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2d to 3d, Cookie Cutter approach.
Hi folks! I wanted to try this 2d to 3d approach for modeling
for quite some time.I do like Zspheres but you need to be a little
more patient to convert the adaptive skins they make into something you
like. In this approach all I did was draw different parts of the character
in profile in photoshop and convert them into chunks of geometry
that I could start pushing around in Zbrush.This isn't the best approach,
but it gets the shapes blocked out easily.Of course the topolgy is bad.
Make 3d and unified skinning do create artifacts and produce the odd vertex that points out randomly, so there are both pros and cons to this.
I will really appreciate it if someone could suggest ways to
improve this technique.
Steps:
1) Create 4 layers ( head, arm, torso, leg ) in a square photoshop file ( alphas in Zbrush
should be square to avoid distortion), slightly smaller than A4. Draw using a hard brush.
2)Keeping one layer in PS on and hiding the rest, get each part into Zbrush separately
using the make 3d button. Adjust the width of the extract depending on how much thickness you want( more for the torso, less for the arm and leg)
3) Rotate the arm and leg a bit . clone, append and mirror them.
4) Using Subtool Master ( makes things easier) merge the arms and legs so that you are left with 4 subtools. You can merge them all if your system can manage.
5) Start sculpting by activating Zaxis symmetry or whatever axis symmetry works.
The advantage in this is that you get a good silhouette right from the start. The challenge then is in building the model from other angles, for which you have the clay, move, snakehook ( moves things faster ) and inflate brushes.
Once again, I will welcome feedback on this and will be grateful for suggestions to improve this technique.