Character modelling is taking my soul help!!!

[Mrkoo]

Ok so im making a basic human male for the first time and have ran into a couple of problems but first i'll outline the workflow that got me to the udk screen shot in the link. Bare in mind the sculpt and textures will be a lot better once i can get something basic working properly.

1. base mesh in max 2013
2. sculpt high in Z brush 4r4
3. Retop high in Z brush using z sphere
4. Export a decimated high poly obj and low obj
5. Unwrap low in max
6. Import decimated high on top of low in max a zero both out.
7. Create cage from low using projection modifier
8. Create normal map in max
9. Make rough diffuse save normal and diffuse as tga
10. Export low as fbx (which i have already tried with triangulate ticked and unticked) with the same result

This all led to this result when imported into udk

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1a15175b.jpg

I thought it might be my retop in zbrush as i heard the tools are a bit iffy. So i learned how to retop in 3ds max using the free form tools. But when i import the decimated high and try to zoom in to start the eye loops as i always do to zoom to a area i select a vert near the eye and press z and this is what i get ??

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/...pse51264a0.jpg

weird things have happen to the verts plus if i try and zoom even slightly i go straight through the model.

I will be eternally grateful to anyone who can help me with this as the title says its taking my soul learning this process (normal maps,Z brush etc). I feel like the workflow is close it just wont play ball .

Thanks in advance

[darthviper107]

Use Zbrush to render your normal maps, it's faster

[JessieG]

The easiest workflow I use is:

Model base mesh in 3D app with correct topology and UV map from the start and roughly the amount of polygons I want to use for the in game mesh.

Export to Zbrush, sculpt high poly.

Export lowest subdivision level from zbrush (this is the mesh I'll use in-game).

Bake normal map from highest sub division level to lowest subdivision level in zbrush and export normal map.

Touch up model in 3D app and touch up normals in photoshop and bake out any other small parts using XNormal.


Some people prefer to start with the high poly then retopo that, but I like knowing what the in game mesh will look like before sculpting so I can make decisions about seams/UV maps and sculpting methods beforehand, hence making the base mesh as close to complete as possible first.

[Adrenen]

The easiest workflow I use is:
Some people prefer to start with the high poly then retopo that, but I like knowing what the in game mesh will look like before sculpting so I can make decisions about seams/UV maps and sculpting methods beforehand, hence making the base mesh as close to complete as possible first.

Sometimes it is better to decimate from sculped one in high level as it keeps some geometry from sculped one .