Figure 1.
To
start off this modelling session you need to understand a little bit about
the TRANSFORM panel. (See figure 1.) The following steps apply to any 3D
object or primitive that you can select from the TOOL panel. To model an
object you need to place it into the document window. To do this, with the
tool (model) selected, click into the window and drag out an object. To
move, scale or rotate the object you can use the panel or press key `W`,
`E` or `R` respectively. When pressing any of these keys a multi coloured
`gyroscope` appears. Try each of the modes to get used to using the gyro
to get the desired result.
TIP: To `move`
along an axis, pull the coloured end of the gyro. To `scale`, click inside
the gyro and drag up or down. To rotate, click inside the gyro and drag in
the desired direction
To
model or shape the object into the desired shape you need to enter the
EDIT mode, press `T or use the transform panel (Figure 1.) When in the
EDIT mode the cursor turns to a red dot with a ring surrounding it. The
red dot is where your changes will be made on the object as you model. To
rotate the model in this mode click while holding the cursor away from the
object and drag up or down. Different effects can be achieved using the
transform panel by clicking `draw pointer` (add depth to the object or
remove it by holding down ALT), `move` (pull or push an area of the
object) and `scale` (increase or decrease in size an area or polygons).
(See figure 3.) To enlarge the `area of effect` on the object go to the
DRAW panel and adjust the `DRAW SIZE` slider up or down. You will notice
that the red ring grows or shrinks helping you to judge the size. In the
DRAW panel you will also find `RBG Intensity` and `Z Intensity` which
affect the amount of colour and depth applied to the object as you model.
At some stage you may need to turn `colour` or `Z` (depth) off. This is
done by selecting or deselecting the correct box (green is selected, grey
isn't). These steps are the basics of constructing any 3D organic model in
Zbrush.
TIP: The best results are achieved
by keeping the `Z Intensity low when adding depth or pulling a portion of
the model. This will let you subtly adjust the shape stage by stage using
the different tools.
Now is a good time to tell you
about `snapshotting`. A model (Or ZTOOL) in Zbrush is `live and editable`
in the document window until you `snapshot it into the image (Press CTRL+S
or the `camera` Icon shown in the transform panel in Figure 1.). Once you
`snapshot` a copy it is no longer editable and cannot be moved or rotated.
It does, however retain its depth information and can be modified with
some of the 2D tools (Simple Brush, Blur Brush etc.) The original ZTOOL
remains in the TOOL panel and can be saved as a .ZTL (Native format) or
exported as an .OBJ or a .DXF Losing the facility to modify 3D objects was
one of the first hurdles I came across in Zbrush. It is such a departure
from the norm that it takes a while to feel comfortable with it, when you
do, it becomes second nature and going back to being able to rotate a
wireframe whenever you like seems weird.
MODELLING THE HEAD
| Start Zbrush. Go to the DOCUMENT>MODIFIERS panel (usually
on the left) and adjust the document size to Height 2500, Width 2500
(if you have the demo you will be limited to 640x480). Select `PRO`
to allow you to adjust the proportions. To begin modelling go to the
TOOL panel and select the Sphere3D tool. Click
TOOLS>MODIFIERS>INITIALIZE and change `Hdivide` to 512 and
`Vdivide` to 256. This will give us the maximum possible subdivision
count for this object (lots of polygons). |
|
Start Zbrush. Go to
the DOCUMENT>MODIFIERS panel (usually on the left) and adjust the
document size to Height 2500, Width 2500 (if you have the demo you will be
limited to 640x480). Select `PRO` to allow you to adjust the proportions.
To begin modelling go to the TOOL panel and select the Sphere3D tool.
Click TOOLS>MODIFIERS>INITIALIZE and change `Hdivide` to 512 and
`Vdivide` to 256. This will give us the maximum possible subdivision count
for this object (lots of polygons). Click in the document window and drag
out a sphere leaving plenty of space around it. As we are only modelling
the head at this stage the position doesn't actually matter. At this stage
we want to go straight into `EDIT` mode so press `T` on the keyboard and a
red dot/ring will appear. Because the head we will be modelling is fairly
symmetrical we need to turn on `symmetry`.
