Tree Frog
Woo 
As my first foray into ZBrush, I'ma try and make a tree frog, for the lulz.
This is what I've got so far, I think the proportions might be off, though I can't tell where
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I know there isn't much, but I want to start as I mean to go on; getting it right at the base of the model then I wont have to go back later.
As my first foray into ZBrush, I'ma try and make a tree frog, for the lulz.
This is what I've got so far, I think the proportions might be off, though I can't tell where
.I know there isn't much, but I want to start as I mean to go on; getting it right at the base of the model then I wont have to go back later.
Replies
Depending on what subspecies you're going for, I'd tweak some of the proportions. For instance, I'd increase the width of the body's midsection by adding a slight bulge so the overall shape isn't so linearly tapered. I'd do this for the toes as well - typically the pads are larger than the toe itself. Again, this varies by species so definitely try focusing on one particular type of tree frog.
Again, depending on species, I'd increase the spacing between the eyes and refine the shape of the head a little to make it less obviously spherical.
Looking forward to seeing the sculpt!
I think the front legs are coming out too far and maybe a bit too chunky aswell.
Peter - What do you mean, they are too long?
As far as I know you can't deformed the zsphere, you can scale them up or down and more as you need to build certain form.
have fun sculpting ~
It's been a long time since I modeled anything with ZSpheres, but the trick is to use more of them and scale them gradually to achieve the subtler transitions in form.
A quick, exaggerated paintover to show what I mean:
I think what Peter is referring to is the similarity in size of the front and back legs, and the overall thickness. If you look at the reference image he posted, notice how the rear legs are significantly bigger than the front legs, whereas on the model they're almost the same. The guy in the reference image's arms are noticeably slimmer than his back legs.
There are types of tree frogs that are have similar proportions to bullfrogs and are much chunkier than the guy in the image, but personally, I always think of these more slender, nimble-looking fellas when I think of tree frogs.
I'd add a lot more spheres to start defining some of the curves and break up the straight lines you've got going on right now, and really study some good reference to nail down the proportions. I'd also think about posing the model from the outset, and not be too reliant on Transpose - it's good, but it's not perfect.
Dan - Thanks loads, that really helped, I think I've managed to get it looking alot more real, but the face just doesnt look right when I put anymore spheres on it
For the head, I think the problem is you're viewing the head as a distinct 'sphere' that's attached to the body, as opposed to a continuation of the body, if that makes sense.
With ZSpheres, it's easy to lose sight of the overall forms because of the way they work, and how they're displayed. For instance, look at the head in the image Peter posted, and how it relates to the overall shape of the body.
See how the transition from body to head is very subtle and gradual? If we removed the eyes and limbs from the image and just looked at the silhouette of the body, it's not that clear with end is which - his ass is only slightly more tapered than his head, poor little guy.
It's tempting to define the head from the body much more clearly because we 'know' it's there, as opposed to observing the actual shape of the head and body and how they transition into one another.
Another way to think of it is try and visualize the model without the ZSphere 'joints' visible, and instead focus on the overall forms and silhouette. You could easily use up to ten ZSpheres just to define the curves of the toes, for example, since instead of seeing the individual spheres as joints, you're just using them to define a shape, not a joint or a knuckle or a knee or whatever.
Thanks so much for your help Dan, you should be a teacher :O
You're welcome - that's looking like a great base mesh to start from.
Glad I could help, and looking forward to seeing the sculpt!