How to use A23D PBR Textures in ZBrush

This guide explains how to use A23D PBR textures inside ZBrush for color reference, projection painting, sculpt displacement, and Redshift material previews.

Support note: ZBrush's sculpting workflow is not a traditional texture-set material editor. Use baked color/height maps for sculpting and projection. Use Redshift materials in ZBrush when you need PBR parameters such as roughness and metalness inside ZBrush itself.

1. Download the Texture Set

  1. Sign in to your A23D account.
  2. Browse to the texture you want to use.
  3. In the Software dropdown on the asset page, select ZBrush. A23D automatically delivers the texture set in the format best suited to ZBrush (PNG maps) - no manual format selection required.
  4. Click Download, save the .zip, and extract it to access the texture files.

2. Load the Color Map as a Texture

  1. Go to Texture > Import and select A23DTEX_Albedo.png. The texture appears in the Texture palette.
  2. With your SubTool selected, click Tool > Texture Map > Texture On.
  3. Click the texture thumbnail in Tool > Texture Map and pick the imported A23D color map.

3. Project Detail with Spotlight

  1. Load A23DTEX_Albedo.png (and optional A23DTEX_Opacity.png) via Texture > Import.
  2. Click Spotlight at the top right of the canvas to enter Spotlight mode.
  3. Drag the textures into the canvas. Use the Spotlight ring controls to scale, rotate, and adjust opacity.
  4. Press Z to toggle Spotlight off, then sculpt or PolyPaint - strokes pull color/height from the projected image.

4. Use the Height Map as Displacement

  1. Load A23DTEX_Height.png via Texture > Import.
  2. Apply it to the SubTool through Tool > Displacement Map, set Intensity, and click Apply DispMap to deform the geometry.
  3. Add subdivision levels first via Tool > Geometry > Divide for the displacement to register accurately.

5. Use Roughness and Metalness with Redshift

  1. Create or select a Redshift Material for the SubTool.
  2. Load the A23D maps into the matching Redshift material parameters:
  • A23DTEX_Albedo.png -> Base Color
  • A23DTEX_Roughness.png -> Roughness
  • A23DTEX_Metalness.png -> Metalness
  • A23DTEX_Normal.png -> Normal/Bump through the Redshift normal map control
  1. Use Redshift rendering when the final look depends on metalness, roughness, reflections, or physically based lighting. Use the Texture Map, Spotlight, and Displacement Map workflows when the goal is sculpting, projection, or geometry detail.

Additional Resources

ZBrush Documentation - Texture Map
Spotlight - ZBrush Documentation

Need some help?

Contact our team at support@a23d.co