surprised i don’t see a centauri (horselowerbody+humantopbody) with a dog head yet, anyone? 
goddamit your models are realistic i dunno how you achieve that but thx for the models
Work slowly.
Subdivide only when the level you’re on feels like a fuzzy version of exactly what you want – you’re refining the form over time, bringing it slowly into focus.
Remember as well that each level is only your best guess as to where this is going. As things tighten up, it may turn out your guess was wrong – don’t be afraid to correct it after the fact by revisiting lower subdivision levels and making adjustments.
Fingers are overrated. Your characters don’t need 'em and neither do you.
Periodically exit Live Editing mode to view your model with perspective distortion on. Otherwise, your mind will add it’s own, on top of whatever a perspective camera adds later in other software.
Keep photos onhand of your subject matter when possible, but just glance at those occasionally for the overall gesture without trying to trace over it.
Work with X symmetry on for convenience, but turn it off eventually and shake the form up a bit at low subdivisions.
Show lots of work here, and study the comments others leave for you.
Learn to differentiate good advice from bad.
Take nothing personally.
Keep at it.
coming to this thread VERY late. I downloaded your models and the topology is very clean. I would love to see some of your modeling workflow to achieve such clean meshes. Thanks alot
You can achieve surprisingly good topology in ZBrush 2 with the careful application of ZSpheres, and/or the Edgeloop button.
…but for the moment, topology this good calls for an outside application. Ang’s is Maya.
Remember, these models are given to demo users to experience working with meshes from the outside, because the demo license won’t allow them to import their own. A tool created natively in ZBrush would not serve that function.
I have Wings 3d and am quite capable with all the tools. The topology is so clean, and the mesh line directions are so deliberate. I would really like to see, for example, how you did the chest and back area on the MAN model. I can sort of tell where you have extruded faces rather than extruding edges. I have got to see how you get these great lines. Please give me a quick example of where you start your mesh from and how it develops and why you make certain choices.
-sumpm1
you can check my other threads i posted. they mention how i work, goes into detail quite a bit. but for sure id check out zack petrocs dvd on zbrush scultping from the the gnomon workshop. of course topology is always different for different pipelines. youll definitely learn what works and what doesnt work if you start to rig and skin your models. i wouldnt say the topolgy on my models are 100% workable, i some areas could use more resolution for better deformation and more resolution for to keep the details of the base mesh.
-anguyen
I’ve looked at your other posts, and also have the DVD by Zack. The models you posted are the best of all the things I’ve seen you do. I was specifically curious where you start your model, how you decide certain issues, and how you work. Do you box model and just make cuts where you need them? Do you plan your topology ahead of time, or go with the flow?
I have always been looking for a light body topology that follows the true contours of the muscles, yours seems to do this wonderfully in the chest and back area. It seemed as this was the direction you took when creating the topology. I went as far as to try and reproduce the upper half of the torso, this is what I got.
Was I right about the original starting point and the extruded faces? Or did yu later make cuts that looked like that is what happened? I see alot of the same thing as this all over the model. The arms are especially interesting. You can see that I kept my mesh lighter, and in order to make a good mesh for details, you would have to make subdivisions in appropriate areas. Really, let me know if this is the right direction, or if this is completely opposite of your workflow.
Thanks
the entertainment / games industry would be LIGHTYEARS AHEAD of where it is at now… if everyone was as cool as you…
sharing top level art for everyone to manipulate into there own work… is the way to go.
/bow
trying to delete post.
ahh so its another one of those “FREE” not really free scams.
you can only use the "FREE**************** Models with the Demo zbrush?
lol.
rob…where are ya going with this?
you can use the models in the demo or the full version. If you wanna steal it…well you or anyone are going to whether you have permission or not, it’s a fact of life on this wonderful world wide web. If ya do tho…well that just makes you one of those sad little people we should all say a little prayer for.
The intent is for you to learn something about how zbrush works, not how many people can steal it and use it in their own projects…which by the way I can think of at least one instance I saw where the dog was used but the head was slightly altered…which reminds me I need to find where I saved that link…dammit…anyway…if ya can sleep at night…go for it.
Am sure Mr. Nguyen won’t lose any sleep over it. He has better things to worry about.
In any event what goes around comes around…believe it or not and 10 fold is a bitch.
Man, I’m confused here…
Anyway, sumpm1, I like the step-by-step you posted there. I haven’t seen it done like that before.
Cool.
Thanks, I really want to see how anguyen originally did it.
sumpm1-
i tend to block things out and cut them in later. just less confusing this way. your way is a great start. really interesting. i tend to just use a box and start cutting cuz sometimes youd have to build a creature or something that is totally unlike a human…then whatru gonna do? which ever is faster i guess…not everyone models the same way.
as for my topology…i basically recreate my mesh with drawn in topology and use the shrinkwrap script to keep the details. this way is kinda time consuming but now that the zmapper plugin has come out, you can transfer all the details to ur new mesh without having to run the script at every subdivision. bless that plugin!
i like to draw in my topology instead of modeing them in when im modeling. its just more intuitive for me.
when i create a base model to sculpt in zbrush, i make sure there is enough resolution for the joints and set up basic loops so that when subdividing in zbrush, the topology doesnt fight against the sculpt. and make sure your topoly isnt too heavy at first…like for knuckles…cuz youll get pinching and its hard to sculpt this out in zbrush.
ive gotten both positive and negative feedback about my topology layout. im still figuring out what works and what doesnt. ive heard that the best way to layout your topology is to make it look even as if it were a nurbs patch model. i like this approach better. but then again, some people say its better to model in the conventional polygonal way…but those were the old schoolers…i think zbrush has changed many pipelines and workflows. i was fortunate enough to talk to bay raitt (LOTR) up at valve about this and the advice he gave me was to rig and animate my models to see if it works. hes right. youll learn so much when you rig and animate your models. itll make you a better modeler. for wrinkles and such…dont overdue it by adding geometry, keep it simple…zbrush can do all that detailed stuff. but you should definitely add in resolution where needed (like shoulders and elbows etc…)and not worry about trying to keep the topology even. remember…the audience is not gonna see how clean and even your topology is. theyll only see how smooth the deformations on your characters are.
hope this helps,
anguyen
cntrl - z / aminuts- thanks for all your followups when i didnt have time to answer
does anyone have a zbrush tool of a woman that we could download?
I’ll second that query! I’ve looked everywhere. They are different in a lot of little ways, so trying to adapt the male model isn’t working…
Two arms, two legs, torso, neck, head. Optional edge loops to support a mouth and eyes. Optional fingers and toes.
These things, a base mesh has. Male, female, doesn’t matter.
When you look for more detail than this, what you are seeking is not a base mesh.
Man, thank you very very much! i was needing a horse!
( you give once and you`ll get twice )
cheers.-
Hi there, Great models dude…
I am new to ZBrush - And would lie to play around with your dog model - I want to learn how to add fur to your Dog character. Where / how do you download this models?
I am a member of ZBrush Central?
Not sure how to access the link?
Thank you
William