'ZBrush'

The Brumak is a character in the game Gears of War, which I consider one of the best games I've ever had the opportunity to play. The intention was to reproduce as faithfully as possible the original character with the knowledge I've acquired through some years studying and participating in forums. I also wanted to use the character in an in-game setting.

In this article I will explain part of the process that I've used to create the character. I searched for character all over the internet, but unfortunately I was not able to find many appropriate pictures to assist me in the production. After getting enough to shape the body, I started the development process.

I started with some ZSpheres in ZBrush because I like it better than the 3ds Max for projects like this (Fig.01).

Even with some references for his body, I had a hard time recreating the original shape. As I was relying only on perspectives, I had to improvise in many stages of the production.

This step is one of my favorites because with the help of ZBrush I can get good results fast. Most of the time I use the Clay brush to add volume to a model because this brush is very flexible and easy to use.

A good technique to be applied when it comes to sculpturing is to use every step of the subdivisions thoroughly, therefore leaving only the fine details to the highest levels of subdivision of the mesh and greater ones for the lower subdivisions.

After many tests and trials with brushes to make the skin and muscles, this was the result I got (Fig.02). 

Accessories add detail to a character but can also be even more work than the actual character itself. This sculpt was a good example of a character with complex accessories. I had to develop many small parts to build all the equipment. Using 3ds Max, I took the character’s mesh to give the base to some parts, such as the vest which is very tight to the character´s body (Fig.03).