How does ZBrush make a dragon model? ZBrush graphic tutorial on making dragon model

ZBrush is a professional digital sculpture, painting software and 3D design software, with a variety of brush tools built in to help users quickly complete 3D sculpture painting, and users can also use virtual clay to complete modeling work, which is powerful. At present, there are many small partners who study ZB sculpture, but most of them find it hard to learn and finally give up! In fact, it is difficult to learn ZB sculpture. With professional guidance, you can get started in a short time. For this reason, in order to help the friends who want to get started and improve the ZB carving technology, we have provided several sets of ZB self-study video courses with professional teachers, taught in multiple sessions, and learned a set of introductory courses. After learning advanced courses, we can achieve ~

ZBrush dragon model graphic course:

ZBrush is the first choice for 3D carving, and the most convenient tools are always placed in an obvious position in the ZBrush interface, and some keyboard shortcuts are created in ZBrush. In this way, the most commonly used tools can be put on the screen when needed, even after a period of time, it will become muscle memory. Add the most commonly used brushes at the bottom of the interface, and there is also a pop-up menu containing them.

Open ZBrush and start drawing some basic shapes for Leviathan model. After knowing the appearance of the final model, you can adjust the posture.

For this part, start with a simple sphere, carve it symmetrically, and then deform it until something similar to a snake or a dragon is drawn. After the "T-pose" is completed and all the required elements are made, pose it with the TransposeMaster tool.

this is used in combination with other brushes in ZBrush, such as Move, ClayBuildup, Standard and DamStandard brushes, which are all built-in brushes in ZBrush. The shape of wings will become bigger and more like wings. The skeletal structure of the head will have more layers, and will become a crown extending downward from the back with the curve of the body, and the angle of the head side will double and become larger. Main structure

Because we know the final shape, we can avoid too much deformation when we start to pose as a grid, so we use the previously made matrix and pose it so that the outline roughly matches the final outline. At this stage, we work symmetrically to save time and add a lot of details.

The first important thing is to study the anatomical structure. For this reason, the anatomical structure of human and lion is mixed, and some other elements of giraffe and dinosaur are combined. In addition, according to the biological types being made (dragon, biped flying dragon, sea snake, etc.), we can find similar existing animals and get anatomical reference from them.

Another important thing is to have an outline. For 3D printing, the large and medium details are usually more important than the small details, and these details may be disappeared by the printing process. Because of this, most things are magnified, mainly because it will print better and make it look imposing.

The created anatomical structures and large shapes will be used as landmarks, not as appropriate real body structures, even if they remain functional and logical. These begin to add all the scale areas, which are visible in some way, and are a little exaggerated to keep the shape.

The most commonly used brushes are:

1. Moving and moving topology, moving things and giving them the required shape.

2, ClayBuildup, Standard and Orb brushes, which can carve large shapes and areas.

3, TrimDynamic and hPolish, which are used to level and polish the area.

4. DamStandard, used for sharp lines and cracks.

5. Slash2 can be found by opening the light box and clicking Brush-Slash-Slash2.

add more elements, such as spikes on shoulders and wings, dorsal fins, etc. At this stage, the wings lose their bat-like structure and become separated from the body and hind legs, more like fins. When the dorsal fin moves from the middle of the body to the back of the body, the trunk becomes heavier. Mainly because when posing, it is in the "dead zone" of modeling, and lowering it can make it more conspicuous.

Use a separate sub-tool to create a large scale covering the abdomen and back. First, shield an area on the body and extract it, add a shell, and then use ZRemesher to provide a topology for it. Then copy and manually place them along the curve of the body, and then refine them. Scale placement

Use VDM (Vector Displacement Map) in ZBrush to place the scale directly on the body. These brushes can add details and extract topology from existing topology, which works in the same way as regular alpha, except that it retains all overhanging and 3D details. This means that there needs to be enough resolution to avoid blurring, so the subdivision level needs to be adjusted to the highest subdivision.

by default, if there is 4R8 or later, you can find some VDMs in ZBrush, which are called Chisel3D and ChiselCreature under the brush palette.

