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[Evoken]

I have a snake in the forground in one layer, and a rock surface in another layer behind the snake. What would be the best way to 'soften' the snake up a little so that it looks like its sitting on the rocks.


---by softening i mean like almost blending it in so that it looks like it should be there---

[Ron Harris]

well I dunno about the Zway to do it...but maybe you could run it thru a program like paintshop or something...cut the snake out put a blur on him using one of the blur effects and repaste it back onto itself in the pic on the rock...??? hope this helps...I do this with some of my backgrounds...I am not totally experienced in this stuff..but I guess what I am learning is that it's not cheating to get the final result as much as it is being somewhat creative and using the tools at hand....but I am sure there are a gazillion other ways to do it....good luck and Merry Christmas :tu:

[aurick]

The way that I would do it would be to merge the layers when I'm done with everything else (make sure that MRGB and ZADD are both turned on in the Draw palette, first!). Then you can use things like the Blur brush to soften those edges.

Don't forget about all the other 2D brushes that ZBrush has, too! Noise, Hue Shifter, Sharpen, Shading Enhancer, etc. It's quite a tool set.

[Pixolator]

Hi :),
Here are few more items to consider…

:b3: Shadows: Activate the Shadows render mode and if needed, manually darken the area under the snake.(Next ZBrush version will have improved soft shadows)
:b3: Deformation: Soft body resting on a hard surface will be deformed to fit the underlying support structure. Slightly flatten (pinch) the part of the snake that is in contact with the rock.
:b3: Color shift: Due to pressure, soft body that is resting on a hard surface will have a slight underside discoloration due to change in pressure and blood flow. (Easily seen by pinching a finger tip)
:b3: Color bleed: manually apply some of the snake colors to the rock surface under the snake. (Next ZBrush version will allow color bleed to be automatically rendered)
:b3: Consistent lighting: Both objects should be rendered under the same lighting condition. (If both objects have been rendered in ZBrush then this will automatically be the case.)
:b3: There are more items to consider but in most cases, the above items will suffice. And don’t underestimate the power of shadows, in many cases; they alone can do the trick.

Hope this helps :)
-Pixolator