ZBrush Character Creation: Advanced Digital Sculpting

434 Pages·2011·32.96 MB·English

by  Scott Spencer

ZBrush
®
Character Creation
Advanced Digital Sculpting
Second Edition
Scott Spencer
Disclaimer: This eBook does not include ancillary media that was packaged with the
printed version of the book.
Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo
Development Editor: Laurene Sorensen
Technical Editor: Paul Gaboury
Production Editor: Dassi Zeidel
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Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
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Cover Image: Scott Spencer
Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-0-470-57257-3
ISBN: 978-1-118-03704-1 (ebk.)
ISBN: 978-1-118-03706-5 (ebk.)
ISBN: 978-1-118-03705-8 (ebk.)
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing ZBrush Character Creation: Advanced Digital Sculpting, Second
Edition. This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex books, all of which are
written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching.
Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, we’re still committed to produc-
ing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, we’re working hard to set a new
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is to bring you the best books available.
I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your com-
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Neil Edde
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To my parents for making all things possible, and to Bill Johnson
and Paul Hudson for their guidance, inspiration, and friendship
Acknowledgments
There are so many people who bring a book like this to life; I would like to try to thank each
of them here. This includes those with a direct hand in the editing and layout as well as those
whose support makes this kind of endeavor possible. First off I’d like to thank my partner
Meredith Yayanos for her loving support, and Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger for their
friendship and support. I also want to thank Karl Meyer, Brian Sunderlin, and Gentle Giant
Studios for giving me a place to start my journey and remaining close and valued friends and
mentors to this day.
Thanks also to all the talented artists I have the good fortune to work with at Weta.
Thanks to Paul Gaboury for serving as tech editor and as a constant source of information
on the inner workings of ZBrush; to Ofer Alon and Jaime Labelle at Pixologic; and to Alex
Alvarez and everyone else at Gnomon.
I’d also like to thank Rick Baker and Dick Smith for inspiring me to pick up clay for the
first time. I must also thank those friends who have shared techniques and critiques: Neville
Page, Zack Petroc, Meats Meier, Scott Patton, Cesar Dacol, Ian Joyner, Jerad Marantz, Aaron
Simms, and JP Targete. I would also like to thank those incredibly talented artists I am fortu-
nate to work with every day and whose work never ceases to inspire and inform me: David
Meng, Greg Tozer, Will Furneaux, Paul Tobin, Gary Hunt, Jamie Beswarick, Mike Asquith,
Daniel Falconer, Greg Broadmore, Christian Pierce, Daniel Cockersell, Kim Graham, Warren
Beaton, and Steve Lambert, and the many other Weta artists from whom I learn something
new every day.
A very special thanks to Eric Keller for his input and for bringing this book to me. I
also must thank the wonderful team at Wiley who helped me through the process and were
always professional, patient, attentive, and helpful. Thanks to Mariann Barsolo for starting
the process and helping it along. Thanks to Laurene Sorensen for her expert developmental
editing, and to Pete Gaughan for guiding the direction of the book and helping to keep it on
track and clear. Thanks to Dassi Zeidel and her production team for their masterful copy-
editing and layout, bringing the final product to light.
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About the Author
Scott Spencer is a digital sculptor and concept designer at Weta Workshop in Wellington, New
Zealand. He uses ZBrush every day as a tool for creating creature and character concept art.
His background is originally physical sculpture for the makeup effects world. Over the years he
has worked in various media, creating digital characters for film, broadcast, and games as well
as physical sculptures for concept design, promotion, and other applications. Over the past few
years Scott has worked on various projects in both film, broadcast, and games, from the remake
of the classic game “Golden Axe” to the Iron Man movie, Pumpkinhead 3, and Species 3, as well
as several collectible figures and statues sold on the commercial market. Today he creates concept
designs for film. Scott says that his most exciting current project is Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.
In approaching this book I tried to take lessons from the teachers who most influenced my
own education. These two instructors are Bill Johnson and Paul Hudson. Bill Johnson, my first
employer, is the owner of Lone Wolf FX, a makeup effects company. From Bill I learned an enor-
mous amount, not just about sculpting and creature design but also about thinking and seeing
like an artist. I also found in Bill a great friend whom I count as one of my closest to this day.
At Bill’s urging I went to art school at The Savannah (Georgia) College of Art and Design
(SCAD). I studied animation with a minor in drawing and anatomy, and I met my second great
artistic influence. Paul Hudson teaches perspective, anatomy, and illustration; he is an accom-
plished illustrator, painter, sculptor, and general Renaissance man. Paul teaches his students by
example to be passionate about the continuous process of learning that is to be an artist.
While at SCAD I noticed ZBrush and a new world lit up for me. Here was a program
that would let me do what I do in clay on the computer. I had used Maya and 3ds Max but
never felt the same seamlessness as in ZBrush. This software helped me be a better artist; it
didn’t fight me into a technical corner.
After SCAD I attended the Florence Academy of Art summer sculpting session, and
then found my way to California and to Gentle Giant Studios, which seemed to be one of
just a few companies seamlessly blending traditional and digital art techniques.
In 2008 I left Gentle Giant to join the concept design department at Weta Workshop
in Wellington, New Zealand. This has been a dream come true and every day I am amazed
at the magic that happens inside the Workshop.
In the years since I started using ZBrush, my passion for the program and the strategy
of applying sculptural approaches to a 3D world has led me to teach classes at the Gnomon
