Datasheet

■ Creating a Base Sculpting Mesh 33
These smaller spheres will create topology loops to represent the inner eyes and mouth
as well as the nose and ears. If you preview this mesh, you will have something like
Figure 1.66.
The effect of these spheres differs from what you can do using
Classic Skinning. Under Adaptive Skin enable Classic Skinning
mode, set Ires to 3 and Mbr to 9. Move the eye and mouth spheres
in slightly so they become holes in the ZSphere head (Figure 1.67).
Now when you preview, you will have recessed loops in the mesh
for the eyes, nose, and mouth.
When adding geometry for facial features, as we have just done,
this is where you must decide on which skinning method works
best for you. The default skinning in ZBrush ZSpheres2 will look
much closer to the ZSphere chain you create for your figure, but it
will not handle the countersunk ZSpheres in a predictable manner.
That is one reason why there is a Classic Skinning button under
the Adaptive Skin menu. Experiment with both skinning methods.
For this tutorial I used Classic Skinning with the following settings
to make the edge loops for the facial features.
If you use the new ZSpheres2 skinning method, make sure you do not countersink
the spheres for the facial features into the head. ZSpheres2 does not support coun-
tersink, and this may cause undesirable behavior.
Figure 1.68 shows this ZSphere model under both skinning methods in ZBrush Classic
and ZSpheres2. Notice that the Classic Skinning gives you more accurate facial loops
for sculpting the eyes, nose, and mouth while the default ZSpheres2 skinning seen on
the left follows the ZSphere chain more accurately but does not recess the topology
for the face. The edge loops are still there in ZSpheres2; you will just have to manu-
ally press them into the head when you start sculpting. Both skins will work fine; it
is entirely up to your own preference when working with the base mesh. Figure 1.69
shows the facial topology of Classic Skinning and ZSpheres2 so you can see how the
underlying loops are conformed to the surface.
Remember, if you use Classic Skinning, the volume of the limbs will no longer follow
the ZSphere chain as you have made it. To rectify this, simply add more Zspheres
between the joints to help define the forms as seen in Figure 1.70. It is also important
to note that the hands and feet will generate topology differently between the two
skinning methods. Try both and decide which mesh is more appealing to you as a
base on which to sculpt. Please see the DVD for a video demonstrating both ZSphere
approaches and the nuances of each skinning method.
18. Save your Zsphere model by clicking Tool
→ Save As. make sure to save the Zsphere
model as well as the Adaptive Skin separately. We will now generate a polygon mesh
from the ZSphere model. Under the Adaptive Skin menu, click the Make Adaptive Skin
button. You will notice a new ZTool listed in the tool menu prefixed with the name
Skin. Select this tool. This is the polygon mesh generated from the ZSphere model.
Save this tool separately from the ZSphere model in case you want to revisit the original
ZSphere chain for further edits in the future. By using the Move brush you can quickly
move the mesh into a more accurate shape of a basic human, as seen in Figure 1.71.
Notice the eyes and mouth have been pressed in and the hands and feet shaped. This
is done entirely with the Move brush to help refine the figure for the next chapter.
The very simple Zsphere model can quickly be refined into a more accurate human
form using the Move brush alone (Figure 1.72). Please see the DVD for copies of all the
ZSphere and Adaptive Skin models as well as multiple variants of the ZSphere skeleton.
Figure 1.66 The
ZSpheres2 facial loops
skinned
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