DAY ONE RECAP: Intro to Zbrush Interface

1. Application and uses.
2. Navigating the interface.
3. Zbrush primitives.
4. Lecture with examples of application and uses.
5. Demo on Zbrush interface, Explained menus, pallets, and tabs.
6. Using a variety of brushes, alphas, Zadd, Zsub, focal shift, Masking, and drawsize.
7. Short cut keys http://www.pixologic.com/docs/index.php/ZBrush_Shortcuts

This is a list of the main and most useful ZBrush keyboard shortcuts which will help you to be more productive. If you need to find the shortcut of a tool or utility, just hover your cursor over the element; a tool tip will display the name of the element and if a shortcut is assigned it will be displayed at the end of this tool tip.

You can also assign you own shortcut by pressing Ctrl+ALT and clicking on the element of your choice. ZBrush will then wait for a shortcut to be assigned. Without moving the pointer off the element, press the key or key combination that you wish to use as a shortcut, followed by Enter/Return. Don’t forget to save your new shortcut by clicking Preferences >> Hotkeys >> Store.

• Ctrl+S: Save as a Project.

• Ctrl+O: Open a project.

• Q: Switch to Draw mode.

• W: Switch to Move mode.

• E: Switch to Scale mode.

• R: Switch to rotate mode.

• ALT: When using a brush, holding Alt will reverse the current behavior. For example, if Zadd is enabled then it will switch to Zsub.

• SHIFT: When using a brush, holding SHIFT will swap to the active Smooth brush (or the alternative brush if one has been set).

• Ctrl: when using a brush, holding Ctrl creates a Mask which protects an area from any kind of action. (Painting, Sculpting, etc.) Masks can also be used with Shadow Box or the Extract feature.

• Ctrl+Z: Undo the most recent operation.

• Ctrl+SHIFT+Z: Redo the last operation.

• D: Move up one subdivision level.

• SHIFT+D: Move down one subdivision level.

• Ctrl+D: Divide your mesh to add a subdivision level. You must be on the highest subdivision level for this.

• X: Toggle symmetry mode. By default, this will be across the X axis. You can change symmetry behavior in the Transform palette.

• L: Activate Lazy Mouse mode to create more precise brush strokes.

• Ctrl+SHIFT+T: Saves the current Tool.

• Ctrl+N: Clear the active Layer. Useful when a previous Tool has accidentally been dropped on the document as pixols.

• A: With ZSpheres, toggle display of the Adaptive Skin preview. With ZSketch, toggle display if the Unified Skin preview.

For Macintosh users, use the Command key wherever the list above says Ctrl.

Zbrush Interface:

Masking:

A mask is an area of your model that is 'shielded' from sculpting, painting, etc. Masks only apply when in 3D Edit mode

Paint Masks:

You can paint masks on your object directly by holding down the Ctl key while painting on the model. (The stroke must begin on or close to the model.) By default, masked areas show up as dark patches on the model. The following figure illustrates this:

Left: Small masked 'dots' on the model created by holding down Ctl while drawing very short strokes with a small brush.
Right: Masked model after sculpting. Masked areas were not affected by sculpt.

Drag Rectangles Across Part of Your Object

Hold down the Ctl key, click on the canvas outside your object (not too close, either), and drag a rectangle across part of your object. You can see the results below. Note: You need to start the drag outside the object, but you don't need to end it outside the object.

Lasso Parts of an Object to Mask

1. Press Ctl+Shift+M or press Transform:Lasso (identified in the popup help as Transform:Marquee) to toggle into lasso mode.
2. Hold down the Ctl key, click on the canvas outside of your model.
3. Drag out a lasso selection.

Invert an Existing Mask

To invert an existing mask, hold down the Ctl key and click on the canvas outside the model.

Mask before and after being inverted with Ctl-click on the canvas.

Note: A convenient way to mask an entire object is to invert the mask while the object is completely unmasked.

Blur a Mask

Ctl-click on a masked area to blur the mask. This will 'spread the mask out' further across the object, while decreasing its intensity.

Unmask an Area

You can 'unpaint' a previously masked area, by holding down Ctl+Alt and painting onto the model.

In this figure, the inverted mask has been taken from the previous figure, and the 'border' of the model has been unmasked usingCtl+Alt-paint.

Note: If you don't want to remember the unmasking key combination, you can also unmask an area by inverting the current mask, painting a mask onto the area you want to unmask, and then inverting the mask again.

Clear a Mask

Hold down the Ctl key and drag on the canvas outside the model. Any visible amount of dragging will do.

Create a Mask Using Topology

This masking method is discussed more thoroughly in the Transpose page, which is where the topological masking is functional. Basically, when in transpose mode, you canCtrl-drag along the surface of a model, to have a mask dragged out across the surface, following the topology of the model. On models with typical topology, this gives an extremely fast, easy way to mask out limbs, tentacles, branches, and other extrusions.

EDIT MODE:

3D Edit Mode

3D Edit mode enables you to begin sculpting and modifing the surface of your 3D model. By default, Draw mode is activated as in the image below.

: Edit-Draw mode; enables sculpting directly on the surface of the model.

It also offers various submodes. These are as follows:

: Edit-Move mode; enables Transpose for scaling and positioning of your model or parts of your model.

: Edit-Scale mode; enables Transpose for scaling your model or parts of your model.

: Edit-Rotate mode; enables Transpose for rotation of your model or parts of your model.