ZBrushCentral

Modeling an Iris

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi there,

I’m new to this forum and not a ZBrush user yet, but hopefully will be on soon :wink:
I have a question regarding the capabilities of ZBrush.

For a scientific project we need to model some really high detailed human irises with
all the structures an branches a real iris has.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2246888/The-eyes-The-iris-pictured-remarkable-incredible-close-shots.html

We made a few attemps with polymodeling the big structures and then adding the finer ones with Sculptris.
However, as you can certainly imagine, the polymodeling part was quite annoying and so we are looking for a faster
way to get this big structures done.

So I’m wondering if Z-Spheres are a solution to this problem. Is it possible to branch off a part of the geometry
an later merge it back with the main structure.

Also, could Fibremesh help me with such a task by creating the fine structures?

Thank you for you help and your answers.

#2

Zspheres do not branch and re-connect.
Zsphere’s 2 will
As will dynamesh, unified skin, adaptiveSkin, and remesh.

I would spline model most of that and apply modifiers to the mesh to create your details and then offset that with bump maps.
Zbrush would work, but, well, at the end of the day you’re going to end up sculpting an entire iris, by hand.

#3

Thanks for your reply.

never thought of spline modeling this. it seems equally time consuming to me as poly modeling.
we work with cinema 4d here. and i don’t see how this could work…
but i will have a second llok on that.

I think there is going to be some more research about what’s the best way to deal with this task.
It is an awfull lot of work. more so, since in the end there have to be five to ten different irises.
we will see…

#4

Might look into procedural fractal modeling. Or a landscape modelling software like one of these:

http://alternativeto.net/software/terragen/

When modeling nature then copy nature. When I worked on an anatomy project we used shots of the moon and other planets as the bump map texture for bones. Worked extremely well and the end result was very realistic.