Sculpt with ZBrush

The world of visual effects has been revolutionised by tools like ZBrush. Far more accessible than the first generation of modelling software, this organic sculpting package enables artists with limited technical expertise to turn their designs into 3D models, bridging the gap between concept art and final digital product.

As an art director or production designer, ZBrush’s ability to rapidly modify an existing model, alter the proportions of a character, or automatically generate the missing half of a symmetrical form, are all great assets. And as a modeller, having the power to create a digital sculpture that captures the essence of your 2D design ensures that your role within a company never gets classified as a mere ‘button pusher’.

In this tutorial, I’ll explore the process I use for creating a digital maquette from a design sketch. I’ll use both ZBrush and Maya, but you can use your preferred 3D application. The interplay between ZBrush and a poly modelling package is crucial to my workflow. Although this tutorial will present the process as a linear one, in practice, it’s often iterative – starting with a sketch, moving on to a 3D sculpt and back to a sketch.

Throughout the tutorial, I will explore many of the artistic decisions I make during the course of character development. Sculpting organic forms relies so heavily on artistic skill that it would be almost impossible to provide a complete step-by-step walkthrough, but this article will at least illustrate the techniques I use. I have provided supporting ZBrush ZTL files showing the model at different stages of completion for you to explore for yourselves. For the sake of brevity, I’ve simplified the props accompanying the character, and limited the model to his head, torso and hands.

Although ZBrush has quickly gained fame for its ability to add almost infinite levels of detail to a model, unless that detail is applied to a solid foundation, your characters will never appear truly lifelike. In this tutorial, I’ll be exploring issues of good practice in anatomical modelling, ensuring that your finished sculpture radiates both life and character. Now throw out your 3D scanner and let’s get started!

Click here to download the tutorial files (~50MB)

Get the ZBrush 2 demo and plugins here.