thanks alot for the help but i used [sewys] clothing brushs to make clothing and i was looking for an alpha like that thanks il be sure to mention your name when i use it
one last thing do you use 3dsmax to block out the charector shapes or a zshepre?
haha great characters 
Awesome dude! I’m working on rubber folds at the moment and this has some great reference and tips for me. You’ve got a bold style, love it!
Thanks everyone! I’m glad you guys get a kick out of it 
This stuff has been really fun to work on.
@ 3d-User - Yes, I use 3ds max as a base in most cases. I hop in between both apps very frequently in the early stages of the model, however. If something makes more sense to generate in Zbrush, then I do that. for instance, all of the clothing elements on the Hazmat character except for the boots, were a result of mask extrusions within zbrush. Alot of the stuff on the Dhalsim sculpt was the result of Zspheres. But generally, I do like to start with a basemesh of some sort, just to establish a topology I’m comfortable with.
And for that alpha, after some playing around with it, I typically use it in conjunction with the default ‘Tracks1′ brush and a Z-intensity of around 10-15. I hope it does some good. I’m rather inexperienced mocking up alphas in Photoshop like that, normally I just ‘grab doc’ from a sculpt, but regardless, I hope it works out for ya, lol. 
And just a quick sidenote. I noticed that the link to my site in my signature was broken. But now its back up if anyone had tried before.
I’ll be back soon with more updates!
Awesome job! Specially the last one!
How do you do folds? I can`t do such beautiful detail to my pieces :~
Man, this is really beautiful portfolio! I am jealous 
I am just starting up with ZBrush myself, I have been a 3dsmax guy for the most of my 3D past. I am curious about couple things
@ V-rag: Thanks man, and really there’s nothing too hard about the process I use. I’m sure you can do it I’ll just quote myself from earlier in the thread, since it goes over my process…
@ vertexfusion: Yea, I was in the same boat. I’ve been using 3ds max for a few years and seriously got into zbrush about a year and a half ago. It’s a fun ride
For the mask, It was pretty much done all in Max lol.
[attach=267498]HazmatMask.jpg[/attach]
As far starting with a base mesh made in another app, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that mindset. It’s all about results, and whatever you can do to get the best results will ultimately be the approach your going to want to go with. So play to your strengths. If you have a solid base in 3ds Max, that’s great! it makes you a more versatile modeler.
And to your question about the alpha. I usually use my alpha along with the ‘Tracks1’ brush, and as long as your alpha tiles vertically, it should work out for ya.
But do you use any special brush or technique?
I usually try to make folds using the Slash2, but I can`t achieve this level! D:
nope, there’s nothing specific that I do that’s different from anyone else
The brushes I used for the Hazmat character where ‘slash 3’ and the ‘standard brush’ which are both included by default with zbrush 4. Really, the key is just to use nice fluid brush strokes.
One thing I will say is that a tablet of some sort is almost essential to this, so I would say that if you don’t have one, that be an excellent purchase.
Good reference is also important. Thinking about the thickness and composition of the material will clue you into how the material will react. For instance, the rubber suit of the Hazmat character won’t pinch sharply, just because of the nature of rubber, where as if I were sculpting a tailored suit, I would probably make more use of the planar brushes to establish a more crisp and stiff feel.
I hope that helps. But there really isn’t much of a trick to it, other than just studying your subject and executing the technical approach which you establish.
I’m gonna try this! Thanks!
I have a tablet already and I LOVE it hahaha I wouldn’t survive without it!
Where do you search your references? I mean… I look for a bunch of pictures and cant find good references for some stuff, and folds are ones of those I cant find…
Im sculpting a character with the pants inside the boots, like your guy, and then I extracted the pants using the mask tool and tried to do the folds looking like the pants were inside the boots, but I couldnt achieve it in a nice way :~
Just through Google mostly. I’ll do some general searches for whatever it is that I’m attempting to model, and then I’ll decide upon a more specific model and execute a search for that. For instance, I’ve gathered a folder of 200 or so images of random gas masks, but then have another folder of just the Avon FM53 model which I based my model on.
Generally, manufacturer sites have nice hi-res photos of there product, so that may be a great place to find some ref. For the suit I found several different safety equipment manufacturing companies where I was able to look at the different suits on live models, which helped a lot with getting a feel for the material.
Thanks Rob@t, tracks1 works nice with my alpha I suppose you are right with this tool combining (different software). At the end it is all about the final result anyway. Nice job with the mask I really like it!
Thanks again!
how did you start your base mesh i’ve bean useing 3Dsmax for years and just never new where to start it what methhood did you use to make your base mesh for the mask and did you use Rev pics in max or just look at them then model? because i cant model without useing revs when i do it looks so off
for examble im trying to make army pants but the paportions are very off
the proplam is i have to revs lol
and i like the topology of your mask real pro stuff
Well, for some people, it can be helpful to paint the topology over one (or more) of your ref pics in some form of painting app. This gives you a chance to game-plan, and make mistakes and correct them before you ever actually begin the model.
For the mask, I just broken everything down into simple shapes first. I blocked it out, then just went about the process of detailing. The main challenge for the mask was just figuring out how they were put together, and then you just mimic that process.
I personally don’t like to use reference planes, just because earlier, when I did use them, I often would forget about design and just try to copy the shape. So, i like the freedom to take little liberties with the design if it benefits the piece as a whole.
And with your issue involving the army pant proportions, a good way to keep yourself in check is to keep an unclothed basemesh subtool underneath. This can keep you in check, and help figure out how the fabric will interact with the underlying figure.
thanks for the reply i herd about the painting revs but never tryed it i think i might now and i never tryed useing a base mesh to make pants boots .etc
so thanks;)
Here’s a quick update with where I wound up taking the Hazmat sculpt. This was always intended to be a game-rez project, so here is the low-poly in Marmoset with the Normal and AO Maps applied.
[attach=269371]Tabor_HazmatBake001.jpg[/attach]
[attach=269372]Tabor_HazmatBake002.jpg[/attach]
Not to clutter up a zbrush forum with non-zbrush stuff, so here is the result some doodling i did yesterday - A mermaid, if you will. 
I think I overdid it with the alphas lol, but it was fun and refreshing to take a step back from pushing verts around on the Hazmat model all week.
Some nice work here, but that is one butt ugly mermaid.
haha, thanks dude! :lol:
great work on the game res model by the way witch game do you want to put him in
Thanks
I didn’t have a particular game engine in mind when creating this, I just sort of aimed the specifications of the model towards a modern PC game (just over 13,500 tris and using one set of 2048 textures.)
I have some experience with modding Unreal Engine, primarily through UDK, so if I were to actually get this guy in game somewhere, that is where I would probably try to do. The new CryEngine SDK would be tempting as well, but I’d definitely have to do some research. But for now, I think marmoset is as far as this guy will get as far as playability, but if anything else happens I’ll be sure to let you know