ZBrush – From Concept to Screen

Explore the critical foundation necessary to build naturalistic figures in ZBrush.

This groundbreaking digital sculpting course has been developed to give you an insight and essential practical skills using ZBrush. Your tutor Gregg Hartley will introduce you to the main interface and orientation of this program.

You will become familiar with the tools interface and understand the design choices available to you. Your tutor will explain and discuss creature design choices and demonstrate the software usage and its applications.

In this first section of the course, you will explore the ZBrush interface, tools, workspace layout, how the program works and its uses and applications. Through demonstrations of the program in action, you will model a base sculpting mesh in which to lay the foundation of your learning and use as a sculpting model throughout your course.

Your tutor will assist you in creating the base meshes that is used to create your sculpture, as well as utilizing sub tools and subdivision levels to add progressive detail to your sculpts.

You shall be introduced to Dynameshes and Zspheres that will form the understructure of your final sculpture. Here you will explore both digital sculpting, and traditional sculpting techniques, and how they apply to using ZBrush, whilst introducing texturing elements, and refining our organic forms.

Upon completion of your organic form i.e.; human head, bust, you will add hard surface elements to (armor, helmet etc.) and understand several ways of achieving hard surface elements, which shall be demoed and then be applied to your sculpt.

You will understand how to build a rig under your sculpture that can used to pose and manipulate your sculpture into a final position, whilst understanding the simpler methods of masking and manipulating within ZBrush. As you approach the final stages of your sculpture, you can add final adjustments to form and pose, before running a test render on digital clay to make sure all is satisfactory.

Using Polypaint features of Zbrush will enable you to paint texture and details onto your finished sculptures, adding depth and shape. Once completed you shall finalize your piece into a finished, painted, digital sculpture. Any final adjustments can be made during this time to complete your work.

The aim of this introductory course will allow you to create a finished sculpt of an organic creature with hard surface, painted and textured elements. By the end of the course, you will have gained practical skills and an insight into the basic use of ZBrush, to create a simple creature using the major elements and features of the software.

All students attending this course must be proficient with Windows or Macintosh environments, including creating, moving and deleting files and folders.

A pen and notebook, iPad if preferred.

Autumn Term

• Tuesday 11th October – 13th December 2016

Spring Term

• Tuesday 24th January – 28th March 2017

Maximum 14 students

10 Tuesday evenings 6-9pm

£259