You can also create a VDM to meet your needs. Here is a way:

1. Select the Chisel3D brush and clone it in the "Brush" option, so as not to overwrite the brush while retaining the existing parameters.

2. in the tool panel, add a Plane3D. Use the default ZBrush plane and its default topology. Do not use ZRemeshing or DynaMeshing.

3. subdivide the plane several times, mask an area and carve alpha3D.

4. Make multiple alpha in the same project, and make sure to use ZBrush plane for each.

5. after all alpha are completed, select Chisel3D from step 1, open the brush palette, and click CreateMultiAlphaBrush at the bottom. Each sub-tool will be added to the current brush, and you can click Save As in the brush palette to save this brush.

The following is an example, which is completed with only one scale. You can create scales of different shapes to add changes.

using the VDM brush, drag the alpha on the grid to add details. For the model, use some great scales made in previous projects to save time.

this is where all the muscle and body markers come in handy, because they are used as a reference to add all the proportions. At this point, observe some reptiles in real life, such as crocodiles, lizards, chameleons, etc., to understand how different types of scales interact.

add all scales by hand and keep them symmetrical, trying to make a beautiful appearance for the model, alternating between different scales to increase the change, and sometimes carving at the top to add some damage and wear. Fill the gaps between different elements and cover his whole body like a crocodile. The back of the wings, the end of the tail and the hind legs are treated in the same way.

this is what the body looks like on all scales: head and wings

the head follows the same process as the body, and it will be iterated every time the whole model is significantly changed. Use the brush above to carve the head, work on a larger landmark, and then add details and some sharp proportions. Add some damage and wear, and polish and improve the shape. DamStandard and Slash2 brushes are very helpful for this part, because they can create smaller details, such as cracks and uneven areas.

Angle, maxilla, mandible, teeth, tongue and eyes are independent sub-tools, which can be opened and closed or isolated. For wings, the texture of the front is different from that of the back, and the back is covered with scales like other parts of the body. You can make them bare, because small details are easy to disappear during printing, but you think some small textures can be increased a lot, so you use frog skin alpha imported in ZBrush.

from there, you can select a standard brush, change the current Stroke to DragRect, add frog texture in the Alpha slot, and then drag the cursor on the surface to start applying the texture. There needs to be enough resolution so that the texture does not appear blurred or low resolution.

use layers with different sizes, intensities and opacity changes to make the texture look more beautiful. If the brush modifies the geometry without applying Alpha correctly, you can click on the Surface under Alpha-Modify-Surface.

in addition, DamStandard and Slash2 are used to decompose the texture and bring some details to the wing, especially the bottom, and to enhance some wrinkles and areas. Pose

After the carving part is completed, it is necessary to pose to match the original occlusion. Therefore, all sub-tools are merged into the lowest subdivision by using TransposeMaster. Use occlusion as a reference, use a mask to move large blocks of the mesh, and use the move tool to move finer areas. Adjust the overall posture to make it look more attractive, such as straightening the chest circumference, exaggerating some shapes, and thinning the outline and curve of its body.

To make the base of the figurine more attractive, make some rocks.

then import the KeyShot, where a scene has been set. Find some cool angles and click Render.

The dragon model has been made. At the beginning of the project, you can find a beautiful posture and manually place all scales.

That's what Feather Rabbit shared today: "How does ZBrush make a dragon model? ZBrush making dragon model graphic tutorial ",I hope it will help you learn ZB sculpture! ZB sculpture occupies a certain position in the three-dimensional industry. Learning ZB and making three-dimensional modeling can be considered as an introduction. If you are looking for a tutorial to learn ZB everywhere at this time, why not choose the ZB self-study course of our feather rabbit system? Click on the link: