在ZBrush設(shè)計(jì)外星人探險(xiǎn)家

了解James Suret如何使用ZBrush將這些外來考古學(xué)家及其龐大的機(jī)械設(shè)備帶入生活

Discover how James Suret brought these alien archeologists and their enormous mech to life using ZBrush

Creating the alien in ZBrush

In ZBrush I usually start creature models off using ZSpheres to create basic anatomy, unless I want them to look humanoid. Here, I started with ZSpheres and then turned them into a PolyMesh using the adaptive skin function. Using the Inflate and Clay brushes I built up the limbs and joints to rough out the form.

Next, I used DynaMesh to create an even mesh and the Move brush to pull out larger shapes, using the DamStandard brush to start cutting details into the torso and head area. At this point I started to decide what the aliens muscle and bone structure would look like.

在ZBrush中創(chuàng)建外星人

在ZBrush中，我通常會使用ZSpheres創(chuàng)建生物模型來創(chuàng)建基本的解剖結(jié)構(gòu)，除非我希望他們看起來像人形生物。 在這里，我開始使用ZSpheres，然后使用自適應(yīng)皮膚功能將它們變成PolyMesh。 使用充氣和粘土刷我建立了四肢和關(guān)節(jié)粗糙的形式。

接下來，我使用DynaMesh創(chuàng)建一個均勻的網(wǎng)格和移動畫筆拉出更大的形狀，使用DamStandard畫筆開始切割細(xì)節(jié)到軀干和頭部區(qū)域。 在這一點(diǎn)上，我開始決定外星人的肌肉和骨骼結(jié)構(gòu)會是什么樣的。

Adding detail to the head

The body was almost done, so I moved on to refine the details on the head. I used DynaMesh again with an increased poly count.

The eyes were created from basic spheres and the large mandibles were sculpted into the jaw, pulling them down with the SnakeHook brush. I then decided to add more mandibles underneath, using ZSpheres to make a smaller set, duplicating and resizing them.

I also started to add some rough skin texture to the head using an alpha mask with the Standard brush. The current poly count of this model is 1.9mil.

給頭部添加細(xì)節(jié)

身體差不多完成了，所以我開始來細(xì)化細(xì)節(jié)。 我再次使用DynaMesh增加了多邊形計(jì)數(shù)。

眼睛是由基礎(chǔ)球形成的，大的下顎雕刻成顎，用SnakeHook刷子將其拉下。 然后，我決定在下面添加更多的下顎，使用ZSpheres制作一個較小的集合，復(fù)制和調(diào)整大小。

我也開始使用標(biāo)準(zhǔn)畫筆使用alpha面具向頭部添加一些粗糙的皮膚紋理。 目前這個模型的多邊形計(jì)數(shù)是1.9mil。

Adding accessories

Next I turned off the symmetry and posed the limbs of the character using soft Masking and Transpose tools. I decided I wanted to make the alien look intelligent and perhaps an elder of its race so I added some accessories: a portable holographic tracking device and a cape. The cape was created from a basic plane, using DynaMesh and sculpting the shape with the Clay and Move brush. A chain was adding using a mesh insert with Curve mode.

I then divided the alien's mesh and added the surface details such as wrinkles and veins using alpha masks again.

添加配件

接下來，我關(guān)掉了對稱性，并使用軟掩蔽和移調(diào)工具對角色四肢進(jìn)行了設(shè)計(jì)。 我決定我想讓外星人看起來很聰明，也許是一個年長的種族，所以我添加了一些配件：便攜式全息跟蹤設(shè)備和海角。 海角是從基礎(chǔ)飛機(jī)創(chuàng)建的，使用DynaMesh，并用Clay和Move刷子雕刻形狀。 使用帶有曲線模式的網(wǎng)格插入添加鏈。

然后我將外星人的網(wǎng)格劃分，并再次使用alpha蒙版添加表面細(xì)節(jié)，如皺紋和靜脈。

Creating the mech

In order to make the mech look like it was created by the aliens, I made the design resemble the alien's anatomy. I started by creating a ZSphere skeleton and used the ZSketch feature to build up the mesh, adding layers of mass on top of the ZSpheres to rough out the form. After converting the ZSpheres and ZSketch in to PolyMesh I merged them together and used DynaMesh to create an even mesh layout to start sculpting.

