What you'll learn

In this ZBrush tutorial, we will learn to use the Blend Shapes plug-in for ZBrush 4. Blend shapes are a great way to quickly add expression to our characters or otherwise deform models based on our specific design. ZBrush is particularly adept at allowing us to create those target shapes. In this series of lessons, we'll learn how to use the Blend Shapes plug-in to quickly create and export blend shapes for use in Maya. We will begin by talking about the installation of the plug-in and then take a look at its simple interface. We will proceed to create an expression for our old man character and export it quickly to Maya. While there, we will look at how to access our new blend shapes and talk about the other data that will come through with the transfer. We will also talk about exporting multiple blend shapes to create expression libraries and we'll finish up by looking at how we can export shapes for multiple subtools. Once completed, you'll be able to start transferring your own blend shapes to Maya much more quickly and easily. Software required: Zbrush 4 and up, Maya 2008 and up.