ZBrush Character Creation - Advanced Digital Sculpting 2nd Edition

122 chapter 4 ■ ZBrush for Detailing

There are three locations where you can find set-

tings that pertain to alphas. First, on the bar at the left

of the screen is the Alpha palette, which contains an

abbreviated selection of the main Alpha menu options.

Here you will find your currently loaded alphas and a

few selected options for basic conversions and opera-

tions. Second, these menu options are accessible in the

main Alpha menu at the top of the screen (Figure 4.7).

Third, you can view and load your alpha library from

the Lightbox menu (Figure 4.8).

Lightbox is a built-in browser that allows you to

access files and load them into ZBrush from one fully

interactive source. It enables you to visually see each

file type and have them at your fingertips ready to

load into ZBrush with a single click. Lightbox lets you

import and recall textures, alphas, documents, proj-

ects, materials, ZTools, scripts, and Spotlights.

One of the benefits of Lightbox is that it allows

you to store your files in a location where you can

quickly access and view them without loading them

into ZBrush’s memory. Alphas that you use often are

a great example. By storing your alpha files in the

Lightbox folder, you can quickly browse and load

just the ones you need at any time. To store alphas in

Lightbox so they load with ZBrush, follow these steps:

1. In your file browser, go to the root ZBrush​4.0^
   folder. On a PC this is usually C:\Program​Files​
   (x86)\Pixologic\ZBrush​4.0, and on a Mac
   it will be inside the ZBrush4 application folder. In the program folder you will find
   several folders named Zbrushes, Zalphas, ZDocs, ZExportImport, ZMaterials, ZMovies,
   ZProjects, ZScripts, and ZTools. The contents of these folders will display in the
   Lightbox browser. Open the folder called ZAlphas.


2. To add new alphas, copy them into the Zalphas folder. You can even create subfold-
   ers to further organize the alphas into types like “leathery skin” or “scales.” Some
   users prefer to keep some alphas outside this folder—on a backup hard drive, for
   example. If you do this, create a shortcut to the preferred location and place the
   shortcut inside this folder. You can find some alphas on the accompanying DVD.
   You will also find a huge library of free alphas for download at the ZBrush down-
   load center at http://www.pixologic.com.


3. When you are done adding alphas, close and reopen Lightbox. You will now see your
   files under the Alpha Lightbox menu. The same process applies to adding any kind of
   file to Lightbox.

Image courtesy Secret Level/Sega and Gentle Giant Studios

Figure 4.6 The fine details on this skeleton monster were
created by using alphas and freehand sculpting.

Figure 4.7 The
main Alpha
menu

The Alpha menu allows you to import and export images to use as alphas; grab the can-

vas as an alpha; select already loaded alphas; manipulate the images once they are loaded; and

convert the selected alphas to stencils, geometry, or textures. The most common use of alphas

is to alter the shape of your currently selected brush. In Figure 4.9, a Freehand stroke is drawn