At that point I was experimenting with the idea of the mech being bio-mechanical and working as a symbiont with the alien. But I later decided to change the flesh into hard surfaces and made it completely mechanical as well as adding a cockpit for the alien pilot.

創(chuàng)建機(jī)械

為了使外觀看起來像是由外星人創(chuàng)造的，我的設(shè)計(jì)與外星人的解剖結(jié)構(gòu)相似。 我開始創(chuàng)建一個ZSphere骨架，并使用ZSketch功能來構(gòu)建網(wǎng)格，在ZSpheres之上添加質(zhì)量層，以粗化表單。 將ZSpheres和ZSketch轉(zhuǎn)換為PolyMesh后，將它們合并在一起，并使用DynaMesh創(chuàng)建均勻的網(wǎng)格布局以開始雕刻。

在這一點(diǎn)上，我正在試驗(yàn)機(jī)械生物機(jī)械的想法，并與外星人共生。 但后來我決定把肉變成堅(jiān)硬的表面，使其完全機(jī)械化，并為外星飛行員增加駕駛艙。

Adding details to the mech

Using the DamStandard brush I carved out the interior details in the cockpit and using the Flatten brush I polished the surfaces down. Then I added more details to the exterior of the cockpit using the mesh inserts library that comes with ZBrush to create a viewfinder, handles and vents.

I also added vents and wiring to the back of the mech using the same method and ports for the tentacles to attach to. I shaped the outer shell of the legs using the Move, Pinch and Flatten brushes. The mechanical parts were created using several mesh inserts assembled together.

添加細(xì)節(jié)到機(jī)械

使用DamStandard刷子，我雕刻出駕駛艙的內(nèi)部細(xì)節(jié)，并使用Flatten刷子將表面拋光。 然后我使用ZBrush附帶的網(wǎng)格插入庫添加更多的細(xì)節(jié)到駕駛艙的外部，以創(chuàng)建取景器，手柄和通風(fēng)口。

我還使用相同的方法和觸角的端口附加通風(fēng)口和布線到機(jī)器背面。 我使用Move，Pinch和Flatten刷子來塑造腿部的外殼。 使用組裝在一起的幾個網(wǎng)格插入件創(chuàng)建機(jī)械部件。

Creating the hands and tentacles

To create the probes, hands and fingers I used more of the mesh inserts that come with ZBrush. They were assembled together and split into Polygroups ready for posing later.

The tentacles' start, end and middle pieces were created as one SubTool split into three Polygroups, which was then turned into a tri-part insert mesh. With Curve Mode enabled, I drew out the line for the tentacle tri-part insert mesh to fill. I then added the fingers to the end of tentacles as a separate SubTool in order to pose them individually.

創(chuàng)造手和觸角

為了創(chuàng)建探針，手和手指，我使用了更多的ZBrush附帶的網(wǎng)格插入。 他們組裝在一起，分成多組，準(zhǔn)備稍后擺姿勢。

觸角的起始，終點(diǎn)和中間部分被創(chuàng)建為一個SubTool分成三個Polygroup，然后變成三部分插入網(wǎng)格。 啟用曲線模式后，我繪出了觸針三部分插入網(wǎng)格的線條。 然后我將手指添加到觸角的末端，作為單獨(dú)的SubTool，以便單獨(dú)構(gòu)成它們。

Lighting and rendering in ZBrush

Initially I kept the default light on and changed the resolution of the BPR shadow to 8000 to sharpen the shadows. The focus for the first render was details and edges. To do this I set the material for the whole model to dj_zsketchsunup which is available from the Pixologic download center. The default settings for this material looked too strong so I turned down the cavity detection to 0.25 which creates a smoother look.

After saving the render I changed the material to BasicMaterial, turned off the default light and loaded a LightCap file consisting of lights with different intensities and angles. This render simulated Global Illumination giving a soft overall shade to the model. For this render I also turned on AO (Ambient Occlusion), set the Resolution to 8000 and the Blur to 2. I then saved the render, AO and mask layers.

I repeated this step from several different camera angles and distances in order to have options for the final image.

