Research & Development for 3D & the Web

The steps for one way of using Zspheres to create a character model based on front and side reference images

1. Get a front and side view of your reference image. Be it by drawing, photography, whatever..

2. In zbrush, go tot Texture > Import, select your image file with side and front. go tot he Texture menu and select Texture crop and fill.

3. Choose Zsphere and draw in the top of the hips area, use shift to align it dark side down to the legs

4. use t for edit mode

5. x for symmetrymode

6. drag down the legs in symmetry mode and make your next spheres

7. move using W to position

8. Q to go back to draw mode and add more spheres

9. scale using E

10. 1 sphere out of the torso to the hips, another pulled down to knees, another pulled down to ankles

11. continue to pull spheres out to fill the outline of your reference image in front view

Next, move into side view. To do this, click the move icon on the right menu and drag the model across to the other side.

12. rotate using shift and dragging to turn it 90 degrees

13. adjust the model to fit your side view boundaries also using move and scale etc. again.

14. Once done, turn your Zspheres into a unified skin. (you can save your tools and stuff at this point and before now)

15. In the right menu, select Unified Skin > Set Resolution and Make Skin.

16 you can now draw the tool in a new window if you save it or just open a new document and draw it back in as per normal in Zbrush.

Start Sculpting!

Steps ripped out of this nice simple video tutorial here: