Sculpt a biomech figure in ZBrush

Discover new tools and techniques as Scott Spencer shows you how to combine organic and hard-surface modelling to create a sci-fi sculpture

For this tutorial, I’ll demonstrate a methodology for creating an intricate biomechanical character in ZBrush. I chose a biomech because it offers a perfect cross-section of organic and mechanical shapes to recreate. It also allows me to show how versatile the ZBrush modelling tools can be as we develop the character on the fly, adding parts gradually to build up to a completed character.

This approach will allow us to explore many of the new ZBrush 4 tools for both organic and hard-surface modeling. We’ll look at the new Clip brushes for slicing planes into geometry as well as the Trim and Planar brushes. To create new geometry, we’ll look at ZSpheres, ZSketch and the new ShadowBox tool. We will also use GoZ to combine Maya’s modelling tools with ZBrush to maximise our flexibility in creating the shapes we need.

You’ll begin by working on a generic head model, changing its shape with the Clip brushes and standard sculpting tools. From there, you’ll create the second major mass of the body: the torso. Here, we’ll really start to look at hard-surface brushes like Trim Dynamic and Polish. Once the major forms are in place, you’ll create some smaller mechanical details using ZBrush primitives and ShadowBox. Once we have completed the modelling phase we will then turn to the new BPR rendering engine in ZBrush 4. This rendering tool enables you to create accurate shadow and ambient occlusion passes, which can be exported to Photoshop for compositing a final image.

Download the ZTool files for this tutorial (169.4MB)
Download render passes and screenshots for this tutorial (38.4MB)

These videos and scene files accompany my tutorial in 3D World issue 139, which provides additional context and tips to help you develop your ZBrush skills.