Very cool. That second model has a great expression.
simesf,
the examples that have been posted recently are done in such a way that the 3D app doesn’t need to handle the geometry of that detail.
Basically you create a medium res mesh, detail it in zbrush, then create a displacment map which is applied to the medium res mesh at render time. This way you only need to rig the medium res mesh.
Of course this totally depends on the apps renderer being able to do good enough displacement…
Indeed Stephen Green I will add to the equation normal maps which are crucial for any work of this type, becuase you simply can’t extract a disp map with the full detail of the character , let alone aford the long processing times for more accurate displacment. The real trick is combining them. Although there are some shaders around to do this, I found no success in combining the two…but close :))
You can find out all you need at Spiraloid…and if anyone has used the Renderman Shader by Olivier for Disp+Norm maps please contact me :)-([email protected]).
Once again amzing work SC…this would have to be the 100th time I’ve looked over it the last 6 hours 
Kircho
Hey Dave,
I know the new Zbrush will not magicly turn us into amazing sculptors like yourself. I wish it could. Could you please tell us where and how you learned your art. Are there any books or training courses that can teach one how to sculpt realistic character models similar to what you have shown us. I have been working in Sculpy and other clays but lack good instruction for doing this kind of work… Maybe if you had a little time you could record your work in progress or basic sculpting techniques and share it with us… I am eager to learn… Or maybe you could recomend some good sources of instruction…
Anyway, I admire your work and would like to emulate it if thats possible!
Thanks for sharing!
Jason W.
I find with sculping that you just need to do it over and over again. Same with skethcing I suppose, every now and then you end up with something worth showing. Dave on the other hand does stuff in his lunch time that seems to blow my mind and send me back ooff to the drawing board literally.
Awesome, inpirational stuff.
G
Hi Kircho,
I’ve always been a bit fuzzy as to what part normal maps play in in a rendered displacement. I know you can use them for faking details on a low-res model (Doom 3 for example), but I thought the examples that Dave were posting used a 16 bit displacement map rather than the normal map.
I guess we’ll find out soon enough
Thanks for your comments Glen,
I know that it takes lots and lots of practice and that you learn from every project. I can sculpt pretty well I think, but looking at Dave’s work and other artists that work in the film industry, I realize that they are light years ahead of any of my atempts. To be more specific, I’m interested in learning how to do the levels of detail that come after the base sculpture. I realize a good understanding of anatomy is esential, but there are other techniques like making ‘chicken scratches’ all over the surface to simulate the lines in skin that seem to be used on so many models. I’m sure there are clever ways to acheive these kinds of effects that are used industry wide. I haven’t found any good books or training videos that go over these Kind of techiniques. Most sculpture books are fine art oriented that are too impressionistic to be used by character sculptors. But I want to learn how to acheive the fantastic levels of detail that are rendered on Dave’s rhino head. The new Zbrush opens up a whole new realm of possibility for digital sculptors that previously only traditional sculptors have enjoyed, but I can see from Dave’s work that working like a traditional artist will really allow one to exploit Zbrushes new tools in unbelievable ways. Anyway, Its this traditional knowlege that I’m after…
Thanks again for your comments, and I look forward to any tutorials that Dave might be willing to share once the new version of Zbrush comes out!!
Jason W.
Beautiful work indeed.
I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the new version to see how it can be applied to generating detail.
I’m wondering how much of the detail on the Rhino say was achieved by painstaking freeform modelling and how much (if any) from painterly masking and subtle inflations, or even modelling through the masks to add more random variation.
I’m also thinking that at such a fine polygon level, the Transform>Modifiers>Edit curve is going to become extremely useful.
Can’t wait
Holy moley! I can’t wait to see how the texture on the rino was done. I couldn’t imagine drawing all those lines individually. The goblin isn’t bad either. Is he in LOTR?? 
Great work. 
This level of detail is possible with greater ease and speed than you would probably believe right now. I suspect that the new version is going to revolutionize the way people work.
Also, just to clear something up that people have been wondering about: ZBrush will allow you to incorporate these high-res models into your ZBrush scenes as-is, No extra work required beyond the actual sculpting. Most other software is not optimized for such high numbers of polygons, that’s where the normal and displacement mapping will come into play, as it will allow animators to use a low poly model and make it look like the ZBrush model. So regardless of what your needs will ultimately be, ZBrush gives you a way to take your work to the next level.
