Learning how to Zbrush / 3D model a character, then print it with high resolution
Recommendations: 54
About the Project
Hi there, I have been a hobbyist/gamer for nearly 20 years - from early teens trough most of my adult life. I say hobbyist first, as even if I do appreciate the gaming side of it all, my fundamental drive has always been to create. I started out like any other when it comes to miniatures but as I have progressed I reached a point where I wanted to go deeper and really create something out of nothing. I have sculpted some models for myself using the traditional mediums but as I work with graphic design it followed naturally that I would try and learn how to Zbrush a character. I set about to learn Zbrush trough this project, following online advice and trying to create a full character of my own. I had previously tried sculpting digitally, a few heads and a torso, but when I started this project it had been quite a while and I had since forgotten all previous knowledge. Now however, I decided to finnish it - reward in the end would be some basic level of understanding how the 3D sculpting works, giving me a good solid structure for future sculpts.
Related Genre: Survival
This Project is Active
Blocking in the shapes
I had heard of a function called “Dynamesh” before, and seeing it in action was quite awesome. Basicly, it makes the mesh a lot more manageable and re-dynameshing would re-calculate the base mesh, so you would not have problems with bad topology as you sculpt your character. After applying Dynamesh, I started to bulk out my character using clay brushes like clay buildup, eventually smoothing my characters surface to make a sort of starting point for the details.
Zspheres? Zspheres.
First off, I stumbled into Zspheres. It was sort of making up a virtual balloon animal, coarsely shaped like what I was in the end going for. At this point, there is lots of symmetry in play. The overall posture was to be sort of relaxed.
Gnoll it is then
I did a quick sketch of a Gnoll that would be my goal. Not a 100% identical one, but something in that directionStarting out I was looking at different material for learning Zbrush and I came across one that was about a sort of werelion gladiator -character. Browsing trough it, I decided that I would build my character in the same order, learning my workflow from the teachers character. As the teacher had drawn a sketch of her character, so did I. I settled for a Gnoll, as I have always liked them.




