need zbrush base mesh help

mixeh

Hi all,

I'm going to be creating a statue of a cloaked man with his arms resting in the middle, similar to how this guy in a jedi costume looks/is posed (attached).

Can anybody please offer ideas with creating a base mesh thats suitable for sculpting in zbrush. I'm pretty new to zbrush, however have watched quite a few videos on it. Using zspheres looks good only for elongated objects; and I make a pretty horrible base mesh in max. Would zsketching be an option? I'm still not familiar with it but would be wiling to learn if you guys suggested it.

Thanks very much.

Revel

I would say, using Max (or any other 3d package) is the best way to creating a base mesh as you can precisely control how the edge loop direction/ polygon distribution/ etc. then only bring into Zbrush for more detail work. But you can try to use ZSphere as a base, but chance are you gonna get a not very good poly distribution and eventually need to retopo it later on (and I think it's kinda double work for you to do).

_Revel

mixeh

Thanks Revel, I might have to do the zsphere option, despite being double the work just as it fits more comfortably with me. The bending of the arms is what is really hard for me to model in max . Any other suggestions?

Treacharous

I would also suggest starting with Max or Maya for your base mesh. One thing I noticed with working with zspheres is that you cant get the geometry quite right. If you start in max or maya you will save your self a lot of time and frustration.

ghib

If you want a really quick base mesh you should have a look at Voidworld. It's currently free and extremely easy to pick up. Perfect for quick base mesh modelling.

If you're going to retopo your sculpt you shouldn't spend any longer than about 10 - 15 mins on your base mesh. You're going to throw it away after all. Just try and make sure the quads are as evenly spaced as possible and you tuck the poles away in hidden areas.

fattkid

I'm not quite clear on your intent -

If you were literally going to make a statue, where the arms would be permanently in this position, then some pretty simple box like geometry that encompasses the overall shape/proportions would suffice. Basically, just like an actual block of marble or whatever that you would carve into.

But you mention building and posing the arms, like an actual character. If that's what you are going to do, then my personal approach to that would be to block it in with ZSpheres, getting the overall shape/pose/proportions in place, and then export the basemesh you get from the ZSpheres to whatever 3D package to clean it up/optimize it etc. As in, add edge loops/geometry where you think you might need it etc.

I find ZSpheres a great tool for blocking in characters/creatures etc, because it's a really quick and fluid way to establish poses/gesture/proportion etc. The resulting basemesh topology is usually a little less than ideal though, so I tend to do a refinement/clean up pass on the ZSphere mesh in a 3D app to get exactly what I want.

mixeh

Sorry for not being clear enough. Yeah it's going to be just a statue, not an actual character, so I guess I can begin with a very simple box like structure as you suggested fattkid, and carve into it like a real sculptor would.

cryrid

Personally I think it is entirely possible with zspheres, especially when this is just a statue that's bound to see no animation. You really only need to keep the base as simple as you can, and it should end up with something that is all-quads nicely spaced. All that would be left to do is rotate the spheres or use transpose to get the arms-crossed pose (if that's what you want), and use the move/move elastic brush to rough it into more of the cloak-shape (like around the feet).

mixeh

Cyrid thank you so much!!!!! I'll go with that approach, thanks everyone for your help.

cw

Cyrid is right, also don't forget you can remesh. For statues and things like that it is a fast way to even out yout topology as you rough sculpt, so you can even start from a sphere or anything else really.

Good luck!

mixeh

ignore my noobness, but by remesh do you mean manually draw out the topology in zbrush, that's all i've seen?

Is there anyway for zbrush to automatically retopologise your mesh, basically just fix stretching bits and equal out the polygons all over just for sculpting purposes?

cryrid

Try making a unified skin out of the model.

Edit: Actually, I guess the Remesh button does that for you.

Kewop Decam

remesh = retopologize

It's best to do by hand. But as far as base meshes go, just make something in even quads that has perpendicular geometry and at one point in your sculpt you may have to retopologize or you might not have to.

http://www.yinkaalade.com/images/skullFull.jpg

I made this skull from basically just a box I made in Max just to see what issues I'd run into. I didn't retopo it because the point was to see what issues I'd run into.

Basically, you'll have to try different methods most likely to find what suits you best.

cw

For me, remesh is the zbrush unified skin/remesh/shadowbox auto generation, good enough when rough sculpting and useful to loosen up workflow.

retopo is a proper and targeted re-creation of new topology to support either the sculpting you want to do or the animation you want to do.