Zbrush lesson for beginners

If you have always dreamed of sculpting, but clay and plaster are not to your liking, then ZBrush is your спасительный ticket to the world of digital sculpting. This is a program that allows you to create stunning 3D models, literally "molding" them from virtual material. Let's figure out what ZBrush is, why it has become a standard in the industry, and how to take the first steps in this amazing tool. Author — Sergey Lyubashin

What is ZBrush and what makes it special?

ZBrush is powerful software for digital sculpting and texturing, created by Pixologic. It has become a real standard in the 3D graphics industry thanks to its unique technology for working with polygons and the intuitive "molding" process. What makes ZBrush stand out:

• Sculpting like in real life: Imagine working with clay, only without the mess.
• Detailing: The program allows you to work with millions of polygons, creating мельчайшие details such as skin pores or fabric texture.
• Tools for creativity: A huge number of brushes, masks, and modifiers.

Fact: ZBrush is used not only by artists but also by architects, jewelers, and even dental specialists!

Where is ZBrush used?

1. Gaming industry

In creating game graphics, ZBrush is an irreplaceable tool. Sculpting has been used in almost every model you can see in most 3D games.

• Characters: Do you want to create a dragon with textured skin or a realistic human? It all starts with ZBrush.
• Environment: Game-level objects, including stones, ground, and plants, are created using the variety of brushes and Alpha available in ZBrush.

Example: Characters in games like God of War and Elden Ring were created using ZBrush for high detail. Author — Viktor Metelev

2. Film industry

From Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" to the giants in "Jurassic World," ZBrush has become an indispensable tool for creating characters and environments.

• Creating realistic creatures: ZBrush allows you to model skin textures, hair, and even teeth with incredible accuracy.
• Detailing: Working with polygons at a level that is unattainable in other programs.

Example: Gollum was "molded" in ZBrush and then transferred to animation.

3. Jewelry and industrial design

ZBrush is actively used in the development of jewelry and complex industrial products.

• Jewelry models: The program allows you to skillfully work out the elements of jewelry.
• Prototypes: Engineers use ZBrush to create prototypes of complex shapes.

Fact: ZBrush supports export to formats compatible with 3D printers. Author — Karen McCarthy

Why is ZBrush the choice of professionals?

1. Unique DynaMesh technology

It allows you to constantly modify the model by adding or removing volume without losing quality.

2. Support for millions of polygons

You can work out the details to the level of skin pores or fabric folds while maintaining performance.

3. Intuitive interface

Although ZBrush may seem complicated at first glance, the process of working with brushes and masks quickly becomes intuitive. Motivation: Don't be afraid of the interface! All professionals were beginners and got lost in the buttons at first too.

Rendering and integration

Integration with other programs

It is easy to export models from ZBrush to programs like Maya, Blender, Cinema 4D, and others for further refinement and animation.

Rendering in ZBrush:

• BPR (Best Preview Render): Allows you to visualize textures and lighting directly in the program.
• Support for external renderers: Models from ZBrush can be exported to V-Ray, Arnold, and other rendering systems to achieve photorealistic images.

A simple lesson for beginners in ZBrush: Frog in a donut

Asya, the customer care manager, is in touch. Were you surprised? It so happened that I have already taken several Skills Up courses in 3D direction, and I would like to share with you the contagious motivation to engage in three-dimensional graphics! Today we will dive into the functionality of the ZBrush program together. We will create a cute little frog, comfortably nestled in a donut. Yes, that's right! This lesson is inspired by the concept of the artist Eliza Kudrya. We will not only learn the basics of sculpting but also try to color our frog. Everything is simple, interesting, and fun! Let's go!

First preparations

Open ZBrush. You are greeted by the LightBox window — a library of preset projects. Find the DynaMesh_Sphere_128 project and double-click on it to open it. Before you is a workspace with a perfect ball to start with.

• Disable perspective (Persp, button on the right). This is optional, but it helps to accurately assess the proportions.
• Enable symmetry (key X) — so the changes will be automatically duplicated on both sides of the model.

Creating the donut base

1. Activate the Gizmo tool (press W). An interface with axes will appear.
2. Grab the green parallelepiped on Gizmo and pull it down to flatten the ball along the Z axis. This is the donut blank.
3. Exit the transformation mode using the Q key.
4. Using the Move brush (can be turned on at B-M-V), we make a depression in the center of the ball, creating the characteristic hole of the donut.

Feature: It is most convenient to make depressions by holding down Alt so that the brush works in the opposite direction.

Making the glaze

1. First, enable radial symmetry: go to the Transform menu and press R. Now the symmetry will work around the center.
2. Use the Flatten brush to slightly smooth the edges of the donut.
3. Disable symmetry (key X). Using the MaskLasso tool, select the top part of the donut.
4. Find Extract in the Subtool menu on the right. Press Extract for a preview, adjust the thickness of the glaze with the Thickness slider. When you are satisfied, press Accept.

Now the glaze is a separate object. Activate it, enable DynaMesh and shape the drips with the Move and ClayBuildup brushes. The Dam Standard brush will help to make depressions, and Smooth will smooth out all the лишнего.

Adding the frog

1. Through Append in the Subtool menu, add a sphere (Sphere3D) — this is our future frog.
2. Move the ball to the top of the donut using Gizmo.
3. Enable DynaMesh and symmetry (key X). Mold "ears" for the eyes using the Move, Flatten, and Smooth brushes.

Eyes for the frog

1. Add another sphere for the eye. Using Mirror (in the Deformation menu), create a second eye symmetrically.
2. Enable symmetry on X. The symmetry should be on axis X, if not, correct it in the symmetry menu.
3. Use the Move brush to give the eyes an oval shape and slightly shift them to the sides.

Coloring the frog (PolyPaint)

Now let's add colors!

1. Choose a color for each object in the palette (menu on the left).
2. Enable Mrgb in the brush settings and apply the color and material to the object through Color > FillObject.
3. For drawing, use the Paint brush. Add soft shadows, highlights, and blush. Don't forget to draw a smiling mouth!

Feature: Choose bright, pleasant colors to make the frog look even cuter.

Final result

Our little frog is ready! Don't forget to save the project (Save As button) and show off the results on social networks or to friends. This is a great start to mastering ZBrush! Even if your frog is a little crooked — this is your first step into the amazing world of 3D. Keep practicing, and soon your works will become real masterpieces!

ZBrush video lesson

You can consolidate the basic knowledge of the program and practice sculpting on the course «Introduction to ZBrush». And if you feel the zeal to study the complete pipeline for creating 3D models with optimization for use in game engines, we recommend «3D Graphics Basic» — during it you will also be able to learn more techniques for creating impressive sculpts!