Go to
TOOL>MODIFIERS>DEFORMATIONS>SYMMETRY and select `X`. You will now
have two dots on the model. Any change made to one side of the model is
exactly duplicated on the other side saving you a lot of work. Figure 2.
To begin the modelling you will need to `pull` the Sphere into the basic
head shape. Select `Move` (W) and pull the bottom of the sphere down. If
the effect is too dramatic you can CTRL+`Z` to undo. This is a good time
to adjust the `DRAW` size to get the right effect for this part of the
modelling. Click-Hold away from the head and rotate it slightly. Pull out
a neck, back of head, chin and a forehead. (See figure 2. Heads 1 and 2)
To add features to this cone-head we need to switch to the `DRAW PONTER`
(`Q`). Rotate the head so that it faces you and `paint` depth onto the
face. Build up the forehead, the nose, cheeks, lips and ear bumps. Add a
bump for each eye for now. To indent the model, still in the same mode,
hold down ALT and paint. Indent the cheek recesses, nostrils and the
eyeholes. Remember, you may need to reduce the `Z Intensity` in the DRAW
panel to make subtle adjustments. Try to follow the steps in Figure 2.
Keep rotating and adjusting until you get the desired effect. (See figure
2. Heads 3-8). Add features like frown wrinkles and bags under the eyes.
If you need to move the head on the canvas you can exit `EDIT` mode by
pressing `T` again. The gyro appears and you can select `MOVE` by pressing
`W`. Pull the gyro (grab the coloured ends) and move it in the direction
you want. To continue modelling, press `T` and re-enter `EDIT`
mode.
To model the ears you can use `SCALE` (E) to enlarge the ear
area. Use `DRAW POINTER` to shape the lobe and make an indentation then
use `SCALE` (E) to reduce the ear back down to the correct size. This will
take some practice as it is not easy the first few times you try it. Make
sure you model the `bumps` in the head where the metal hoses will fit.
NOTE: If you select another tool by mistake at this point you will
`snapshot` your head into the document - common frustrating mistake. If
this happens CTRL+`N` clears the entire layer and you will notice a copy
of your head is left in the `TOOL` panel. You can re-select it and `draw`
it back into the document and continue to edit it.
ADDING
SOME COLOUR AND MATERIAL
figure 3.
Later we will be
changing the material that is applied to the head. For now we want to add
some colour. With the head still in `EDIT` mode go to the TOOL panel and
select TOOL>MODIFIERS>TEXTURE and select COLORIZE. This will flood
the model with the currently selected colour (you may not see a
difference). To add colour without adding depth turn off `Z` in the draw
panel (un-select all buttons). Finally ensure that you have `DRAW POINTER`
selected (Q). Go to the COLOR panel (on the other side of the screen
usually) and pick a light cream colour to start painting onto the head.
Begin painting as you did the modelling but notice that only colour is
added, no depth because `Z` is switched off. Paint the whole head,
adjusting draw size as needed. (The quickest way to achieve this is to
flood fill the head from the COLOR panel but it's good to practice) Change
to a slightly darker colour and begin to shade darker areas in the eye
sockets, wrinkles under the chin etc. Keep doing this until you are happy
with the effect. Figure 3. TIP: You can reduce the amount of colour added
by reducing the `RBG intensity` slider in the DRAW panel. The effect is
like a semi-transparent airbrush. To add or change the material that is
used you will need to enter the MATERIAL panel on the left side of the
screen. With your `head` still in `EDIT` mode, select `BasicMaterial` from
the options available in the material palette. If it is not there click
the top of the panel and a full range of materials will be shown. It would
be possible to write a whole tutorial on materials so I will just give you
the parameters to input. With `BasicMaterial` highlighted go to MODIFIERS
and adjust the following: Ambient=10, Specularity=4, Noise=0.427, Noise
Radius=24. As you have the head still `live` in `EDIT` mode in the
document window all the changes will update automatically. Now save the
material, MATERIAL>MODIFIERS>SAVE. We will need this
later.
