Sculpting techniques in Zbrush...?

junfanbl

I am looking for some advice from some Zbrush artists. I am trying to do a realistic sculpt of a Jaguar (animal). I am pretty new to Zbrush but I am picking up on it somewhat quickly. I have collected a lot of reference images and anatomical references as well. They have served me well. I am happy with how the body is turning out because most of the sculpting involved includes moving the geometry and adding musculature. However I am having trouble detailing the head. 　 I am not sure which brushes I should use to try and sculpt the nose and mouth. I can draw on the shapes of the nose and nostrils but I am not sure how to sculpt them out. The only brushes I have been using are the Clay Build up brush, Dam_Standard, and the Move brush. Can somebody suggest a workflow that will help me to more effectively sculpt the detail on the head? What brushes would be best? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am trying to learn as many sculpting techniques that I can.

musashidan

Personally, when sculpting anatomy(or even the concept sculpt phase of a hard-surface character), I use minimal brushes: clay buildup, move(or snakehook), dam standard, inflate or form soft, a little bit of standard, and that's about it. These days I might use the move brush alone for 80% of a sculpt.

In the early days of my sculpting journey I used to obsess over what brushes to use (I even remember emailing Zac Petroc with this very question)

But as I gained experience by just getting in there and sculpting I eventually developed my own style and brush choices that suited me. And this is what's so important in sculpting, you really can't describe or advise what to do, each artist just has to do. It's not the same as technical modeling in that sense. It's a very personal thing. Every artist has their own way of doing it.