ZBrush Character Creation - Advanced Digital Sculpting 2nd Edition

■ Sculpting the Skull 69

Adding the Neck

I left the neck for last to show how it is possible to pull large forms directly out of a highly
subdivided mesh. When adding the neck to the head, you can pull the geometry directly from
the faces at the base of the head. We will add new forms directly to the existing sculpt by
using the geometry that is there.

1. Mask out the underside of the head and invert the mask. Use the Move brush to pull
   the faces down (Figure 2.78). Be sure to mask up to the digastric and include the
   mastoid process and occipital region (the back of the skull). Once the area where
   the neck will connect to the head is masked out, invert this mask
   by Ctrl-clicking it. This will mask the rest of the head, leaving
   unmasked the area we painted in.


2. Using the Move brush in combination with the Alt key to pull
   along the normal direction, start to tug the unmasked faces out
   from the base of the skull, as shown in Figure 2.79.


3. From the side, pull the faces down and back from the head (see
   Figure 2.80). The head pictured here is at subdivision level 4 so it is
   easier to grab large groups of faces and move them together. These
   changes will telegraph through all subdivision levels because of the
   ZBrush multiresolution editing approach discussed earlier in this
   chapter.


4. Using the Move brush, shape the chest and part of the shoulders.
   We will crop this like a classical bust, so you don’t need too much
   of the body intact. Try to match the head and shoulders, as shown
   in Figure 2.81.

Sculpting the Neck Muscles

Now that the overall shape and gesture of the neck has been established, step back up to
a higher subdivision level so we can again use the Clay brushes. We will now add the ana-
tomical forms of the clavicles, or collarbones, as well as the main neck muscles, called the
sternomastoids (Figure 2.82).

Figure 2.78 Masking under the head

to create a space from which to pull

the neck

Figure 2.79 Pulling the neck out with
the Move brush

Figure 2.80 Pulling the neck down

with the Move brush

Figure 2.81 Adding the shoulders