Sculpting in ZBrush Made Simple

Sculpting in ZBrush Made Simple

by Lukas Kutschera
Released March 2024
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781803235769

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Book description

Written by 'House of the Dragon' sculptor Lukas Kutschera, jumpstart your sculpting career and learn from the industry's most effective modeling and sculpting tools to create AAA-quality characters, props, and lifelike portraits

Key Features

  • Shine in a professional environment with three practical projects and vital design and portfolio tips through this part-color guide
  • Explore organic modeling, concept sculpting, and character creation workflows
  • Discover tools and techniques employed by professionals from the games, VFX and collectibles industries
  • Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Embark on a creative journey with ZBrush, the leading software for creating characters, creatures, and props in films, games, and 3D printing. This guide will take you through its powerful yet user-friendly workflows, allowing you to explore its dynamic organic sculpting, painting, and hard-surface modeling tools.

The first part of this book is dedicated to helping you become familiar with ZBrush’s user interface and learning the very basics, from sculpting brushes and painting the model with Polypaint to setting up lights and rendering images. You’ll also create a demon bust with the help of ZBrush’s concept sculpting tool, DynaMesh. In the second part, you’ll get to grips with the creation of a humanoid character that is optimized for 3D printing. Focusing on anatomy, poly-modeling, and preparing the model for 3D printing, you’ll acquire the skills essential for sculptors. The final part delves into portrait sculpting, where you’ll learn everything from basic facial anatomy to hair creation with FiberMesh.

By the end of this book, you'll have developed the expertise necessary to succeed in the ever-evolving world of 3D character modeling, complemented by portfolio and social media tips for showcasing your standout work.

What you will learn

  • Enhance your sculpting skills to craft a variety of organic and hard surface objects
  • Create humanoid characters, focusing on basic anatomy and proportions
  • Explore sculpting techniques for intricate details in human heads and hair
  • Sculpt objects such as armor, clothing, and accessories
  • Create custom brushes to enhance your sculpting workflow
  • Develop skills in detailing and surfacing to add texture and depth to your sculpts
  • Use Polypaint and Materials to add color and enhance your sculptures
  • Render and export your sculpts to share them with others

Who this book is for

This book is for 3D artists, digital sculptors, modelers, and anyone looking to learn the ZBrush software. It's a valuable resource for professionals switching to ZBrush or looking to broaden their skill set. While prior ZBrush experience and artistic abilities will prove beneficial, they're not prerequisites to understand the content covered. The book covers common and essential ZBrush workflows, making it ideal for both beginner and intermediate artists looking to explore the extensive capabilities of ZBrush.

