What you'll learn

In this tutorial, we'll take an introductory look at ZBrush, a powerful sculpting, painting, and illustration application. We'll begin by exploring the ZBrush interface and cover the process of getting geometry ready to sculpt so you can jump in and begin creating. We'll talk about Pixols and the unique 2.5D workflow and we'll talk about basic methods for creating and manipulating geometry on the canvas. Subdividing your mesh and beginning to use the sculpting brushes to add detail will be covered, as well as techniques for painting your models. We'll also cover topics like masking, polygroups, and several innovative methods for building geometry including ZSpheres, DynaMesh and ShadowBox. We'll start with some simple geometry and then progress to more of a project-based approach as we explore sculpting, painting, using FiberMesh, lighting and rendering, and map creation. ZBrush is an extremely robust application, so we'll only be able to skim the surface of many of its tools in our time together. You can, however, find more in depth tutorials on many of these topics on the site. Software required: ZBrush 4R5.