xviii Introduction
What You Will Learn
In this book you will learn how to work with the ZBrush sculpting and painting toolset to cre-
ate believable characters. We will also look at how to get your work out of ZBrush into a third-
party application for rendering using either displacement or normal mapping techniques. We
will look at anatomy and how it affects the form of the head and explore how to use anatomi-
cal knowledge to assist in sculpting a human head. We will talk about color theory and how it
influences color choices when painting a creature skin from scratch. We will also discuss how
to create your own base geometry in ZBrush using ZSketch and ZSpheres, as well as how to
remesh a ZTool into an animation-ready base topology. Other topics include posing in ZBrush,
using alphas and stencils for detailing, understanding ZScripting, hard-surface sculpting with
the clip brushes, and customizing your interface. Over the course of the book, we will also
look at production considerations and how to get the most flexibility from ZBrush in a work
pipeline.Hardware and Software Requirements
To complete the core exercises of this book, you need ZBrush version 4 or higher. Some sec-
tions also include material related to Photoshop and Maya and using these programs together
with ZBrush. Hardware requirements are a PC or Mac running ZBrush with a gigabyte or
more of RAM. The more RAM you have, the better results you can get with ZBrush.
It is also imperative that you have a Wacom tablet. While it is possible to use a mouse
with ZBrush, it is like drawing with a brick. A Wacom or other digital tablet will open the
doors for you to paint and sculpt naturally. Personally I recommend a Wacom Cintiq. There
are two variations of this tablet screen available as of this writing: the desktop model with
a 21′′ screen as well as a smaller 12′′ portable model. The Cintiq allows you to sculpt and
paint directly on the screen and can vastly improve the speed and accuracy with which you
can use ZBrush. It is essential to use some form of Wacom tablet, be it a Cintiq or a stan-
dard Intuos, with ZBrush.How to Use This Book
I have structured the text to start from a basic look at the ZBrush toolset and progress through
the entire program into more advanced concepts and tools. Although there is an open and thriv-
ing user community, there was a need for a physical manual for working with ZBrush. This book
seeks to fill that void and offer a training solution for users who prefer to work from printed
material at their own pace.
This book will be especially useful to those who are coming to digital sculpting with no
previous 3D experience. I have tried to communicate the ZBrush workflow with examples from
traditional sculpting and painting technique. To me, ZBrush is not only its own medium as
much as it is an extension of paint and clay, much in the same way that Corel Painter extends
and improves on paint and canvas, thus allowing the artist to use traditional techniques in new
ways. Because of this, I believe it is just as important to discuss where to find the tools as it is to
illustrate how to use them effectively to create compelling creatures and characters.
Chapter 1: Sculpting, from Traditional to Digital introduces the ZBrush interface
and working methods. In this chapter you’ll create a doorknocker from a primitive plane.
Chapter 2: Sculpting in ZBrush further explores the ZBrush sculpting toolset. Starting
with a ZBrush primitive sphere, you’ll block in the skull, facial muscles, and then skin of
the human head.