Hi guys,
ive pretty much got my head around the organic side of zbrush, and after lunch with a work mate i decided to create a mech/bot style character in ZB as a bit of a challenge. You know…try to do what you dont know how to do!
So, can some of you point me in the right direction? i cant find anything about brush use or what not to do/ or do…ect
Im looking at the ironman style maybe, that sort of edge/chamfer/bevel…thing
nice little details and such…
cheers
jon
Here’s an idea… Load some of the default tools, subdivide a couple times, and play around with the masking and deform options. You can also use the initialize menu to resize x y and z. This works great for inorganic pieces. If you choose to use a non-default tool you’ll have to use an alpha mask of some sort. Even some of the default alphas work well, or you can make your own alphas. You can come up with a bunch of different pieces, and just assemble the ones you choose as subtools. I guess, afterwards you could retopo your parts. Experiment!
actually, i’d really love to see a full blown tutorial on inorganic stuff using zb as well.
i get the principles as generously shared by many of talents here but a really detailed tut on the basic workflow, different situations, etc. would be great.
jin
I’ve begun working on an inorganic model myself and hit some of the challenges you’re talking about. I would really enjoy seeing a tutorial from more experienced members. The best approaches that I have found have been masking and inflating areas, then smoothing the surfaces and pinching my hard lines. Complex masks drawn in photoshop and overlayed on the model can eliminate the freehand appearance I’m sometimes getting.
This works pretty well but I’m still challenged by truly mechanical objects in my design and would be interested to hear more about that.
afaik mechanical modelling need extensive use of the crease function (tools > geometry > crease). Crease creates “hard” edges that doesn’t give in to smoothing effects like normal edges does. And it’s a good idea to turn off all focal shift and gradient alphas when scultping. For more complex details with hard edges, I would advise that you make your own alpha and convert it into a stencil. That’s a good way to create things like grates, metallic floor textures etc.