SETTING THE
SCENE
Figure 5.
When you are finished colouring the head you can position it in
the document in its final position. Zoom out (minus key, plus to zoom in,
0 to reset to 100%) until you can see the whole canvas on screen. Exit
`EDIT` mode and the gyro will re-appear. Select `SCALE` (E) and enlarge
the head to fill the canvas by clicking inside the gyro and pulling away.
Get the size correct then change to `ROTATE` (R) and use the gyro to
position the head at the correct angle for the final image (See Figure 5.)
Now use CTRL+`S` to snapshot the head into your image. TIP: It would be a
good idea to go to the TOOL panel and save the head as a ZTOOL for future
use. If you close Zbrush without saving the ZTOOL you will lose it even if
you save the document. The head is now in place and sitting on its own
layer. We need to add two more layers, one for the background and one for
the eyes and metal hoses. Go to LAYERS>INVENTORY>CREATE and do it
twice to create two more layers. You can see them in the LAYER panel. The
`green ` coloured layer icon is the current active layer (It should be the
one with your head on it). Click into one of the new layers. This layer
can be used to import a bitmap image (either .BMP or .PSD) as a
background.
For this project I created a 2500x2500-blurred image
with the same colours as the head. You can leave it blank for now and
create an image to import later. When you import the image, if it isn't
the same size as your document, it will be stretched to fit. Click onto
the other new layer and this is where we will create the eyeballs.
CREATING THE EYES
Select a
Sphere3D from the TOOL panel. Click anywhere in the document window and
drag-out a sphere. As you are on a different layer to the `head` you will
not affect it. Go to EDIT mode by pressing `T`. Open
MODIFIERS>INITIALIZE submenu. Set the mesh resolution to Hdivid=256,
Vdivid=128. Go to TOOL>MODIFIERS>TEXTURE and select COLORIZE. The
sphere will turn pure white (if it's not already). Go to
TOOL>MODIFIERS>SYMMETRY and check `Z` then `R` for RADIAL SYMMETRY.
Set the radial slider to 30. This should now give you a ring of red dots
around the eyeball. We only want to colour the eyeball and not effect the
surface with depth. Go to the DRAW panel and click the green coloured ZADD
button to de-select it. Now go to the `COLOR` panel on the other side of
the screen and select a black colour. Bring the dots on the eyeball
together and begin to draw a pupil. You can get different effect by
changing the `NOISE` slider/curve in the TRANSFORM>MODIFIERS panel. If
you find too much colour is being added go to the `DRAW` panel and adjust
the 'DRAW SIZE' and 'RBG intensity' sliders. When you have finished the
pupil select another, lighter colour for the iris (I used a couple of
shades of orange) and draw the outer ring. Follow this with a thin line of
black around the iris and then finish the eyeball with a cream colour. At
this point you can choose a material for the eyes. To simulate a glossy
wet appearance I chose the default `Toy plastic` from the MATERIAL
palette. It will update as soon as you select it. Now we need to place
them into the document. Exit edit mode (`T`), use the gyro to scale, move
and rotate the eye into position over the socket area. TIP: This is where
you realise that the document has retained depth. With the eye in `move`
(`W`) mode you can move it along the `Z` axis (in and out of the image) by
simply clicking outside the gyro and dragging your mouse up (in) or down
(out). Get the eye into position in the socket and `snapshot` a copy into
the image with CTRL+`S`. Snapshot leaves the eye live and `stamps` a copy
so you can continue to move the eye. Using `W` and the gyro, slide the eye
across to the other socket and position in the same way as the first. As
the eyes are on a separate layer we can `paint` on them without affecting
anything else. Pick the `SimpleBrush` from the tool menu. Pick a
near-black colour from the Colour Panel. In the draw panel set the RGB
Intensity to about 7 (near transparent) and turn `Z` off. Paint a dark
shadow across the top of the eyeballs and around the edges. You can use
the ALPHA panel to try out some of the other Alpha Brushes to add veins
using a red colour.
