Z4 Beta Testing By: Ty Shelton

[TyShelton]

Once again, I am absolutely blown away by Pixologic and the way they continue to push the envelope, developing stunning new tools for Z4 that both enable and inspire artists to create.

Some big changes in my life recently have minimized my time devoted to sculpting outside of work, however, I would still love to share as much of my Z4 beta experience as I can. I will continue to grow this thread as my work progresses.

A huge thanks, as always, to everyone behind the making of Zbrush. It is because of you that I am able to do what I love every day.

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Modeling complicated knots has always been a hassle for me in the past. A few simple, yet amazing new features in Z4 have now changed that forever.

Here is a quick step-by-step for modeling a Figure Eight Knot in Z4 using ZSpheres, Adaptive Skin, Relax and Inflate Balloon.

I find this method so much faster than hassling with splines in other applications and a lot more fun! The end result is clean, production friendly geo ready to pose or export and sim.















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A quick cam head created with Shadowbox, Clip Brushes, Group Loops and Spotlight.





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Starting with simple geo from my human base mesh, I used the new Move Elastic and Clay Buildup brushes to begin designing a sea creature.

This one is very much a work in progress that I hope to continue.

[eof3D]

TyShelton You are my hero for Knots idea ))) Thanks!

[CGicore]

This is just brilliant! Thanks for sharing this idea. nice work too m8.

[Turqy]

Great to know I'm not the only climber on ZBC

[poda]

Cool tutorials! Thanks for sharing.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Really awesome thank you for the trick!

[chemkid]

cool ideas! thanks a lot.


chem!

[arsalanali]

now makings nots are is very very easy and your model is too good...........

[TyShelton]

eof3D - No problem! Glad its helpful!

CGicore - Sure thing! Thanks!

Turqy - Awesome! I used to live around Raleigh, NC. Triangle Rock Club is a fantastic rock gym. We usually went up to New River Gorge in West Virgina for great outdoor climbing.

poda - Thanks! You bet!

SolidSnakexxx - You got it!

chemkid - Thank you! No prob!

arsalanali - Yup, so much better than other methods, at least that I've tried. Thanks!

[eof3D]

TyShelton could you please clarify - which method was used for bending this curve in maya?

[3dassets]

I like to know how to texture the rope, any tutorial on this?

[TyShelton]

eof3D - I exported the knot straight out of Z4 and simulated it using nCloth in Maya. The cylinder is thrown in there to act as a passive collider.

3dassets - I will most likely be adding texture detail to this rope (sculpt and color) in Z4 very soon. I will definitely post up my methods when I do.

[yiannis t.]

you went far with the knots! By the way I used the same workflow on my beta test image for the shoe laces.

[NoriTominaga]

Hi thanks for this!

Just a question, with your Quick cam sketch, how did you manage to use the clipping brush at equal distance on an unusual curve like that?

[TyShelton]

If I remember correctly, I believe I just set up a little PS cheat. Basically, took a snapshot of the cam before using the Clip brush, brought that into Photoshop and placed circles where I wanted the grooves to be. Then I took that image back into Zbrush using Lightbox, lined up my model on top of it and essentially "traced" the circles with the Clip brush. Cheap but it works.