Deadline Proof Monk(ey)

What are you trying to do without brushes?

Whatever thing you want to sculpt you’ll use brushes or you will do it in projection master.Today we’re talking about brushes

Zbrush and its brushes: Introduction and golden rules for brushes

If you haven’t read Zbrush without stress yet,read it now.
The first rule is that..there are no rules!Ok,I’m joking..
The real first rule is to master the brushes so start getting a good tablet,even a not so big one.
Even a A5 is good if it is high quality.

As for me I tried an A5 Trust,an A6 entry level wacom ,an A5 intuos3 and an A4 intuos3(mine).
Although the intuos are the best,a cheaper tablet,even A6,is better than a mouse as well.

Power without control is a no-no

A good way to use brushes,both with mouse or tablet,is to set low power,especially if you’re a newbye.
When you start using Zbrush one of the most common mistake is to exaggerate.
Many surface details are rendered too strongly and to keep low levels of power on the brushes helps not to run into this mistake.It isn’t a problem to use 2 or 3 strokes instead of 1,but it is one to have a human character that resemble a monster.Alien vs predator is the most liked film of every Zbrush newbye:whatever things he tries to do it will be a monster or an alien..

Help

On the way to master Zbrush is important to use every opportunity and help the program offers.
This is always true,moreover when you start.Don’t limit yourself to use just the basic tools,try all the possibility that can help you.

Use the lasso tool

Use the lazy mouse tool everytime you need,not only with mouse.The lazy mouse,althoug it hasn’t pressure sensitivity,is really useful in the most accurate details.
For example those long ones where you could fail or those ones where your hand mustn’t tremble.

Know your tools

In addition to know and use all the features of Zbrush,layers, morph etc, one of the most important priority is to understand every single brush.
Understand the changes.
If you take the pinch, for example, it doesn’t raise nor digs too much, it simply deforms the surface, but acting on its parameters you can increase its value, addition and subtraction, and turn it into one of the most useful brushes of Zbrush.Be sure to understand parameters such as gravity,and which brush is the best to use and with which settings.

Every brush has its level

Use the brush at the right level of division.
Especially small brushes or those ones containing noise or a more comples alpha texture, if used with a division level lower than necessary, give unpleasant effects, and can be segmented in the stretch.
Exit the world of Zbrush 2.0 and enter into the one of Zbrush 3.x
Who started with Zbrush 2.0 tends to use Zbrush 3.0 with the possibilities already offered in 2.0 and nothing more.
Zbrush 3.0 offers the use of alpha in standard sculpting and the use of many more behaviors for brushes.
You can sculpt with a spread ,spray or single-stroke brush ,scalable and rotatable, and many other things that before were possible only in projection master.

Why sculpting when you can color?

The Polypaint let you color while sculpting.Even low settings can give some colors,creating maps that will be really useful later.It’s important to esport these maps for every kind of details,sometimes I do this for black and white to mix them in Photoshop.Color is considered even within the layer.

Total brushes= Brush x Alpha

Remember to use the alpha that help you a lot,also to reduce the number of strokes needed to get a good result.
It is important to create your own library.The basic Alpha are useful but also recognizable,so pay attention not to abuse them.They can be used also as stencil(so those ones that seems useless as brushes can be helpful as stencils)

The focus parameter

The focus parameter can change the brush completely.Before starting is good to test various settings to find the one that fits the best what you’re going to do.