292 chapter 8 ■ ZBrush Movies and Photoshop Composites
- We’ll use this depth grab to calculate depth of field. Choose Filter →
Blur → Lens Blur to open the setting box shown in Figure 8.53. Set
Source to Layer Mask, Blur Focal Distance to 15, and Noise to 4.
Noise will help counteract the perfect look of a 3D render and add
some imperfections to the scene. - Click OK and the filter will apply to the image. Now right-click
the layer mask in the Layer menu and select Delete Layer Mask
to discard the mask since you no longer need it. Once the mask is
deleted, the depth-of-field effect will be visible in the document.
You can make further changes by hand-painting details in
Photoshop. Use the Dodge and Burn tools to accentuate shadows and
highlights. You can even use the Liquefy tool to adjust the overall shape
of the head. The possibilities are endless, and with this technique you can
quickly create powerful renders with just ZBrush and Photoshop.
See the book’s companion DVD for an in depth bonus tutorial featur-
ing Alex Alvarez’s techniques for creating the image seen in Figure 8.54, as
well as his approach to making “Fume.”
Figure 8.52 The depth grab inverted
and pasted into the layer mask
Figure 8.53 The Lens
Blur filter settings
Figure 8.54 This image was created by Alex Alvarez using a
combination of ZBrush, Maya, and Photoshop. See the DVD
for a full tutorial on Alex’s process in creating this image.