3D Toolkit - ZBrush Navigation, Polymesh and Primitive Subtools (30/09/2024)

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In this lesson, we were introduced to ZBrush. The interface itself looked incredibly confusing and all over the place which I found quite intimidating so I decided to make notes on it that I can use for the future.


Notes on Interface


  • To get rid of the lightbox press ,
  • ZBrush saves models as tools and you can have multiple tools in a project
  • You can import your own textures, must be JPEG images
  • Can import Alphas, must be psd
  • Alpha uses black and white maps to create textures and transparencies. They are 2D black and white images
  • You don't need to change the drop down menu's
  • On the left is the tray that shows if alphas or textures are on and off. This is more for texture painting.
  • On the right, is perspective, zoom and frame as well as the tool tray. 
IMPORTANT

To create a simple object such as a sphere or cyclinder, click on simplebrush in the tool tray. This loads the object in 2D mode not sculpting mode which doesn't allow navigation.

Make sure you click on edit mode at the top so you can sculpt the sphere.


Holding ctrl over something will give u a more in depth explanation of what is does.


I attempted to navigate Zbrush's interface and created a sphere and used the clay sculpting brush to create the lumps.


Camera Movement

Alt click allows you to move the camera around.

Hold alt then hold down right click then let go of alt to zoom in/out. 


Masking

Basically works like the select tool in photoshop, It allows you to block out an area that won't be edited when you're sculpting something close to it.


Shortcuts

  • Edit - T
  • Space - Menu (similar to maya's menu)
  • Alt - Pushes sculpt in
  • Shift - Smooth 
  • B, S, T - Standard Brush
  • B, M, V - Move
  • B, P, I - Pinch
  • Ctrl - Paints Mask
  • Ctrl, Alt - Removes Mask
  • Hold Ctrl, Left Click - Inverts mask
  • Hold Ctrl, Click + Drag (In space next to object) - Turns masking off

Sculpting a Human Skull

In lesson, we were tasked with creating a the top half of the human skull using a reference. I decided to use this orthographic model of a skull. (WIP finishing at home)

Reference:

Skull Study (Synthesys, 2015)


Attempt:

Front

Back

Left

Right

At first, I was quite intimidated by ZBrush. The ui looked scary but after learning about it, I found it wasn't as bad as I initially thought. The notes I made really helped me with this task and it also helped me familiarise with the shortcuts. I had some trouble navigating around the skull as the camera movements in ZBrush are quite odd. I got better at it the more I spent on the model. I used the move, smooth and clay buildup brushes to model my skull. To create the nose, eyes and sides of the skull I used the masks and alt key to push it in slightly. I tried to roughly model out the existence of teeth by changing the brush size and using the alt key and smooth brush to create the shape. Overall, I know that the skull isn't accurate as the back should be more circular and not look like its caved in. The nose is also a little off but I'm quite proud of this attempt. I found this very fun and it's really help me motivate myself for this project.


Reference List

Synthesys, 2015. Skull Study [Digital Sculpt]. DeviantArt. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/synthesys/art/Skull-Study-534185878 [Accessed 30 September 2024].




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