Sounds exciting aurick,
I’ve been waiting for this release for a year now… But I can perceive that the original idea for this release has evolved substantially and will be worth the wait. I’m excited to see that Weta is so enthusiastic! I’m starting to believe that you guys have really evolved the state of the art in digital modeling. I have been searching for many years for software that can really deliver an intuitive clay like sculpting experience. Sculptors shouldn’t have to feel so constrained with the complexities of Polygon, Nurbs, SubD mesh topologies. They shouldn’t have to push points around to acheive sculptural detail and texture. I have been extreamly disapointed with the limitations of ‘clay like’ or ‘paint like’ interfaces… I have much more hope now that a program exists that can actually do what it claims after seeing Dave’s test models…
I’m looking forward to participating in this reinvention of 3D modeling and hope after this accomplishment that Pixologic will try and evolve other areas of the 3D process that suck!!!
Thanks for all the hard work!!
–Jason W.
I totally agree with CGDude ! Zbrush is THE sculpting tool ! I’m waiting this new version for a definitive purchase ! Congrats to all developpers and thank you for such great software !
I’ve modeled in plasticene, super sculpey, cloth and resin, FIMO, paper mache, Clay (real), wire, Lightwave, Clay (Digital), Wings, I’ve used amorphium, seen Maya artisan, learnt in Imagine (Amiga) and tinkered with Cinema and for 4 years now, I’ve used ZBrush. Zbrush is without a doubt the best freeform modeler I have used to date. Period. You will not fail to be impressed with the capabilities of the new release in OH SO MANY ways.
But remember, If you can’t model now in 1.55b you won’t be very good with the new one unless you practice. I don’t know of a medium/software that can do that. You can have all the tools in the world at your disposal (and your are gonna get some cool ones) but if you aren’t skilled at using them a lump of marble is still a lump of marble. You need to put the hours in and learn by trial and error and effort.
G
Well said southern.
So, one should get the current version and learn the basic concepts now…that way…when the new version comes out…one will be that much more prepared…and its free.
I can’t wait.
“The best is the enemy of the good”
Pilou
Ha! you’re right Frenchy.
I think it’s about identity; but why are so many so addicted to it?
Did we simply forget about collectivism when cars and fashion came along?
It’s a puzzle, one I’ve been attached to for a while.
(Nice images! perhaps that Rhino is without texture)
ZBrush upgrade the quality of our work.Year after year works done in ZB are more professional quality.
If you are not a good character designer,ZB can help you to be better.
ZB is a very good friend who’s help you to perform your 3D skills.
Do not forget that a lot of people create extra and surprising 3D like things with ZB that they couldn’t be abble to do with other softs.
Let see the displacement mapping soon with a lot of interest.
Of course I was a little joking
No doubt than the next version will make new addicts 
Pilou
Hi Stephen G,
Well I’m not an export with normal maps but to my understand they are just like a bump map instead of perturbing the surface point the perturb the surface normal. Normal Maps are alittle different from that , in that they describe the surface orientation interms of 3 vectors X-y-Normal vectors, which means if used properly they can decribe the surface and the way it interacts with lights exactly. The only difference is that when viewed at particular angles the volume that the the Normal maps are trying to portray are not present.
So this is the role of the displacment map to give the model volume . Why not just use Disp maps?
1 - To date I have not found a method to extract the extremely fine details present in Sky Castles work.
2 - Having tried anumber of renderer…Maya Renderer , Air , PRMAN and Mental Ray Niether one of these renderers was able to portray the detail levels similar to those present in these models. Using just a disp map,the renders showed a decrease om clarity and other problems such as extreme render times and cracking and splits before and during deformation.(PRMAN has worked the best with second Air.)
So what is the solution you put them together the disp maps describe the volume of the surface and also help with the lighting of the object. And the Role of the Normal maps is to provide the details the really fine splits and cracks and skin pours and wrinkes and just help to resolve any rendering problems with the mesh (Smootheness , Cracking…etc.)
Hope that clears things up for you , apologies If I was a bit vague on the working of the normal map as I’m still trying to understand the whoel process my self.
Kircho
“Most other software is not optimized for such high numbers of polygons, that’s where the normal and displacement mapping will come into play, as it will allow animators to use a low poly model and make it look like the ZBrush model.”
If this is truly the case, will we see an improvement in the import/export tools? Like, say perhaps, more formats besides DXF and OBJ (3DS for example)? Just curious. I know, I know, you probably can’t or won’t say, but one has to be hopeful. Right? 
These Zbrush beta examples that keep getting posted really blow my mind. I can’t wait to see PC games start making more use of technology like this. For example Doom 3; I wasn’t really into the hype like everyone else in that community seems to be, but now I’ll probably buy it simply because it uses this kind of stuff lol. Can’t wait for Zbrush 1.6 to come out! Amazing work all. 