Table of contents

  1. Sculpting in ZBrush Made Simple
  2. Contributors
  3. About the author
  4. About the reviewers
  5. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Conventions used
    5. Get in touch
    6. Share Your Thoughts
    7. Download a free PDF copy of this book
  6. Part 1: The Adventure Begins: Sculpting in ZBrush
  7. Chapter 1: Getting Started with ZBrush
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Loading models, navigation, and creating your first sculpture
      1. Loading a starting model
      2. Navigating around your sculpture
      3. Creating your first sculpture
    3. Exploring and customizing the ZBrush UI
      1. Exploring the menus and palettes
      2. Setting some useful preferences
      3. Creating your custom ZBrush UI
    4. Understanding ZBrush file types
      1. ZTools (.ztl)
      2. ZProjects (.zpr)
      3. ZDocs (.zbr)
    5. Summary
    6. Further reading
  8. Chapter 2: Sculpting a Demon Bust with DynaMesh
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Concept sculpting with DynaMesh
      1. Understanding concept sculpting
      2. Introducing DynaMesh
    3. Sculpting a demon bust
      1. Gathering references for your sculpture
      2. Blocking out the demon
      3. Entering DynaMesh mode
      4. Using hotkeys to access brushes
      5. Sculpting tips
      6. Adding horns
      7. Adding teeth
      8. Adding eyes
      9. Fixing bad DynaMesh results
    4. Exploring character art and design principles
      1. Design principles in the demon bust sculpture
    5. Summary
  9. Chapter 3: Exploring the Gizmo, PolyGroups, and Masking
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Managing your 3D model
      1. Subtools
      2. Symmetry mode
    3. Using the Gizmo to move objects
    4. Understanding PolyGroups
    5. Using the Selection and Masking tools
      1. Selection
      2. Masking
      3. Posing a character with Masking and Gizmo tools
    6. Summary
  10. Chapter 4: Exploring Brushes and Alphas
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Learning about brushes
      1. Accessing brushes
      2. Exploring important brushes
      3. Exploring brush modes
      4. Exploring brush properties
      5. Making smoother strokes with LazyMouse
    3. Learning about Alphas
      1. Modifying your Alphas
      2. Creating our own Alpha for the demon bust
    4. Creating your own custom brushes
    5. Summary
  11. Chapter 5: Creating an Optimized Mesh Using ZRemesher and ZProject
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Creating new topology with ZRemesher
      1. Facial topology
      2. Overview of the ZRemesher settings
    3. Adding subdivision levels and transferring detail using ZProject
      1. Subdividing meshes
      2. Transferring detail between meshes with ZProject
    4. Adding detail to the demon bust
      1. Eyes
      2. Forehead
      3. Lips
      4. Horns
      5. Teeth
      6. Scar
    5. Summary
  12. Chapter 6: Texturing Your Sculpture with Materials, Polypaint, and UVs
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Exploring ZBrush’s Materials
      1. Standard Materials versus MatCap Materials
      2. Selecting and applying materials
      3. Adjusting material modifiers
      4. Saving and exporting materials
    3. Adding color to your model with Polypaint
      1. What is Polypaint?
      2. Exploring Polypaint techniques and tips
    4. Creating UVs and exporting textures
      1. What are UVs and why do they matter?
      2. Creating UVs with UV Master
      3. Exporting textures using the Multi Map Exporter plugin
    5. Summary
  13. Chapter 7: Lighting and Rendering Your Model
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Managing lights in ZBrush
      1. Adjusting the lighting in ZBrush
      2. Exploring cinematography and lighting terminology
    3. Rendering in ZBrush
      1. Preparing for rendering
      2. Creating BPR renders
    4. Creating turntable videos
    5. Summary
  14. Part 2: Creating Characters from Scratch: A Comprehensive Guide
  15. Chapter 8: Sculpting Human Anatomy
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Preparing anatomy references
      1. Gathering references
      2. Loading resources
    3. Blocking out the anatomy
      1. Starting with the skeleton
      2. Adjusting the skeleton
      3. Correcting the base mesh
    4. Refining the anatomy
      1. Useful brushes for anatomy sculpting
      2. Sculpting the upper body
      3. Sculpting the lower body
      4. Sculpting hands and feet
      5. Adding fat deposits
    5. Finalizing the sculpture’s anatomy
      1. Posing your model
      2. Adding asymmetry
      3. Working on the transitions of shapes
    6. Summary
  16. Chapter 9: Creating Costumes, Armor, and Accessories with Classic Modeling Techniques
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Creating simple costume pieces using the ZModeler brush and primitive shapes
      1. Skirt and hip cloth
      2. Straps
      3. Arm armor
      4. Metal ring
      5. Shoes
      6. Spear
      7. Shoulder armor
      8. Helmet
    3. Creating complex costume pieces using DynaMesh, IMM brushes, and kitbashing
      1. Creating shoulder armor
      2. Creating a helmet
    4. Adding detail to the costume pieces
      1. Metal
      2. Leather and fabrics
      3. Wood
    5. Summary
  17. Chapter 10: Preparing and Exporting Our Model for 3D Printing
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Creating watertight models and troubleshooting errors
      1. Using Decimation Master to reduce your meshes’ polycount
      2. Checking your mesh for holes and errors
      3. Checking the mesh volume
      4. Fixing a tool that is not watertight
    3. Merging and cutting your model
      1. Merging meshes
      2. Cutting a model
    4. Adding keys, scaling, and exporting your model
      1. Creating a key model
      2. Scaling and exporting your model
    5. Summary
  18. Part 3: Sculpting a Female Head: Tips and Techniques
  19. Chapter 11: Sculpting a Female Head
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Blocking out the head
      1. Starting points for blocking out the head
      2. Using the Head planes blocking-out method
    3. Refining the head
      1. Eyes and eyelids
      2. Nose
      3. Lips
      4. Ears
      5. Forehead
      6. Cheeks and nasolabial fold
      7. Chin and jaw
      8. Neck
      9. Adding a pose and facial expression
    4. Reviewing tips for sculpting likeness
      1. Choosing a likeness subject
      2. Finding references
      3. Sculpting a likeness
    5. Avoiding beginner sculpting mistakes
    6. Summary
  20. Chapter 12: Adding Skin Detail, Sculpting Hair, and Using FiberMesh
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Applying skin detail using NoiseMaker, brushes, and Alphas
      1. Projecting 3D scan details
      2. Applying tileable skin textures with NoiseMaker
      3. Adding detail around the eyes
      4. Detailing the forehead
      5. Adding pores to the cheeks and nasolabial folds
      6. Creating the detail of the lips
      7. Creating the skin detail of the neck
      8. Finalizing the skin detail with imperfections and surface variation
    3. Sculpting hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes with brushes
      1. Sculpting the hair with basic brushes
      2. Creating hair with an IMM Curve brush
      3. Sculpting the eyebrows
      4. Adding eyelashes
    4. Sculpting hair with FiberMesh
      1. FiberMesh modifiers
      2. Grooming FiberMesh brushes
      3. Creating a hairstyle
      4. Exporting FiberMesh as curves
    5. Summary
  21. Chapter 13: Building a Portfolio and Leveraging Social Media
    1. Picking your subjects
      1. Can it generate attention?
      2. Does it showcase key skills?
      3. Is it easy, fast, and fun to create?
    2. Presenting your artwork
      1. Picking the thumbnail
      2. Adding images
      3. Adding videos
      4. Showcasing key skills
      5. Linking your social media
    3. Sharing your art on social media
      1. ArtStation
      2. Instagram
      3. Facebook groups
      4. Additional platforms
    4. Summary
  22. Index
    1. Why subscribe?
  23. Other Books You May Enjoy
    1. Packt is searching for authors like you
    2. Share Your Thoughts
    3. Download a free PDF copy of this book

Product information

  • Title: Sculpting in ZBrush Made Simple
  • Author(s): Lukas Kutschera
  • Release date: March 2024
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781803235769