Getting Started in ZBrush

Getting Started in ZBrush

by Greg Johnson
Released April 2014
Publisher(s): CRC Press
ISBN: 9781134507245

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Book description

Getting Started in ZBrush is a gentle introduction to ZBrush, today’s premier digital sculpting program. Beginning with the fundamentals of digital sculpting as well as a thorough introduction to the user interface, Getting Started in ZBrush will have you creating a variety of professional-level 3D models in no-time. More than just another button-pushing manual, this comprehensive guide is packed with start-to-finish projects that ease you into the workflow of the program, while at the same time providing tips and tricks that will allow you to achieve certain tasks much more quickly. After progressing through the tutorials, you will be shown how to customize brushes, materials, scripts, and the interface so that you can utilize these tools to their full advantage.

Special consideration is given to ZBrush’s integration plug-ins with Maya and 3ds Max, allowing you to properly import and export your models in all programs. Texturing, painting, mapping, decimation, baking, and topology are also fully covered so your Zbrush creations can come to life without sacrificing that high-resolution look.

  • Ease your way into this complex subject with this straight-forward approach to ZBrush

  • Perfect your technique with step-by-step tutorials that allow you to create high res models from start to finish.

  • Expand your knowledge by visiting the companion website, which features video demonstrations, project files, texture and model files, scripts, customized menus, brushes, and additional resources.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication
  6. Table of Contents
  7. Acknowledgements
  8. About the Author
  9. Chapter 1: Introduction
    1. Overview
    2. Professional practices
    3. Creativity
    4. Reference material
    5. Copyright
    6. Publicizing your work
    7. Resources
    8. Learning process
  10. Chapter 2: Interface
    1. Buying and installing ZBrush
    2. Interface layout
      1. Menus
      2. Conventions and mouse buttons
      3. Controls
      4. Interface
      5. Help and shortcuts
    3. Concepts
      1. 2D, 3D, and 2.5D, as well as bit depth
      2. Pixel
      3. Pixol
      4. Working with the canvas and documents
    4. Saving your work
      1. Organizing files and paths
    5. Additional help
  11. Chapter 3: The Basics
    1. Working with 3D ZTools
    2. Saving your 3D work
  12. Chapter 4: Modeling a Head
    1. Symmetry
    2. DynaMesh
    3. Subdivision
    4. Working with files
  13. Chapter 5: Brushes, Materials, and Painting
    1. Brushes
    2. Different strokes
      1. Brush alpha
      2. Brush stroke
      3. Problems and fixes
  14. Chapter 6: The Dragon’s Head
    1. Helpful tidbits
    2. Making a mouth
    3. Creating eyes
    4. Teeth
    5. Tongue
  15. Chapter 7: Creating the Wings Using Shadowbox and ZSketch
    1. Shadowbox
    2. ZSketch
    3. Refine the wing
  16. Chapter 8: Making the Dragon’s Body
    1. Introducing ZSpheres
    2. Using ZSpheres
    3. Flattening the bottom
    4. Adding secondary features
    5. Tertiary details
    6. Adding claws with the IMM brush
    7. Wings
  17. Chapter 9: UVs and Masking
    1. Masking
    2. Masking palette
      1. Mask by cavity
      2. Mask by smoothness
      3. Mask peaks and valleys
      4. Masks by color
      5. Mask ambient occlusion
    3. Understanding UVs
    4. Map projections
    5. Creating UVs in ZBrush
    6. Saving masks
    7. Applying masks
  18. Chapter 10: Painting the Dragon
    1. Adding a material
    2. Approach to painting
    3. Painting using masks
    4. Using Decimation Master to reduce the size of your model
  19. Chapter 11: Creating the Collar Using Insert Mesh
    1. The collar part
    2. Decorations
  20. Chapter 12: Recoloring the Model
    1. The why
    2. The how: Re-UVing the model
    3. Creating and adjusting the color texture map
    4. Applying the modified texture map to the model
  21. Chapter 13: Making a Fire Hydrant
    1. Centerpiece
    2. Top and bottom flange
    3. Making the cap
    4. Top bolt
    5. Water spouts
    6. Creating the other spouts
    7. Adding the spout tips
    8. Bottom detail section
    9. Band cutouts
    10. Subtractive DynaMesh
    11. Cap cutouts
    12. Adding bolts
  22. Chapter 14: The Base-Stand
    1. Making the base
    2. Creating the ground plane
    3. Adding a wood texture
    4. Texturing the ground
  23. Chapter 15: Grass
  24. Chapter 16: Combining It All
    1. Loading and merging
    2. Decimating subtools
  25. Chapter 17: Posing the Dragon
    1. Principles of posing
    2. Posing techniques
  26. Chapter 18: Painting the Fire Hydrant
    1. Principles of texturing
    2. Reference material
    3. Weathering
    4. LightBox
    5. SpotLight
    6. ZAppLink
  27. Chapter 19: Polishing the Model
    1. Saving the file
    2. Changing the eyes
    3. Posing the tongue
  28. Chapter 20: Lighting
    1. Adding lights
    2. High-key and low-key lighting
    3. Three-point lighting
  29. Chapter 21: Rendering
    1. Setup
    2. Rendering process
    3. Document.Export and the BPR RenderPass
    4. Creating a variety of looks
    5. Generating masks for illustration
  30. Chapter 22: Compositing
    1. Adding layers
    2. Editing the layers
    3. Adding a backdrop
  31. Index

Product information

  • Title: Getting Started in ZBrush
  • Author(s): Greg Johnson
  • Release date: April 2014
  • Publisher(s): CRC Press
  • ISBN: 9781134507245