DETAILING THE SKIN
Switch layers back to the `head` layer. To get the
shiny effect on the lips select a new material (any) from the MATERIAL
panel. Go to MATERIAL>MODIFIERS>LOAD and load the pre-saved basic
material into the new slot (overwriting the material you just chose).
Increase the settings for Specularity, Noise and Noise radius (small
amounts). Using the `SimpleBrush` with `Z` off paint the new material onto
the lips. If the settings don't look right adjust then REMEMBER: All
materials in Zbrush remain `live` and can be adjusted throughout the
creation of the image. You will need to change the colour in the COLOR
panel and keep the `RGB Intensity` low (high colour transparency) Unlike
other 3D applications that use displacement and bump maps, the detail on
this model was added with ALPHA brushes or painted on with the Simple
Brush. To `paint` the veins and cracks use the `SimpleBrush` with
different alpha brushes. The `DRAW` panel can be set to `ZCUT`, which will
then use the ALPHA brush to add cracks and creases. You can also make your
own in a paint package and import them into the ALPHA panel. Remember you
can also change the colour setting as you go. The stitch areas were
`painted` on with `Z` turned to `ZCUT` and a red colour.
ADDING THE HOSE
Before
creating the hose you need to make an alpha map in a bitmap painting
package. It needs to be approximately 500 wide by 80 high and be black and
white repeats (i.e. like a pedestrian crossing). It needs to be a .BMP or
a .PSD for Zbrush to recognise it. In Zbrush go to the TOOL panel and
select Ring3D. Go to TOOL>MODIFIERS>INITIALIZE and change
Coverage=230, Hdivide=128, Vdivide=128. Import the black and white bitmap
into the ALPHA panel. Go to TOOL>SELECTION>ALP which then grabs the
Alpha brush and applies it as a mask to the ZTOOL. Now use
TOOL>DEFORMATIONS>INFLATE to create the Hose shape. The black areas
of the bitmap are used as a mask, inflating only the White areas. Make
sure you change layers to the eyeball layer. With the hose/ring selected
in the TOOL panel draw/drag it into the document window. Enter `EDIT` mode
(`T`) and apply one of the `Metal` materials and use a dark grey colour.
Exit `EDIT` mode (`T`) and use the gyro to position the hose. Remember `W`
in+out. Snapshot the hose into position and move the hose to the next
position using move and rotate. Repeat until all hoses are placed.
LIGHTS AND RENDERING
The last
stage is adding some lights and rendering the image. In the LIGHT panel
two lights are set to `on` as default. These are both `SUNS`. Click one of
the light slots that isn't highlighted and it should turn `green ` (on).
Click into the `COLOR` panel and pick an orange colour. Click under the
LIGHT panel in the colour box and that should change to orange. In
LIGHT>MODIFIERS>TYPE choose `GLOW`. In
LIGHT>MODIFIERS>PLACEMENT drag the `PLACEMENT` button to the
document window to where you want the `glow` to appear. These settings
will only be shown when you use `BEST RENDER` in the render panel. You
will want to try different settings in the lights panel to get the correct
effect. Make sure you click `SHADOWS` to `green` (on) in at least one of
the `SUN` lights. To see the light effects you need to render the image.
Go to the RENDER>MODIFIERS panel and highlight (turn on) `shadows`,
`render depth cue` and `depth effects`. Then click `BEST RENDER` to see
the results.
MORE ZBRUSH
To learn more about
Zbrush visit Pixologics website at
http://www.zbrush.com/
or visit
the ZBCentral Forum at
http://www.pixolator.com/
