ZBrush Character Creation - Advanced Digital Sculpting 2nd Edition

34 chapter 2 ■ Sculpting in ZBrush

primitive helps to illustrate how topology in ZBrush is not a major concern, provided that

the polygon count of your base model is low enough that it can be subdivided to the maxi-

mum level. The higher your subdivision levels, the more polygons you will have to push and

pull into the shapes you need. Please see the accompanying DVD for a video of the head

sculpture from this chapter. You will also find a bonus DVD of an alien sculpture that was

created from a ZBrush primitive sphere.

At this time I’d like to introduce you to the concept of multiresolution editing. Multi-

resolution editing means that changes you make at level 1 on a ZTool telegraph all the way

up to the highest subdivision level; changes at the high levels are telegraphed down to

level 1 (Figure 2.1).

Because of this interaction between subdivision levels, when the artist works at the

lowest possible level, any forms made will translate to the higher levels. This workflow helps

reinforce the “big shapes to smaller details” we discussed in Chapter 1, “Sculpting, from

Traditional to Digital.” When you create the big shapes first and work down to the details,

your sculpture maintains a solid sense of form. By working at lower subdivision levels, you

won’t deal with enough geometry to become lost in details. This ensures that you focus on

big shapes first and then add details as you begin to subdivide. This is the process we used in

Chapter 1 for the lion head. This kind of approach also helps create a smooth and organic

surface without the “lumpiness” seen in some ZBrush models.

Although it is desirable to work at the lowest possible subdivision level for the form you

are creating, some ZBrush brushes work differently at the higher subdivision levels. The Rake

and Clay brushes, for example, are more effective at the higher subdivision levels. The kind of

form that these brushes build is rough, so the focus is still on building basic large shapes first

and then working down to the details. This process is closer to sculpting in actual clay, as you

use larger rakes and broad strokes to create base forms and then refine them with tighter and

smaller strokes until the surface is smoothed and finished. This latter process is the one we’ll

use for the human head sketch in this chapter. I use a combination of both working on the

Figure 2.1 The werewolf head on the left was altered with the Move tool at level 1. Stepping up to level 3, the changes
are telegraphed through each subdivision level and affect each one.