Day 5

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Working with Polygroups

– Polygons can be hidden at any time, holding Ctrl + Shift  activates the SelectRect tool; dragging a rectangle then releasing hides everything that isn’t in the green box.

Ctrl + Shift enables the selection tool, which hides everything outside the selection box.

– Ctrl + Shift + LMB click outside the model reveals the hidden polygons – Ctrl + Shift + Drag outside the model inverts the visibility, revealing the hidden polygons and hiding the visible polygons. – Ctrl + Shift + Alt hides any polygons in the red box.

Ctrl + SHift + Alt hides any polygons inside the red box.

– models can be modified once polygons are hidden eg Tool > Geometry > Delete Hidden will delete any hidden polygons, making an open mesh.

– Polygroups are a quick and easy way to handle visibility by hiding entire parts of a model with a single click. – There are several tools to create a polygroup which can be found under Tool > Polygroups: the easiest way is by selecting some polygons then pressing Ctrl + W which assigns any visible polygons to a new polygroup.

– other options for creating polygroups include From Masking which converts any masked polygons into a new polygroup and Group Front which merges any polygons facing the camera.

POlygroups can be made based on visibility, colour or masking using these tools.

– Ctrl + Shift + LMB on a polygroup hides every other polygroup. Ctrl + Shift + LMB on the visible polygroup again to hide that group and reveal the hidden groups.

– Polygroups created at a low subdivision level are retained at higher subdivision levels.

– Polygroups can be made by masking areas then pressing Ctrl + W. This works the same as Tool > Polygroups > Group Masked.

– Use the PolishGroups slider next to Tool > Polygroups > Group Masked to create smooth-edged polygroups at higher subdivision levels. This modifies the geometry around the polygroup.

The polishgroups slider can be used to create smooth-edged polygroups from masked areas at the expense of deforming geometry.

– Slice tools can be used to quickly create polygroups: Ctrl + Shift brings up the Slice tool menu.

Slice tools can be used to quickly create lots of polygroups on a model.

– Holding Ctrl with the transpose tool selected eg Move or Rotate then clicking on a polygroup aligns the transpose tool with the normal of that polygroup while masking all other groups. Holding Shift while dragging the transpose line moves just that polygroup along the transpose axis.

An example of using polygroups and the transpose tool to manipulate a mesh.

– POlygroups can be used to easily break a mesh into subtools by hiding a polygroup then using the Tool > Subtools > Split > Split Hidden command. The hidden polygroup is separated into a separate piece of geometry.

POlygroups can be used to create subtools by selectively hiding polygroups.

– POlygroups can be used to maintain crisp edges when subdividing using the Tool > Geometry > Edgeloop > Edgeloop command: Hide all but the desired polygroup, select the crisp button then press edgeloop. A new ring of polygons is added around the polygroup close to the border. Now when the model is subdivided this edge will stay sharper.

POlygroups and the edgeloop tool can be used to create features that stay crisp-edged even when the model is heavily subdivided.

Day 4 part 3

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Working with Masks

– Hold Ctrl to activate the current Masking Brush. Ctrl + LMB creates a masked area.

– Masked areas are not affected by sculpting or polypainting while active.

Masked areas are protected from sculpting and polypainting.

– Ctrl + Alt + LMB is a Subtractive Mask Brush and can be used to unmask masked areas.

– Ctrl + LMB starting off the model draws a Masking box. Ctrl + Alt + LMB makes the box an unmasking box. If the masking box doesn’t touch the model when Ctrl is released any current masks are cleared.

– Hold spacebar while drawing a masking box to drag the box around the screen.

Hold CTrl and drag starting off the model to create a masking box. Ctrl + Alt creates an unmasking box.

– Ctrl + Brush palette shows all the masking tools.

– MaskLasso is a freeform tool for quickly creating large masks.

Masklasso quickly creates large freeform masks.

– MaskCurvePen draws a curve that can be dragged around to mask areas.

MaskCurvePen draws out a curve that can be dragged around to mask areas around it.

– MaskCurve draws a straight line mask border. Press Alt while drawing to add a bend to the curve. Hold spacebar at any point to move the MaskCurve.

Maskcurve draws a straight line that masks everything to one side of it. Press ALt to add a curve to the line.

– Tool > Masking contains extra options for masks. ViewMask makes the mask invisible without removing it. Inverse flips the mask (can also be done by holding Ctrl + LMB off the model).

– BlurMask and SharpenMask can be used to sharpen or soften the edge of the mask.

– MaskByCavity automatically masks areas deeper than the set depth.

The masking sub-palette in tool has several options for manipulating and creating masks.

– Primitives have an extra sub-palette for masking called Mask by Alpha. Start by masking the whole primitive then using the buttons to unmask areas by Row, Col and Grd according to the Sel and Skp settings.

Primitives only can be masked by polygons using the sel and skp settings and grid, row and column buttons.

