MEET
THE MODEL
Some
decisions need to be taken at modelling time. You need to detail
the model as much as possible in EDIT mode before moving onto
texturing. If you look at the lips on the head below (1.1)
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you
can see that they are plain and relatively featureless. This is
fine for the lips as detail can be added using alpha brushes and
adding specularity to a cloned material. The eye sockets and under-eye
area need more work at modelling stage to ensure the level of
detail is adequate to achieve the desired result.
MATERIAL
NOTES
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Before
beginning a big Zbrush project usually have an idea of the type
of materials that I am going to use. For skin/flesh/scales I
usually use one simple material but then make several copies
of it that I change just a little e.g. add more specularity.
If materials have the same basic properties with only minor
changes, it prevents the sharp lines from appearing where two
dissimilar materials meet.
For the skin on this model I wanted to use a basic material
that used colour bump to add detail where ever I used a lighter
colour. The settings I used can be seen in IMAGE 3 (3.1). This
was the base material and from this I made 3 more copies, One
with more specularity (2.3), one with more colour bump (2.1)
and one with less noise radius and a positive colour bump (2.4)
IMAGE 2.
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TEXTUREMASTERING
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When
you are happy with the model you can launch Texturemaster. I find
it easier to flood fill the model with a dark colour first then
add lighter features as I go (1.2). This ensures that the deep
recesses (ears, eyes, nostrils, lip creases etc.) are completely
covered with the base colour. Have you tried colouring the inside
of a nostril with Texturemaster yet? If you don't have the right
undercoat you have to rotate your model 5 or 6 times to get it
covered from every angle.
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IMAGE
3. Click for large version
NOTE: These TM tips are
my own findings. I strongly urge you to work through the show-me
tutorials built into TM over and over again until you are happy
that you know all that it is capable of.
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I
use the same sort of sequence for texturing a head time and
time again. I usually start by `dropping` (TM DROP or Keyboard
G) the head face on then add some details with a similar colour
to the base colour but a lighter shade. I usually use a `dotty`
alpha brush or make a custom one to give a skin like effect.
I then `pick` it up (TM PICK or Keyboard G again) and roll it
back 45 degrees and repeat the above but use a dark tone of
the same colour for under the lips and eyebrows. Pick again
and roll it forward and use a lighter tone for the top of the
nose, eyebrows and lips.
You
can see the texture map you have created at this stage by looking
in your TEXTURE panel. A texture map is being created
all the time you are using Texturemaster. Image 4 shows how
this image map progressed as I worked. (See 4.1,4.3)
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When
I have done the front I turn the head side on. I use PREFERENCES>DOTS
at this stage to make sure the head is aligned symmetrically
and then turn on the B+F button (Back and front pickup) which
allows me to effectively paint both sides of the head at the
same time. I don't use this button when texturing the front
as we don't want to be two-faced about things do we, although
eyes in the back of the head would be nice.
TIP:Change
the alpha brush and colour frequently. This helps build up layers
of colour and texture. Use a variety of brushes from the palette
and get into the habit of grabbing your own from the canvas.
Make a new layer just for creating alphas if you need to and
delete or hide it as required.
This
process needs to be repeated over and over until you are happy
with the result. Occasionally I `drop` the model at an odd angle
to pick up on a bit of detail but more often than not I stick
to the back, front, up down alignment.
If
the material you are using has similar settings to the ones
listed here (IMAGE 3.1), wherever
you have added lighter tones you will see raised or bumped areas.
This is a classic way of creating scaly skin or blemishes. As
Texturemaster is updating your model every time you do a `pick
up` you can adjust your texture as you go. If you start to add
very fine line or creases with a dark colour you may find that
the indentation is too severe (especially if the dark lines
are drawn onto a lighter patch of skin). To improve this go
over the area with the blur brush or even the smudge brush.
The blur brush works much like the blur feature in a more traditional
package and evens out the pixels by colour and help sooth the
harshness.
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SNAPSHOTTING INTO THE DOCUMENT WINDOW
When
you have done enough work on the head-texture move onto setting
the head into an image. Using the Gyro, position and size a
copy then snapshot a copy into a new document window that you
have preset to the size you require (I used 2000x2000 for this
project).
I made several different versions of the `Smokin Orc` Texture
and for the final image I settled on a more Greenish colour
for the creature. I chose to put the head on some padded shoulders
with a creased scarf. I used four layers as follows:
Layer
1. The Head
Layer 2. The Padded shoulders
Layer 3. The eyes and the Cigar
Layer 4. The background and the Scarf.
It
is always a trade off. Keeping the layers to a minimum keeps
the speed of the job high but not enough and it is sometimes
hard to go back and edit individual areas.
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POST WORK ALL IN ZBRUSH
Although
a lot of work goes into the Texturemaster portion of a project
like this there is always a lot of scope to change the image
after setting the scene. Once the head was in place I set to
work with a number of alpha brushes and the materials that I
had created at the start of the project. I added more veins
and pimples, blemishes, boils, creases, wrinkles etc.
I
created the cigar from a tube and textured it after I had snapshot
it in place.
To complete the image I added a red SUN light coming form the
right of the scene and rendered it with shadows on. I then exported
the 2kx2k image as a PSD. I opened a new document set to the
correct dimensions and re-imported the image back in. To complete
the project I used a number of the 3D brushes including glow,
blur, smudge, shading enhancer. I drew the smoke using a couple
of alpha brush and a near transparent white.
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