Introduction to ZBrush

Taught by Charles Chorein

Course Number:
ZBR101
Software Version:
 
Original Run Date:
February 2021 
Duration:
4 hours 27 minutes 
3D
vfx
This course is focused on the fundamentals of ZBrush and provides the opportunity to discover and learn it without any 3D knowledge. This training covers the features, brushes and tools you need to know to start to express your creativity and learn how ZBrush can be fun and simple to use. The course is perfect for real sculptors who want to get into the digital world and also ideal for 3D artists who want to learn ZBrush.

Charles Chorein is a CG supervisor at Cinesite London with 12 years of experience. He has been working in London since 2009 and has achieved various movies such as The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Prometheus, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Superman: Man of Steel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Despicable Me. He has been working for years in TV and recently finished Dark Crystal for Netflix. He is currently involved in a few projects for Netflix and Amazon that are coming early next year.
 
Introduction to ZBrush
Watch our overview of the course

Class Listing

Class 1: Quick start

An introduction to ZBrush and how to manipulate the 3D environment. Learn how lightBox works, the difference between projects, documents, and tools, and a first look at the masking tool.

Class 2: Interface

With a bit of knowledge about ZBrush under your belt, learn how to use the 3D Gizmo, how to manipulate objects, the Stroke menu, and the material library.

Class 3: Different ways of working

There are three main ways to work in ZBrush: Subdiv, Dynamesh and Sculptris Pro. An exploration of each of them and learning which one would be appropriate for your needs.

Class 4: Working with layers

ZBrush provides a lot of brushes by default. A focus on the five main brushes you really need to start sculpting and refining the shape. Also, how to work with Layers and how to isolate specific areas to work on.

Class 5: Organization and Methodology

SubTools in ZBrush are extremely useful and provide more control and a better workflow. An exploration of Polygroups and how to create selection sets, Live Boolean mode, and using folders to bake the boolean process.

Class 6: Manipulation

Now that you are familiar with the interface, it’s time to customize the UI and assign a few hotkeys.

Class 7: Sculpting the Gorilla, Part 1

The beginning is always the hardest part. You'll learn how to start, finding the right approach and methodology to start the sculpt as well as learning what you need to avoid.

Class 8: Sculpting the Gorilla, Part 2

Refining the sculpt and adjusting the proportion and silhouette of the gorilla.

Class 9: Dynamics

Now the sculpt is done, it’s time to add some details such as skin and wrinkles using some textures as an alpha combined with the current brush.

Class 10: Sculpting non-organic

An exploration of the ZPlugin menu and going through the process of using ZRemesher to retopology our mesh, generating UVs, and creating the displacement map to get the asset ready for other 3D software packages.