Book Image

Sculpting in ZBrush Made Simple

By : Lukas Kutschera
Book Image

Sculpting in ZBrush Made Simple

By: Lukas Kutschera

Overview of this book

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.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Part 1: The Adventure Begins: Sculpting in ZBrush
9
Part 2: Creating Characters from Scratch: A Comprehensive Guide
13
Part 3: Sculpting a Female Head: Tips and Techniques

Understanding PolyGroups

PolyGroups are groups of polygons that share a unique color. A PolyGroup can be selected, isolating it from the rest of the mesh (3D model) by hiding the remaining PolyGroups. This makes it easier to modify the model without affecting parts of it accidentally. It is especially helpful when working on specific parts repeatedly, as it saves time.

The division of your mesh into PolyGroups is relevant for a variety of tools and operations. Some of these will be covered in later chapters, but by far the most common use is to hide part of the mesh for a more convenient modeling or sculpting experience.

Important note

You can see the PolyGroups by pressing Shift + F or enabling Polyframe by hitting the PolyF button in the Transform palette.

The following screenshot shows how a complex armor on a 3D character is made up of many PolyGroups, allowing you to isolate parts and work on them conveniently:

Figure 3.9 – The armor is a single subtool, but multiple PolyGroups allow fast access to individual parts of the subtool for convenient editing

Figure 3.9 – The armor...