Zbrush and issues

In order to get a better understanding of the program of zbrush I looked at various tutorials online which demonstrated how to create quality images and to locate the tools necessary for the job. I found some digital tutor videos which went into specifics on how the facial structure works as well as creating muscle tone and bone structure. The videos themselves also demonstrate how specific tools are beneficial for creating different areas and manipulating the geometry to fit what character you are working on. The clay tubes brush allowed me create muscle and bone structure, whereas the move tool allowed me to make quick but dramatic changes in form. This was very useful as I was able to move geometry to create areas such as the jawline and eyebrow region.

Another interesting technique was reducing the resolution of the image to create big form changes easily. I learnt to work in a specific way whereby I first created a basic shape from a sphere and then moved geometry to give the impression of facial features. Once you have the bas mesh you can then sculpt into it adding details in higher resolution levels. This made for more efficient modeling and saved time.

The only real major problem I had was creating the ears and eyes. These areas have overlapping areas and flappy bits of skin with quite a bit of detail. The ears were relatively easy with a little practice . I also stylized the ears by simplifying its features. The eyes were very difficult in terms of modeling. However, it was important to get that despondency with the big eyebrows that was essential to the character. The eyelids themselves were very tricky as they needed to be detailed in a higher subdivision mode. At this point I had no idea how to create the eyeballs that would really sell the character. I had to mirror the eyeballs but the version of zbrush that I posses had a really long winded way of doing this operation. I struggled for some time to get the tool to work and realised I needed some help. Fahran Younas, a friend of mine kindly showed me a plug in that would solve this issue. The plugin was located on the Pixologic site. This made the mirroring process ten time easier and I was able to create that character appeal I was looking for. It was amazing to see the impact the eyes had on a character and you could get a sense of the desperation felt by the character. This was a magical moment and I was very impressed with the quality of the images.