– The Move tool can be used to draw out topological masks. Hold Ctrl + LMB starting on the model to mask the whole model along the transpose axis.

Hold Ctrl + Move to drag out a transpose line that masks the whole model.

– Ctrl + LMB on masked areas to soften the mask boundary.

Day 4 part 2

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Basic Polypainting

– Polypainting is colouring a mesh using the polygons rather than a UV-based texture map. Polypainted models can be used to create texture maps, but for high-resolution maps a high-polygon model is required.

– Polypainting uses the same brushes as sculpting, but ZAdd and ZSub should be switched off and the RGB channel switched on.

Polypainting is usually started by switching the Zadd/Zsub buttons off and enabling the Rgb channel, once a base colour has been chosen.

– If you try to choose a colour now the whole mesh will change. To start polypainting properly, select Colour > FillObject. The mesh now has a colour applied and new colours can be selected for polypainting.

USe the FillObject button to set the base colour on the model, allowing for polypainting to proceed.

– Colour can be combined with strokes and alphas to get different paint effects.

Colour and brushes can be combined with strokes and alphas for many different effects.

– to pick a colour from the model, LMB + Drag from the colour palette onto the model. The cursor will change to the Pick symbol.

– Use DragRect stroke with alphas to draw coloured instances of that alpha.

Use the Dragrect stroke to precisely place coloured alphas.

– Rgb Intensity slider determines the strength of the polypainting colour. A higher intensity builds up colour more quickly.

– Sculpting and polypainting can be done at the same time, eg for sculpting boils and pimples.

Use Zadd/Zsub in conjunction with polypainting to sculpt and colour detail in one go.

Day 4

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Basic Sculpting

– Sculpting Brushes can be found in the top left of the Left Shelf, or by pressing B.

– Specific brushes can be selected by pressing the first letter of the brush name followed by a specific letter eg to select ClayTubes press B > C > T.

Sculpting brushes can be found in the brush palette or by pressing specific letter combinations.

– The red rings represent the Draw Size and Focal Shift of the brush, and can be modified using the Draw Size and Focal Shift Sliders. The Draw Size Slider can also be brought up at the cursor position using S, the Focal Shift Slider using O.

– A Focal Shift of 0 will produce a very sharp edged result.

The cursor shows the draw size and focal shift, and can be modified by using sliders or the hotkey S and O.

– the ZAdd and ZSub buttons change between raising or lowering the mesh when sculpting. Holding Alt + LMB will switch between modes.

– the Z Intensity Slider controls the strength of the brush.

ZAdd and ZSub control what happens when sculpting, while the Z Intensity slider controls the strength of the brush.

– By default Shift + LMB is the Smooth Brush which can be used to blend sculpting. Other brushes can also be set to the Shift modifier.

Hold shift to activate the sculpting-smoothing brush, which smooths geometry.

– The Move Brush works by clicking and dragging geometry in or out. It is good for quickly reshaping a mesh but can lead to undesirable geometry if not careful.

The move brush can quickly reshape a model.

– Symmetry can be turned on using Transform > Activate Symmetry. Specific Axes can be selected using the X Y Z buttons or the X, Y and Z keys. Symmetry can be axial or radial (use the RadialCount Slider to vary how many instances are sculpted).

Radial and axial symmetry can be switched on to sculpt multiple areas of the mesh at the same time.

– RMB brings up a Quick Menu with many common commands and sliders.

RMB brings up a quick menu with easy access to most of the common drawing and sculpting commands.

– Strokes and Alphas can be combined with sculpting brushes to get different results:

– Dots and Freehand produce similar continuous results.

– Spray and ColourSpray apply randomised instances of the brush and alpha.

– DragRect and DragDot allow for precise positioning of alphas on the mesh.

Strokes and alphas can be combined with sculpting brushes to get different effects.

Day 3 results

Some very useful new information regarding setting up reference images, this will make sculpting form sketches much easier, as well as knowing how to create reference images for eg colour swatches or illustrations. Learning the different methods of repositioning meshes has given me a better grounding in how to set up multi-part models. Hopefully later in the tutorials they will cover how to move an object yet still sculpt with symmetry.

Remembering to switch off the Smt modifier when subdividing will be essential when it comes to hard edge modeling, which I am keen to do.

Day 3 part 3

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Subdividing Geometry

– Subdivision tools are found under Tool > Geometry.

– Tool > Geometry > Divide or Ctrl + D adds one subdivision layer to the active tool.

– Move up one subdivision layer using D or move down one subdivision layer using Shift + D. You can also use the SDiv slider or the Higher Res / Lower Res buttons.

Use the divide button to add subdivision layers that can be moved between using the slider or buttons.

– use the Del Lower / Del Higher to delete subdivision layers. The layers are relative to the current layer.

– Tool > Geometry > Smt smooths the mesh when subdivision layers are added. If this option is turned off polygons are added but the shape of the mesh is not changed.

