Vegetation Tutorial

[aurick]

Well, you folks asked for it, so (for better or worse) here it is: The ZBrush 1.23 Green Thumb Tutorial.

It is in the form of an interactive ZScript that will draw this picture:


It's not much for art, but I've deliberately tried to use a variety of the techniques that I have employed in my images to date.

Just unzip the file's contents into your ZScripts folder. It includes a bitmap texture, which you want to leave in the same folder as the tutorial script in order for the program to run right.

Have fun, happy ZBrushing, and let me know if you find it useful!

[Kruzr]

'Morning Aurick . . .

I have just downloaded your "ZScript Tutorial". By the looks of the image, it should guide or teach several who choose to download it, quite a bit about creating vegetation in ZBrush.

Thank you much for taking the time to create a one on one, ( via ZScripts ), "How To" tutorial. I will post something as soon as I have a chance to view the ZScript, & attempt to grow something in ZBrush.

I've got a busy day today, so I won't be able to view it until later this afternoon. It's about 6:56 A.M. right now & I've got to jump in the shower, eat breakfast & hit the bricks, so I'll talk to'ya later.

You have a good one . . . Mark.

[davey]

Just outstanding!

I like the "lecturette" style of describing the techniques with [ButtonFind's first, then presenting Play buttons that enact them.

And your extensive use of the Fiber Brush is very informative; it's inspired me to try new ideas myself.

Naturally, I'm interested in the paragraph that says there's a bug in the playback software; if you can give us more information it'll help us track down the problem. Wouldn't you know, it worked fine for me.

Thanks for putting this together; I wanna see more!

dave

[jaime]

Just plain F A N T A S T I C!
Very well executed and easy to follow...
Great stuff
jaime

[aurick]

Thank you, folks! I'm glad it's useful (especially since I was up until 3:00 this morning writing the interface and dialogue -- the script took about 30 minutes to record, but another 5 hours to annotate). I'd love to see posts from people who've tried applying some of the stuff. I'm also open to comments that would help me make any future tutorials better.

Davey, the problem that I got also happened on my work computer. When it starts adding branches to the trunk, the gyros sometimes don't drag correctly. Most common is the top branch on the right side, which usually doesn't rotate to point away from the trunk. Other branches also sometimes don't quite land in the right places, but that one is the worst. Both of my computers are Windows Me machines, if that helps. Also, the Snake Hook Brush has a couple of times grabbed part of the stone when drawing the roots (which will teach me to draw trees on yet another layer, and then merge my stone and tree layers before adding the grass and doing the final merge ).

[Muvlo]

Thanks for the tutorial Aurick!
Great information.
I've been through, now to go through at lower speeds and see just how you did all that!!!
(BTW, I saw the ZScript error with the branches.)

[Digits]

I am anxious to run your script when I get home Aurick. I think it is really great that you have put so much of your personal time for the benefit of others in a true Zbrush vision using scripts. Yee Doggie!

[Zoid]

Hi Aurick,

I just got home from my vacation which was in a place with lots of rocks and moss, and of course the whole time I was thinking,how can I make this in ZBrush? Your tutorial played perfectly for me and I can really see how much time and effort you put into it. I had never used the fiberbrush before. Your explanation of the process makes it very clear and is useful for me just when I need it. I will try to post an image soon. Thanks so much

[thelonious]

Aurick,
I've just been through your script and I am bursting with excitement. I believe this could help me make that all important breakthrough.

I can't express my appreciation enough that you take so much time to use these scripts to share your knowledge. I guess the best way to show my appreciation is to get an image posted. Won't be long now.

With the new manual and all the other fantastic tutorials that everyone has posted I feel like I am drowning in knowledge. This is truly an awesome forum.

Must stop talking must start painting must stop talking must...etc.

thelonious

[Stacey]

Thank you aurick!!!! You are aces in my book

[juandel]

thank you aurick! i will grow something following your script asap (no access to my rendering machine for a few days, i’m afraid) and show my results asap. i guess it will become something like tribute-ferns but we shall see!

- juandel

[Zoid]

Ok Aurick,

I was able to add some lichens to the tops of these rocks based on your technique, but not the thick layer of moss that I was hoping for. Using the flatcolor material with the fiberbrush is definitely a good trick. Anyway, I'm off to a good start thanks to you

[aurick]

A very nice start, indeed! That lichen is a very subtle, but effective, touch. Had you baked the stone layer before starting to add the moss to it? If not, that would explain the color not coming out right. And what were your Picker settings? It should be set the same for what you're doing here as when you first start the program. For the color settings on moss, I normally use a very dark background color and a slightly lighter main color. For the Fiber Brush settings, I usually go with a density somewhere around 30, -100 gravity, 0 grooming, 15 turbulence, Back Color (so that it uses the color settings on the Color palette rather than having a base color that matches your object), and a thickness of 1. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the image as it progresses!

By the way, you did a great job with the water, too. You even remembered all the little stones on the bed. Awesome.

[Digits]

I just want to say that your script was fantastic. I learned quite a few important things and for that I thank you

[Nikko]

Aurick, I gotta thank you for such a wonderful, informative, and enjoyable Z-script. Only one branch was out of place (reversed rotational angle) when I ran the script, and it was pretty much covered up by vegetation when the script had run it's course. Very nice rocks sculpting, using the same tool in various positions made them look like they were all unique. Excellent