, and Color ID for Flexible Compositing

Leverage ZBrush’s BPR render passes—Depth, Mask, and color IDs—to keep your look-dev flexible and your finals art-directable in any compositor. If you’re upgrading or building a pipeline, check out ZBrush options at NOVEDGE.

• Why use passes?
  • Non-destructive finishing: color grade, relight accents, and add DOF without re-rendering.
  • Client changes become quick layer tweaks, not new sculpts or renders.
  • Standardizes delivery for Photoshop, After Effects, Nuke, and Fusion.

Setup checklist

• Frame the shot: enable Perspective and set Focal Length (Draw > Camera) before BPR.
• Set final Document size to avoid rescaling artifacts (Document > Width/Height > Resize).
• Enable only what you need in Render > Render Properties (e.g., AO/Shadow/SSS) to keep passes clean.
• Run BPR, then open Render > BPR RenderPass to export each pass.

Depth pass (ZDepth) essentials

• Use it for post Depth of Field, atmospheric fog, and depth-based grading.
• Export at 16-bit (TIFF/PSD) to prevent banding; many compositors expect to invert the map—test and invert if needed.
• Lens affects scale: longer focal lengths compress depth; match this in comp for realistic DOF.
• Photoshop: place Depth in a channel, use Lens Blur with the channel as source. After Effects: apply Camera Lens Blur with the Depth layer as Luma Map.

Mask pass (clean silhouette)

• Exports an anti-aliased matte of your model against the background.
• Use to isolate the character for grading, glows, or to composite over plates.
• In Photoshop, load as Selection from channel; in Nuke/Fusion, use as a matte input for Merge/Grade nodes.

Color ID pass (object/material mattes)

• Create fast, precise selections without edge hunting.
• Workflow:
  • Assign IDs: Tool > Polypaint > Polypaint from Polygroups (or paint flat colors per SubTool).
  • Select the Flat Color material; disable AO/Shadow/SSS so color stays pure.
  • BPR and save the Shaded pass—this becomes your Color ID map.
  • In comp: use Color Range/Keyer to isolate any part cleanly.
• Tip: keep a consistent color palette across shots to reuse selection presets.

Production tips

• Lock your camera to prevent pass misalignment (Draw > Camera > Store/Load or ZAppLink Properties > Cust views).
• Name outputs with pass suffixes (char_v03_beauty.tif, char_v03_depth.tif, etc.) for pipeline clarity.
• If you need multiple ID sets (materials vs. parts), render additional Flat Color passes with alternate color assignments.
• Combine Depth with subtle AO and Shadow passes to add believable contact and volume without crushing midtones.

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