Chapter 8. Rendering, Lighting, and Materials

Pixols on a ZBrush canvas contain material information along with their x-, y-, and z-coordinates. The materials give a pixol its surface quality, and reflectivity, transparency, translucency, and other qualities define a material. Pixols also react to lighting changes on the canvas and can cast shadows. Materials are also applied to polymesh objects in Edit mode.

Lights in ZBrush are easy to use and can be a helpful sculpting aid. Likewise, the myriad properties of ZBrush materials offer an unlimited creative resource when creating illustrations. This chapter provides a number of short, hands-on tutorials designed to get you comfortable with rendering, lighting, and materials in ZBrush.

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