在ZBrush里照明和渲染

最初，我保持默認(rèn)燈光，并將BPR影子的分辨率更改為8000以銳化陰影。 第一個渲染的焦點(diǎn)是細(xì)節(jié)和邊緣。 為此，我將整個模型的材料設(shè)置為可從Pixologic下載中心獲取的dj_zsketchsunup。 這種材料的默認(rèn)設(shè)置看起來太強(qiáng)了，所以我將腔體檢測降低到0.25，這樣可以創(chuàng)造出更光滑的外觀。

保存渲染后，我將材質(zhì)更改為BasicMaterial，關(guān)閉默認(rèn)指示燈，并加載由不同強(qiáng)度和角度的燈組成的LightCap文件。 這使得模擬的全球照明給模型帶來了柔和的整體色調(diào)。 對于此渲染，我還打開了AO（環(huán)境遮擋），將分辨率設(shè)置為8000，將模糊設(shè)置為2.然后保存渲染，AO和蒙版圖層。

我從幾個不同的相機(jī)角度和距離重復(fù)了這一步，以便為最終圖像提供選項(xiàng)。

Compositing the renders in Photoshop

Next I brought the renders in to Photoshop, starting with the LightCap render. Then I added the AO layer and set the blend mode to Pin Light at 50% which smoothes out the sharp shadows. Next the detail/edges layer was added and I set its mode to screen, which adds highlights and a bit of rim lighting. I duplicated the AO layer on top and set its mode to Multiply at 50% which darkens the shadows. Finally, I created a simple gradient background for each shot, applied a Noise filter and assembled them on to a larger canvas.

合成Photoshop中的渲染

接下來，我將渲染帶到Photoshop中，從LightCap渲染開始。 然后我添加了AO層，并將混合模式設(shè)置為50％的Pin Light，從而平滑了陰影。 接下來，添加了細(xì)節(jié)/邊緣層，我將其模式設(shè)置為屏幕，這增加了亮點(diǎn)和一點(diǎn)邊緣照明。 我將AO層復(fù)制在頂部，并將其模式設(shè)置為乘以50％，使陰影變暗。 最后，我為每個鏡頭創(chuàng)建了一個簡單的漸變背景，應(yīng)用了一個噪聲濾波器，并將它們組裝到更大的畫布上。

Top Tip 1: Tell the viewer a story

If your aim is to create a character concept or illustration your final image will have much more impact if it tells a story in some way. You want the viewer to feel like they have caught the scene mid-action or that it is part of a larger story.

提示1：告訴觀眾一個故事

如果您的目標(biāo)是創(chuàng)建一個角色概念或插圖，如果以某種方式講故事，您的最終形象會產(chǎn)生更多的影響。 您希望觀眾感覺到他們已經(jīng)抓住了現(xiàn)場的中間動作，或者它是更大故事的一部分。

Top Tip 2: Alternate smoothing

If you're trying to smooth an area of the mesh out but not getting the results you want, try letting go of the Shift key whilst still holding down the mouse button - ZBrush will use an alternative smoothing method.

提示2：交替平滑

如果您想平滑網(wǎng)格區(qū)域，但沒有獲得所需的結(jié)果，請嘗試放開Shift鍵同時(shí)按住鼠標(biāo)按鈕 - ZBrush將使用其他平滑方法。

Top Tip 3: Softer masking

When posing organic characters you usually need to create smooth bends - for example, the elbow or knee. As well as blurring the mask by holding Ctrl and clicking on it several times, you can hold down the Ctrl key, lower the RGB opacity and draw out a softer mask.

提示3：更柔和的遮蔽

當(dāng)構(gòu)成有機(jī)人物時(shí)，您通常需要創(chuàng)建平滑的彎曲 - 例如肘部或膝蓋。 除了通過按住Ctrl并點(diǎn)擊它幾次來模糊蒙版，您可以按住Ctrl鍵，降低RGB不透明度并繪出更柔和的蒙版。

Top Tip 4: Using a LightCap

When using LightCap lighting in your scene, be sure to switch your material to one of the standard materials such as BasicMaterial. MatCap materials won't render properly with a LightCap because MatCap materials have their own lighting baked in to them. Also, turn off the default light under the Light menu before rendering.

提示4：使用LightCap

在場景中使用LightCap照明時(shí)，請確保將材料切換到基本材質(zhì)之類的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)材質(zhì)之一。 由于MatCap材料有自己的照明烘烤，MatCap材質(zhì)將無法正確使用LightCap。 此外，在渲染之前關(guān)閉“燈”菜單下的默認(rèn)指示燈。