ZBrush Character Creation - Advanced Digital Sculpting 2nd Edition

94 chapter 3 ■ Designing a Character Bust

topologically the points are far apart. Topological Masking is a useful tool and I recommend

using it whenever possible. I still polygroup the lower lip as we showed earlier since I find

sometimes it is faster to hide the mask and manipulate the jaw rather than enable Topological

Masking and adjust the Range slider. Each approach has its strengths and you will be well

served to explore both. The Topological Masking setting is invaluable when working on the

toes, for example.

Setting Up GoZ and Subtool Master

In this section we will be using two ZBrush plug-ins, GoZ and Subtool Master. Subtool

Master allows you to perform various functions on multiple subtools. We will use it to mir-

ror parts across the X axis. GoZ allows you to move your work seamlessly between ZBrush

and another 3D application. We will use it to add geometry to our creature head.

The Subtool Master plug-in is available for free download from http://www.pixologic.com.

The GoZ plug-in is preinstalled with ZBrush but you have to set it up (see the next section,

“Installing GoZ”). Make sure both tools are ready for use before you proceed.

You install Subtool Master by extracting the contents of the zip file to the ZBrush4/

ZStartup/ZPlugs folder. GoZ requires a different setup.

Installing GoZ

GoZ comes preinstalled with ZBrush. All you have to do to enable it is click the GoZ button

and ZBrush will search for all the applications it is capable of connecting with. When you

encounter an application that ZBrush cannot find, it gives you the option to browse to that

application’s location or select Not Installed. So, for instance, if you do not have 3ds Max

installed on your machine, then you click Not Installed.

The installer will copy scripts into a common folder for the 3D application to use. This

will require that you use administrator privileges on your machine during the installation.

Once it’s installed, you can take advantage of GoZ’s functionality. If you set the GoZ appli-

cation to Maya, you will now have a shelf in Maya with a GoZ button. In some cases this

particular functionality does not work and you have to add the shelf manually. The follow-

ing steps show you how to enable the GoZ shelf in Maya:

1. To set up the shelf in Maya, open the Script Editor window in Maya (Figure 3.28).


2. Click File Source script and browse to C:\Users\public\Pixologic\GoZApps\Maya. Here
   you will find the scripts that allow you to transfer work from Maya back to ZBrush.


3. Select the file called GoZScript.mel and run the script to create a GoZ shelf in Maya
   (Figure 3.29).

Sculpting a Character Bust

In this section, you’ll sculpt a character from the generic human head bust (Figure 3.30). This

ZTool is prepared with mouth and ear polygroups to facilitate a quick sculpting workflow

when dealing with these areas. You’ll also add new parts to the head directly using the Insert

Mesh function. In the course of this exercise, you’ll make use of the Gravity Brush modifier

as well as Transpose. You’ll also use the Subtool Master plug-in later in this exercise. Be sure

to download and install this free tool from http://www.pixologic.com before you begin.

1. Initially you know that you want this character to be leaning his head back and grin-
   ning. The orientation of the head you want is different than that of the generic head
   mesh. To accomplish this change, use Transpose to shift the orientation of the head on
   the shoulders. To do this, snap to a side view and mask the shoulders with a lasso.
   Switch to Transpose Move by pressing the W key and shift the head back slightly
   (Figure 3.31). Subdivide the mesh by pressing Ctrl+D, and using the Standard brush,