Hello, i am new to zbrush and still trying to get the feel of the program, i am not sure if i am posting in the right place but i realized i was missing some skills in order to continue or even begin creating something. I really don’t have a clue about creating alphas in photoshop and since i am just starting to learn zbrush it is quite impossible to achieve the result i want. Sorry for the rumbling i am getting to it! I can not find anything on google about creating alphas, i mean the steps and basically the correct way if there is one. I found a thread in the challenges forum but it seems that i cannot download the videos there. i would very much appreciate it if someone pointed me to the right direction! Thanks in advance and sorry again for the rumbling:)
If you’re starting with ZBrush, it might be a good idea to start with the alpha maps that come with it.
Yet if you’re like me, you will of course start with creating your own.
Here’s a nice tutorial by Liam Shaw, free, and on YT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=998M3hkPO40
If I may add a few things:
1/ white is higher, black is deeper
2/ no rgb: real greyscale images. (I prefer 16bits)
3/ have a peek into your ZBrush install folder and look at the installed alphas.
4/ the softened edges are ok, but under the Alpha Palette, then Modifiers, there is a slider named RF. This stands for radial falloff, and gives more control over the edge sharpness/softness. But if you do not feel comfortable with the palettes, don’t yet waste too much time on this! Do try it out if you feel like it with, say, the standard brush with a round alpha (white circle). Try it, then slide the RF slider to blur the contour of the circle and observe the difference. Lots of fun there!
have fun with your alphas!
First of all, thanks for replying Erik and i will certainly take a look at the tutorial you attached as well as the info you added under it. I think it will help me a lot, thanks again for the time you took to reply!