When starting our digital sculpts in Zbrush, we were given a base bust to work on. The bust was given to us due to the fact that it had correct topology, they way the faces were made the bust easier to model then if we were to create a base bust from a sphere ourselves. The bust came as a low poly model.
Before i started sculpting the model, i imported the orthographics of my zombie references into Zbrush and adjusted the size, offset and angle of the images to fit the base bust. I mainly matched up the eye areas of both the bust and the reference images, this is because the eye area of the bust has specific topology to make sculpting eyes easier. Once the eyes had been matched i began using the Move Topological tool on a high brush setting to give the bust the basic shape of my head. Of course with the lack of polygons within the busts mesh, it was hard to get the right shape from the side view, so i did as best as i could before dividing the mesh and making it smoother.
After fitting the model to the reference using the Move Topological tool, i began giving the face definition by starting to add nostrils, the base ear shape, eye brow bones and eye sockets. I also added eyeballs to my scene, using the sub tool clicking the append button and adding in the sphere. Then i moved and scaled the sphere with the Transpose tool. The Transpose tool is a bit tricky to get used to, but in the end you get used to it and even though its a bit fiddly, i can use it with ease.
After fitting the eye balls i started to shape the eye lids around them, this was a lot harder then i thought it would be, due to the corners of the eyes it got a bit tricky to sculpt. I used the Dam_Standard tool to indent the head to make the sockets themselves then i used the Clay Tubes tool to build up on the mesh, creating the eyelids. The eye lids took a while to get perfect, i had to layer on Clay Tubes and Smooth a lot, and often i would have to use the Move Topological tool when the other two wouldnt make the shape i wanted.
When i was finally happy with the shape of the eyes and the eyelids i carried on with defining the face some more, and i started working on the eyebrows. Mainly using Clay Tubes and the Move Topological tool i spent a few hours attempting to make the brow bones perfect. I was happy with how they looked for the time being so i decided to start making the nose look better. I started by using the Dam_Standard tool to dent where the nostrils were to be. The nose took a lot of time to make, i kept going back to it along the process. Each time i was happy with how the nose looked i left it and went to do something else, then realized the flaws in the nose and carried on at random points.
I was happy with the nose for the time being, and finally was going to start the mouth, i flattened the area where the mouth was to be, and started to use the Standard, Inflat and Clay Tubes tools to begin adding mesh for the lips, at the beginning the lips did not look very nice but i kept at it and eventually after a lot of work, and a lot of using the Smooth and Move Topological tools, i managed to create lips i was proud of. Once the lips were done, i noticed the shoulders were a little bit too masculine for a model of me, so i edited the shoulder shape and the neck further to create a shape that looked most like mine.
I finally had the shape of my head done, all that needed to be done now were the Zombifications. I started by creating the injured right eye, i deleted the eyeball and moved the two eyelids closer to each other to close the eye. I then used the Inflat and Clay Tubes tools to puff up the eyelids to make them look sore and injured. Once i was happy with the injured eye i moved on to make my sculpt look a little more sad, the model was too happy for my liking. It was meant to be a zombie.
Even though i loved the way the lips looked, i knew if i was going to follow the reference image i had made i needed to rip the right side of the mouth off, and rip the cheek open. This was quite difficult to do seeing as i had already made the crease between the lips. But i managed to create the wound by using the Dam_Standard tool and the Inflat tool to create the dent in the face, then i used the Move Elastic tool to stretch the skin around the wound outwards to make it look torn.
I exported the sculpt at this point to an OBJ file and imported it into maya. I placed my side and front orthographics into maya as well and fit them to my model. I then created a basic Tooth shape from cube poly shapes and fit them in the mouth, then i put half a cylinder into the mouth to act as gums. of course in maya they did not look like real gums and teeth, but once i exported them from maya and put them into Zbrush with my bust sculpt, i edited them to look more realistic. With the gums, i used the Move Topological tool to shape them around the teeth and with the teeth i used the Clay Tubes tool normal and inverted to make the teeth look worn and jagged. I then edited the lips once more to accommodate the torn skin to its side.
Using a tool i hadnt used yet, i used the Mask tool to cover the fleshy area inside the mouth and on the torn parts just around the mouth. Masking allows you to edit areas around those effected without effecting the masked area itself. I used this to add texture to the inside of the mouth and the skin around it.
I made a cut on the right cheek and at the side of the mouth wound, using Dam_Standard, Inflate and Pinch. Also using the Move Topological tool to make it look a bit more messy. I then used the Crumple tool to create the burn like texture on the face. After that, i used the Standard tool applied with an Alpha which allowed me to drag ready made 'textures' onto the model, indenting it with the image. This helped me with the veins and the edge of some of the burns.
With all the facial details finished, i sculpted the neck and body to make it look like it had decayed quite a bit, the flesh wrapping tight around the bones makes it look even more like a zombie.
I found Zbrush extremely easy to get used to and very helpful when i was making my model. The fact that you could import orthographics and make your model transparent against the orthographics made the process a whole lot easier in mimicing the reference into 3D form. All the different brushes made making details like scars, wrinkles and such much much easier and makes making a realistic model all the more easier. With certain parts such as teeth and gums, it was easier to create in maya and import into Zbrush, but again this makes the process easier. The teeth and gums would have taken a long time to sculpt in Zbrush, whereas i can create the basic shape in maya and import it to Zbrush to make it pretty. Realistic in no time!
And here we have the final product.
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