ZBrush Character Creation - Advanced Digital Sculpting 2nd Edition

212 chapter 6 ■ ZSpheres

Don’t be too concerned with generating a highly accurate silhouette or intricate edge

loops at this stage. The point of this exercise is to create a general base on which to sculpt.

With the ZBrush topology tools, you can generate any kind of base mesh you like after the

sculpting is done.

1. Initialize ZBrush to clear any previous tools from the palette and the canvas. From the
   Tool menu select the ZSphere tool and draw the root sphere on the canvas. Press the T
   key to enter Edit mode. Open the main Transform menu and click the Activate Symmetry
   button, and then enable X Symmetry (Figure 6.15). This will create two circles for your
   cursor. When both become a single green circle, you know you are centered on the sphere
   before you draw a new child sphere. Drag and Shift-click to create the first child. If you
   see only two dots, that means you are looking at the side, so rotate to view the top of the
   sphere.


2. Rotate to the other side of the root sphere and repeat the process of creating a child.
   The resulting chain should look like Figure 6.16. Notice how the orientation of the
   ZSpheres flips on either side of the center root sphere. This is normal. Press the A key
   to turn on Preview Adaptive Skin. Your skin should look like a capsule, as shown in
   Figure 6.17.


3. This “capsule” will form the torso of your biped. Now you need to add arms and legs.
   Rotate to a side view and turn off Y Symmetry; be sure to keep X symmetry on. Draw
   a ZSphere at the shoulder by click-dragging on the side of the top sphere. This will
   create a child linked to the top, as shown in Figure 6.18. Repeat this process on the
   bottom sphere to create the hip spheres. Remember that your cursor will turn green
   when you reach the centerline of a ZSphere. Try to draw new spheres when the cursor
   is green to get the best result from the mesh.

As you create a ZSphere model, be sure to press A often as you work—checking the

Adaptive Skin Preview is the best way to catch mistakes early and save time and effort.

Twist will occur here

Flipped

Dark red on top

Figure 6.14 When spheres are not consistent in their orientation, a mesh twist will occur.

Figure 6.15
Activate X
Symmetry under
the Transform
menu.