3D Artist No. 110

When Pixologic released ZBrush 4R7 at the beginning of 2015, we were treated to new tools including ZModeler, which quickly became the mainstay of any ZBrush artist. The surprise announcement of 4R8 over a year later sent a lot of us into a frenzy – if Pixologic couldn’t wait to show off new features in version five, then what did we have in store with 4R8? Could these new features change how we model in the software forever? We finally have the answers to these questions with the release of 4R8, and we’re very much excited by what’s been added. We spoke to some of the incredible beta users for ZBrush 4R8 to find out what they think will be a game-changer and how they used the new tools to…

ROBERT CARNEY N/A With the new release of ZBrush, we’ve sent ImagineFX alumni Rob Carney to interview some of the fantastic beta artists on their favourite tools and how it’s changed their workflows on page 22. 3DArtist username N/A JOSH RIFE artstation.com/vercingitorix We were awed by Josh’s incredible Surgeon render when we first saw it, so we asked him kindly to explain just how he iterated his complex models and lit the character in KeyShot on page 44. 3DArtist username vercingitorix TONY CAMEHL artstation.com/tony_eight Animal anatomy instructor Tony has returned this issue to talk head concepts for creatures and walks us through creating our own hair brush. Make sure you check it out on page 52. 3DArtist username tony_eight VINCENT CHAI vincentch20.co.uk The last of our exclusive tutorials from Creative Assembly, senior character artist Vincent runs through his processes for rendering game assets for…

“I wish for everyone to find something for themselves in this project. Some will appreciate the scene illuminations and the materials, and the others will like the topnotch cars equipped with recognisable equipment”Dawid Piechowski, Porsche RSR, 2017 Dawid Piechowski artstation.com/artist/piechur Dawid is a freelancer who specialises in hard-surface modelling, lighting and shading Software 3ds Max, Octane, Substance Painter Work in progress… “This picture of sexy January is just a little piece of our diploma project – 'Creature Pinup' calendar. The idea is that you have to take two different elements, which in our case are 'pin-up' and 'creatures', mix them together and there you have it – the Creature Pinup, a pinup calendar customised for our industry. If you want so see more of the calendar, head to creaturepinup.com”Christian Leitner, Creature Pinup – January, 2017 Christian Leitner christianleitner.tumblr.com Christian…

ZBrush has long been the go-to tool for 3D artists wanting a natural way to sculpt models. Its breadth of tools and intuitive workspace genuinely makes it easy to start modelling as if you were working with real clay in your hands. Using highly customisable brushes you can shape and texture your virtual clay, adding huge amounts of detail and receiving instant feedback as you sculpt. It’s the speed and accuracy of the tool that’s made it an industry standard amongst character designers, games artists and more. And with ZBrush 4R8 taking the reins of Pixologic’s release schedule before the next release – version 5, we see a host of new features aimed at making your sculpting workflow even quicker. And what’s more, the release is a free upgrade to…

PRECISE POSITIONING Every topology, from hard to organic surfaces, were created inside ZBrush using the ZModeler, the Gizmo and the deformers. COMBINING FEATURES Multiple ZBrush features were used to test everything as much as possible side by side. In this piece we can see Array Mesh, Boolean and Surface Noise all working together. ADDING DETAILS An IMM Brush was used in conjunction with the new Boolean system to create small details. At the end, the different polygroups inside the subtracted Booleans were used to apply different KeyShot materials. COMBINING SCULPTS A lot of the secondary pieces were built using Array Mesh as radial instances simultaneously with the Boolean system.…

Artist Stephen Anderson’s favourite feature of the new release is – perhaps unsurprisingly – Live Booleans, thanks to the flexibility it offers artists. Anderson used Live Booleans to great effect in this ‘FishBot’ illustration – along with a combination of polygroups, ZRemesher and ZModeler for the topology. ADDING MATERIALS By controlling the polygroups, Anderson was able to quickly apply materials inside of ZBrush for clean and efficient application in KeyShot. TOP TOPOLOGY Using a combination of polygroups, ZRemesher and ZModeler, Anderson was able to quickly obtain clean topology for the overall shape. From there, he created bevels to refine the edge shape on the base forms. GIZMO CONTROL Anderson created the base forms using DynaMesh and the Clip/Trim brush. Basic move and Transpose/Gizmo manipulation techniques gave him the basic form he wanted. BEVEL AND SHAPE The bevelled holes…