School of Visual Effects as well as release several video tutorials for Gnomonology.com and
Pixologic.com.
Along the way I have made a lot of sculptures, taught a lot of classes, and met some
amazing artists who continue to inspire and influence me. I consider myself very fortunate
to have the opportunity to do what I always dreamed of doing—sculpting characters for a
living among artists who constantly inspire me.
I have included several guest artists in this book to help offer more variety in style and
approach. Here I would like to introduce you to these amazingly talented individuals who
were kind enough to include their thoughts and work in this book.
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About the Contributors
Neville Page
Neville Page is a concept designer in the entertainment industry. Neville is also a teacher at
the Art Center College of Design and at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in California.
Some of Neville’s credits include Cloverfield, Avatar, The Hulk, Star Trek 2008, Tron, and
The Watchman. Neville has a line of educational DVDs available from www.thegnomonwork​
shop.com​as well as an upcoming line of educational art products. Neville’s portfolio can be
seen at www.nevillepage.com.
Jerad Marantz
Jerad S. Marantz has been working in both the film and game industry for over ten years.
After graduating from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, he started
designing for Stan Winston Studio. He has also freelanced for several special FX houses
including Amalgamated Dynamics Inc., Quantum Creation FX, Creature Effects Inc., and
Almost Human. Currently he is the lead designer at the Aaron Sims Company. Jerad’s work
can be seen at www.jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com.
Cesar Dacol
Cesar Luis Dacol has worked in the film industry for nearly 20 years, having started his career
in the makeup effects industry and transitioning to computers effects in the mid-1990’s.
With a background in anatomy and traditional sculpting, he quickly adapted to the 3D
world of computers. For the past five years Cesar has worked primarily as lead and modeling
supervisor, contributing to many feature films such as 300, Barnyard, and Fantastic Four.
Ian Joyner
Ian Joyner has been a character modeler for more than five years. In that time he has worked
on everything from feature films to critically acclaimed video game cinematics. Ian’s work can
be seen in many projects, including BioShock, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Hellgate: London,
Warhammer: Age of Reckoning and Halo Wars; the feature films Rocky 6 (Rocky Balboa) and
James Cameron’s Aliens of the Deep; and the award-winning short A Gentlemen’s Duel by
Blur Studio.
Jim McPherson
Starting in the 1980s in the makeup and special effects industry, Jim has worked with Rick
Baker’s Cinovation Studios on Gremlins 2, The Nutty Professor, Matinee, Men in Black, and
Planet of the Apes. Rick’s philosophy of sculptural character design has been a huge influence in
Jim’s work. The opportunity to design characters under his tutelage was an educational experi-
ence that cannot be matched. Previous to the dragon tutorial in this book, Jim has sculpted for
designer Miles Teves on a dragon maquette for the film Reign of Fire.
Jim currently works with the team at Gentle Giant Studios. The digital sculpting team has
completed work on many of the characters in Sega’s “Golden Axe.” The digital artists work in
close proximity with a brilliant team of traditional sculptors. This is the correct atmosphere to
meet the challenge of applying the principles of sculpture in digital modeling.
Zack Petroc
Zack Petroc has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art with a major
in sculpture and dual minor in drawing and digital media. Additionally, he studied anatomy
at Case School of Medicine and figure sculpture in Florence, Italy. Zack uses his strong design
background for both his traditional and digital work. This allows him to contribute to the
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artistic vision of a project not only during the concept design stage, but also throughout produc-
tion. Zack is currently working as a freelance art director and concept designer for feature film
and video games. He is also a member of the Art Directors Guild Technology Committee.
Alex Alvarez
Alex is founder and director of the Gnomon Workshop and of the Gnomon School of Visual
Effects in Hollywood. Having dedicated the last decade to educating students and professional
artists around the world, Alex has helped change the face of computer graphics and design edu-
cation. He has been published in industry magazines, websites, and books, and he has taught
courses at several major trade conferences. Alex is president of the Los Angeles Maya Users
Group and sits on the Advisory Boards for Highend3D.com and CGSociety. He continues to
work on personal and professional projects, recently as a creature development artist on the
James Cameron film Avatar. Prior to Gnomon, Alex worked for Alias|Wavefront as a consultant
and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. Alex is an alumnus of the Art Center College of
Design and the University of Pennsylvania.
Eddie Yang
Eddie has been working in the film industry for 22 years, creating characters for such films
as Clash of the Titans, Ironman, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Superman,
The Grinch, Planet of the Apes, and Men in Black. Eddie started his career as a sculptor/
designer for Academy Award winning make-up effects artist Rick Baker in 1987. After a
16-year career with Rick, Eddie pursued a career in digital effects before joining the Stan
Winston Studio in 2003. Today he offers his services through www.eddieyang.com.
Ryan Kingslien
Ryan Kingslien is a digital sculptor working to advance the state of digital sculpting and develop
new ways to use the computer as an artist’s tool. He is the founder of ZBrushWorkshops.com.
Svengali
As a leading creator of some of the most useful plug-ins for ZBrush, Svengali can be found
at www.zbrushcentral.com.
Fabian Loing
Fabian Loing was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is currently a character artist living in
Canada and working for Pandemic Studios.
Image Contributors
In addition, I would like to thank the following for consenting to include images of their work
in the book. I hope you find these images as compelling and inspiring as I do.
• Alex Oliver, “The Mummy”
• Arran Lewis, “ZSphere anatomy”
• Magdalena Dadela, “Old woman”
• Steve Jubinville, “The darkness monster”
• Joel Mongeon, “Studio Wall series”
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