ZBrushCentral

From a ZBrush model to a wood sculpture

Hey Guys,

I would like to share some information about a production process I have developed this year, together with a local wood carving company (3DWood). We already use this production pipeline daily now, because it has so many advantages; and ZBrush plays a major role! (how could it be otherwise :smiley: )
Iā€™m going to explain the steps with the help of two models that are available on my website: www.ben-godi.com

  1. Digital SculptingZBrush allows me to create and sculpt the model entirely on the computer; from concept to final sculpture. Iā€™m able to change things based on clientā€™s feedback quickly, with no need of making laborious changes on a clay model for instance.
    What I have to keep in mind is, that the outcome will be a physical object and in this case, an object made out of wood. As you already know for sure, wood consists of fibers that growth in a certain direction. Therefore itā€™s necessary to avoid thin parts that go across that wood grain. They break easily.
    When I work with different subtools, I always make sure that the meshes are closed and watertight surfaces and intersecting with each other. You can do that, by starting with a ZBrush primitive for your basemesh and turn it into a dynamesh. A dynamesh will always force a closed surface by closing holes automatically.

ben-godi-rabbit-02.jpg

  1. Preparing for 3D Printing

When Iā€™m done with sculpting, I make use of the ā€œdecimation masterā€ plug-in and reduce the polycount. A super-highres mesh isnā€™t necessary for printing. Most of the time I merge all subtool before I export the geometry as an STL file with the ā€œ3D Print Exporterā€ plug-in. I use Magics RP from Materialize to combine all shells to a single shell and to fix mesh errors, in case the model has any. Removing shells is necessary for giving your sculpture a wall thickness later on. You donā€™t have to use an external application for merging shells. Merge all subtools to a single subtool in ZBrush and turn the whole thing into a higres dynamesh (with the project function enabled to keep your details). By doing that, you can get rid of the polygons at the inside of your model. In Magics RP I define a wall-thickness and perforate the sculpture, so the dispensable powder can be removed after printing.

ben-godi-magics.jpg

  1. Prototype and Production printing

For production on the pantograph (see point 4 below) you need to work on a reference model that is at least twice as big as the final wood figurine. Thatā€™s necessary for transferring all the small details to the wood and makes it a lot easier to work with, because you must trace the surface by hand on the machine later on. But before I order the big printout for production, I go for a small version, ideally the size the final wood sculptures will be, to see how the model looks as a physical object. Whenever I feel something doesnā€™t look right, I go back to ZBrush and try to fix it (composition, balanceā€¦)
I normally use Shapeways (www.shapeways.com) for printing. They have Z-Corp printers for a printout in Sandstone (works great for all prototype models) and big laser sinter machines for printing a very strong nylon/plastic. Thatā€™s exactly what I need for the pantograph.

  1. Production on the Pantograph (3d profiling machine)

I fill the double sized plastic 3D printout with a special resin and mount it on a metal plate. Everything has to be assembled very strong to prevent it from bending or changing its position during tracing on the machine. The tracing itself isnā€™t an automated process yet; you still have to do it by hand. And you have to be super careful. Oh boy, in a moment of carelessness you can ruin a whole row of figures! You start with some bigger milling heads for rough machining and switch to the smaller once for detailing. I use maple wood for my work. It doesnā€™t change its color over the years and allow very fine details.

  1. Finishing and Refining

The figures that come straight from the pantograph look great but arenā€™t finished yet. It needs a lot of sandpaper work to smooth the surface. I add details with my set of small carving knifes and boost the once that disappear during milling. Finally I paint the parts I want to be painted and add a thin layer of wax that prevents the wood from getting dirty.

ben-godi-finishing.jpg

  1. The final product

If you keep an eye on some production restrictions, (wood as a living material, the dimensions the pantograph allows, avoiding spots that are difficult to reach with the milling heads) the possibilities are endless!

ben-godi-emancipated.jpg

ben-godi-not-your-rabbit.jpg

For more information, please feel free to visit:

www.ben-godi.com
www.selwy.com
www.3dwood.com
www.shapeways.com

Kind regards,
Selwy

Attachments

ben-godi-magics.jpg

1 Like

sir you just destroyed the system, brilliant!
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Haha!

Very interesting! Can you explain the pont 4 more? How the ā€˜carvingā€™ looks like?

Absolutely f***ing incredible!

Beautiful sculptures.

WOW! This is absolutely stunning work. :+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:

ā€¦thank you ! :wink:

Very cute sculptures! :sunglasses:

beautiful outstanding work. Nice and clean. :+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:

Fantastic piece!:+1:

Amazing idea and execution!
Thanks for sharing the process!

Best regards,

very nice!

Great stuff, thanks for sharing the workflow :sunglasses:small_orange_diamond:+1:!

I love this. I have been a carver (hence my forum name) for years. I have always wanted to output my zbrush work into wood. I donā€™t have easy access to replicators. Man, it must be awesome to be able to hold a wood copy. Your work is great! Yet another process is pulled into the Zbrush fold.:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:

Excellent workmanship!

yeah

That is just amazing! I love the art #1. But this process is really amazing as well! Thanks for sharing your work with us all! :slight_smile: What a treat! :slight_smile:

This is incredible! Thanks so much for sharing! :+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1: Well deserved top row!

Great work! Iā€™ve been involved in CNC milling and 3D printing for the past 12 years for sculptures of all scales and this is VERY, VERY cool!!! Congrats on a well deserved top row!

Excellent, thanks for sharing :+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:small_orange_diamond:+1:!!!

You rock dude!

Awesome work as always