Create a quick portfolio still

Livio Rajh talks us through his quick methods for sculpting, posing and rendering a portfolio image straight out of ZBrush

This year I was invited to showcase some sculpts at the first local ZBrush UGM. Alongside portfolio pics I decided to make a short breakdown of the method I use when quickly creating a character and rendering him (or her) using ZBrush. This was something I could do to introduce how straightforward, fast and intuitive it is.

In this tutorial we will talk about making a direct design (without reference material), optimizing it for posing, PolyPainting and rendering the passes used for the final image. This workflow fits quick portfolio stills while avoiding animatable retopology and unwrap in the process.

Testing different methods (playtime)

Usually I work like most people do. I start with DynaMesh, extrude shapes and define them with Move/ClayBuildUp and add limbs with CurveTube brush, then Re-DynaMesh the whole thing and define further. Or I start with ZSpheres.

For this character I used a different approach to make it more interesting, and played with Insert brushes to get forms. As I was doing a cartoony character, I had no worries about using the basic shapes for silhouette/blocking. It's something I'll definitely add to my workflow after more practice as the design is really simple and exaggerated (most literally).

Block forms however you like: Insert brushes, DynaMesh sphere base, ZSpheres etc. Play with the possibilities!

Block forms however you like: Insert brushes, DynaMesh sphere base, ZSpheres etc. Play with the possibilities!

Sculpt iterations

After I was happy with the blocking for the overall shapes and silhouette for the character, I added more details. My preference is to use simple brushes like DamStandard, Move, ClayBuildUp combined with Smooth brush to soften fragments or custom Cut_B brush (a great custom brush made by Damien Canderle) to make sharp edges with (turn on ZSub mode).

To support this extra detail I created a heavier DynaMesh. In this case, it was a pretty light mesh to start, and I then re-DynaMeshed on further iterations. When I was done, I used Extract for the bands and gloves and then moved to props.

The <em>ZBilder</em> turntable showing some of the detailing brushes used

The ZBilder turntable showing some of the detailing brushes used

Props

I made every single prop in ZBrush, trying to avoid 3D modeling software for proxies. Simple shapes were merged together as DynaMesh, while taking to account the fact that I wanted to have separate groups (I also used MultiGroups DynaMesh) and later ZRemeshed everything to optimize it. I duplicated the Gym Weights several times as I wanted them to be as light as possible, rather than having a heavy ZPR file.

The weights were done in ZBrush and optimized for multiplication

The weights were done in ZBrush and optimized for multiplication

Outfit: Sneakers

For the shoes I masked part of the foot, duplicated the SubTool, and then hid unselected items and deleted the hidden. I capped the hole, re-DynaMeshed it and started to move the shape.

For detailing I used DamStandard and polished the form with TrimDynamic and hPolish. For the laces I used CurveStrapSnap brush with Move brush and later added the stitches with StitchBasic brush. Shoes are a perfect example of when you can use the Deformation rollout alongside your brushes, to Inflate (extrude) a masked logo or another masked detail.

For the gloves, I created a guide, ZRemeshed it and then projected the detail onto it.

I used ZRemesher to optimize every SubTool I have, before PolyPainting and posing. After targeted results, subdivide new SubTool and project detail from the high-poly DynaMesh duplicate. I will use the gloves as an example. First, I drew circular guides around the holes (wrist, fingers) and ZRemeshed the SubTool. I than used an Inflate brush to get the finger holes looking thicker. When projecting the details I masked that part out, to avoid unwanted sharp edges I had on the DynaMesh. Masking is a great way to dodge artifacts on smaller detail such as corner of an eyelid etc.

Creating the gloves by creating ZRemesher guides

Creating the gloves by creating ZRemesher guides

PolyPaint

When PolyPainting, I selected SkinShade4 as it best represented my diffuse map. Also, I also switched to Flat shader every now and then and used masks when needed (see Boxout), and Layers for additional paintovers.

ZBilder is a fairly simple example. After the main coat of skin color I added darker shades and lighter details. This is something similar to painting your AO map, but using color and accentuating details that you want to bring out. When painting with less opacity, make sure to have your LazyMouse turned ON (with Radius = 1). I used ZAppLink to project tattoo details in Photoshop.

PolyPainting and ZAppLink create a better result

PolyPainting and ZAppLink create a better result

Posing

I used the TPoseMesh option in combination with MaskLasso/MaskPen and Transpose brush to get the pose I wanted (also use StoreMT!). For some things you can modify the geometry while your character still holds his symmetry, for example, the upper hands of ZBilder that he uses to hold the weights. After that I asymmetrically rotated the arms.

The TPoseMesh went to the lowest subdivision level and lost any polygroup information I had (on one SubTool naturally), but I created new polygroups to solve that. After I was done, I clicked TPose > SubTool button.

The TPoseMesh of the posed character

The TPoseMesh of the posed character

Render Passes

The image was rendered with BPR. I used three lights on top of my base to achieve a more realistic render - one fill light on the left and two backlights, all blended as Screen or Add mode. You can render your PolyPaint or just a white material for that, depending on your preferences.

The AO pass and shadow was rendered out as well, along with a radial light pass that simulates the falloff shader often used for cartoony/stylized types of renders. Besides an alpha pass, I took the time to create a Matte render using the Flat material in ZBrush (using FillObject).

The BPR render passes

The BPR render passes

Post work

The passes were composited in Photoshop. A matte pass was used for quicker selections and masking to make isolated adjustments, so I could change the hue on specific areas. I used Iris Blur instead of ZDepth Lens blur and added some post-filters. These little make-up tricks made all the difference!

For the filters, I added: Film Grain, Vignette, Chromatic Aberration (under Lens Correction). And lastly, I simulated the Diffusion effect and pushed the Saturation a bit. When I was happy with the post-processing, I flattened the image. ZBilder was created to show the described workflow for people interested in starting with ZBrush. Hopefully he did just that!

Post processing the composited image

Post processing the composited image

The final image

The final image

Top tip 1: Saving masks

I often need to save masking selections, for quick isolations when PolyPainting, for example. For this I create several PolyPaint Layers, each in grayscale so I can later Mask by Intensity. You can only have one polygroups set, but you can have as many layers as you want…

Top tip 2: Creating ZRemesherGuide loops

You want your joints in a specific place, so you create guide loops with ZRemesherGuide brush. The best way of doing this is with CreaseCurve brush. Turn ON PolyF to see the wire frame, and then use CreaseCurve. When you're finished, under the Stroke menu > Curve Functions, simply deactivate the Border and Frame Mesh options. Easy as that!

Create guide loops quickly and easily

Create guide loops quickly and easily

Top tip 3: Creating holes

With the SliceCircle brush, create a new polygroup for the hole, then hide and delete that polygroup. Bridge two openings using CurveBridge brush and re-DynaMesh the object. Don't forget that when using the CurveBridge brush, press Shift to have it automatically draw/close the guide on the opening.

Related Links

Head over to Livio's website for even more of his awesome work
Looking for epic characters? Check out this fab tutorial by Anders Ehrenborg
Grab your copy of Photoshop for 3D Artists – Volume 1 here

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