388 chapter 10 ■ ZSketch and Hard-Surface Brushes
After one gear is created, several can be duplicated and placed inside the housing of
the gun. Figure 10.99 shows a relatively complex internal structure created by duplicating a
few simple ShadowBox pieces. See the DVD for a full video of this process in action.
Finally, let’s add some elaborate surface details like grids and vents to the gun. I want to
create a vent or air intake valve for the front of the weapon. Select the Mask Pen tool. Mask
out an area for the vent, as shown in Figure 10.100. Select the Standard brush with a DragRect
stroke and select Alpha 25. Under the Alpha menu, set V Tiles to 32 (Figure 10.101). With ZSub
on, drag this alpha into the unmasked area to create a recessed vent structure (Figure 10.102).
The same alpha can be used to create other forms. Figure 10.103 shows how this alpha
is used to create a texture on the grip of the gun. The stroke has been applied twice to make
a crosshatched pattern.
That completes this exercise on building a ray gun in ZBrush. Be sure to see the DVD
for a full video of this process where I show a few more tips and tricks to add more surface
details with the Clip Circle and Planar brushes. You can see the final gun in Figure 10.104.
Also be sure to see the DVD for an entirely separate exercise on building a sci-fi rifle in
ZBrush (Figure 10.105).Figure 10.96 Orient the ShadowBox as shown here. Figure 10.97 Enable Radial
Symmetry.