Turning the Smt modifier off when subdividing adds polygons without changing the shape of the mesh.

– if the first subdivision layers are added without Smt, then the top layer is added with Smt some smoothing will be added to lower subdivision layers.

– Ztools retain their subdivision layers.

– Low Subdivision models are needed for creating Normal Maps from High Subdivision models.

– Tool > Geometry > Freeze Subdivision Levels can be used to retain subdivision information when carrying out operations that normally need a mesh with no subdivision levels.

Day 3 part 2

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Transforming 3D objects

– The Tool > Deformation palette contains sliders for modifying many aspects of a mesh:

– Offset  in combination with the X Y Z buttons allow for repositioning a mesh on the canvas.

– Rotate in combination with the X Y Z buttons allow for rotating a mesh aorund different axes on the canvas.

– Scale in combination with the X Y Z buttons allow for uniform or non-uniform resizing of a mesh.

Resym modifiers contain options for moving, rotating and resizing meshes

– Note that the sliders only refer to the degree of change in that action ie if a mesh is rotated the slider will reset to 0 and will have no memory of that mesh’s original position.

– the Move, Scale and Rotate buttons on the top shelf can also be used by using the transpose tool.

– The transpose tool is a gumball with many points to affect the mesh. Tool tips will appear in the status line when they’re hovered over. Options include duplicating, clipping, skewing / stretching and duplicating meshes when combined with RMB and Ctrl.

The Transpose tool combined with Move allows for several affects including clipping, stretching, inflating and duplicating meshes.

– Tool > Geometry > Position / Size also contains sliders for manipulating the mesh. Unlike the other options these do remember where the mesh was before modifying it, allowing for returning it to its original position.

The geometry size and position sliders are relative to the mesh’s original position so it can be easily restored to its starting point.

Day 3

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Setting up reference images

– These steps are specific to this model:

– draw a cylinder primitive

-in the Initialize palette set X and Y size to 20

– in the Deformation palette rotate by 90 degrees in the X axis

– subdivide several time

– Make PolyMesh3D

Preparing the start of the model.

– under the Draw Menu there is a palette specifically for grids and reference maps. Options include which faces to assign Maps to (Front-Back, Left-Right, Up-Down), and an option for using one Map for both planes (one).

buttons for assigning reference images to different planes around the model.

– Map1 / Map2 brings up the texture palette to select an image.

– If the image you wish to use isn’t in the texture palette, go to Texture > Import and the images will be available next time you click on Map1 / Map2. Other options are enabled once a Map is loaded.

Once an image is imported it can be applied to any of the reference map buttons.

– Draw > Snap > Snap to Mesh snaps the reference map to the size of the mesh on the canvas.

Snap to Mesh makes the reference image the size of the mesh on the canvas.

– Draw > (F-B/U-D/L-R) > Adjust allows for changing the reference map’s colour, contrast and cropping.

reference maps can be cropped and adjusted within Zbrush.

– To make the reference map visible through the mesh use Draw > Fill Mode 1 / 2 / 3, or the Front button.

Use the fill mode slider to change how visible the reference map is during sculpting.

– once reference maps have been set they can be all switched off at the same time using the floor button on the right shelf.

– Reference images can be created from a model using Draw > Snapshot to Grid, which creates a texture map for each of the six planes.

Use the Snapshot to Grid button to create reference images from a 3D model.

Day 2 results

Again mostly refreshing things I already knew, but finding the hidden tools in the Lightbox will be very useful for future tutorials eg hard edge modelling. Some useful tricks with the interface, especially the see through slider which I didn’t know about before.

I’m hoping that taking the time to learn about the interface thoroughly will pay off later down the line when I start other more advanced tutorials.

I wasn’t aware that saving a model as a Ztool didn’t save the materials or subtools, so that is a handy thing to remember, and warrants always saving as a project at some point when modelling.

The Initialize panel when drawing primitives was new to me and extremely useful. The Gear3D and Spiral tools in particular have a lot of potential for modelling small details to use as subtools and detail meshes for bigger projects.

Day 2 Part 3

Introduction to Zbrush Digital Tutors

Setting display options.

– Draw includes several palettes relating to the canvas view.

The draw palettes lets you change viewport and floor settings.

– Transform > Transp makes every subtool except the active tool transparent.

Use the transparency button to make subtools except the active one transparent.

– Transform > Ghost makes the transparent subtools more visible.

– Transform > Xpose (Shift + X) button explodes the model until pressed again, allowing you to see what subtools the model is made of.

Xpose explodes the model into its component subtools.

– some Tools eg Xpose feature a small X Y Z that can be turned on and off, affecting which axes the tool  works on.

– the Frame (F) button centres the canvas on the 3D model.

The frame button focuses the canvas on the model.

– the See Through slider makes the whole Zbrush interface transparent, allowing you to eg load up an image in a search engine that can be seen as reference while sculpting.

The Zbrush interface can be made transparent to see reference images on the desktop.