ZBrush® Studio Projects: Realistic Game Characters

ZBrush® Studio Projects: Realistic Game Characters

Released March 2011
Publisher(s): Sybex
ISBN: 9780470872567

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Book description

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Tips and techniques for bringing reality and creativity to your game characters and art

As video games evolve, the bar moves ever higher for realism, one of the most challenging artistic frontiers is creating realistic human characters. In ZBrush Studio Projects: Realistic Game Characters, ZBrush expert Ryan Kingslien zeroes in on specific areas of concern for game creation: human body style, faces, skin texturing, clothing, shoes, weaponry, and putting your character into a game environment. Throughout the book Ryan offers tips and insights that provide readers with the depth and breadth they need to bring reality and creativity to their game characters and art. Projects start from the beginning, just as they do in the studio, with the author to guide you step by step through attributes and tools. Projects encompass multiple disciplines to obtain finished, professional results.Although some step by step explanations are given, projects serve more as a guide for readers to complete their own version of the project. Each project comes with support files to validate results

  • Covers one of the most unique challenges for game artists -- sculpting realistic and moveable human characters for a game environment

  • Brings you up to speed on ZBrush, the top digital sculpting tool used to create characters and props in such games as Rock Band and World of Warcraft

  • Covers body style, faces, skin texturing, clothing, shoes, weaponry, and how to put your character into a game environment

  • Provides in-depth techniques and tips for everyone from aspiring digital sculptors to high-level professional ZBrush artists

  • Includes a DVD with supporting files from the projects in the book, as well as videos that illustrate concepts

Build the next game-winning action character with ZBrush and this professional guide!

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Credits
  4. Copyright
  5. Publisher's Note
  6. Dedication
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. About the Author
  9. Introduction
    1. Who Should Buy This Book
    2. What You Need
    3. What’s Inside
    4. Companion DVD
    5. How to Contact the Author
  10. Chapter 1: Sculpting Tools and Workflow
    1. The Problem of Sculpting
    2. Our Sculpting Toolkit
    3. Unpacking Our Toolkit
    4. The Road Ahead
  11. Chapter 2: Sculpting the Body
    1. Proportions
    2. Project 1: Modeling Base Mesh in Maya
    3. Project 2: Bony Landmarks
    4. Project 3: Volume and Massing
    5. Project 4: Painting in the Anatomy
    6. Project 5: Filling in the Anatomy
  12. Chapter 3: The Head and the Face
    1. Proportions
    2. Project: Establishing the Foundation
    3. Project: Establishing the Eye
    4. Project: Establishing the Nose
    5. Project: Establishing the Mouth
    6. Project: Creating New Topology
    7. Summary
  13. Chapter 4: Texturing the Head
    1. Project: Texture Painting by Hand
    2. Project: Texture Painting Approach #2 ZAppLink
    3. Summary
  14. Chapter 5: Suiting Up with Clothes
    1. Creating a Jacket
    2. Summary
  15. Chapter 6: Building Weapons
    1. The Anatomy of the Weapon
    2. Anatomy of the Holster
    3. Texturing
    4. Summary
  16. Chapter 7: Getting It Into the Game
    1. The Topology Spectrum
    2. Project: Topology - Removing Interior Polygons
    3. Project: Topology - Combining Parts
    4. Project: Adding the Holster
    5. Project: Topology - Decimation Master & Polypainting
    6. Project: In-Game Hair
    7. Project: Create UVs using UV Master
    8. Project: UVs, Topology, and the Platform
    9. Project: Creating Maps
    10. Project: Setting Up Model in Maya
    11. Assessing Your Topology
    12. Project: Importing Jacket’s Reflowed Topology
    13. Project: Getting Model into Marmoset
    14. Summary
  17. Chapter 8: Posing and Rendering in ZBrush
    1. Project: Finding the Pose with Mannequins
    2. Project: Establishing the Pose for the Body
    3. Project: Posing Multiple Objects
    4. Project: Creating the Base
    5. Project: Damaging the Base
    6. Project: Shadows and Ambient Occlusion
    7. Project: Using Render Passes
    8. Project: Plastic Maquette Material
    9. Project: Adding Some SSS
    10. Project: Timeline Turntable
    11. Project: XPose
    12. Project: Exporting a Movie
    13. Summary
  18. Appendix: About the Companion DVD
    1. What You’ll Find on the DVD
    2. System Requirements
    3. Using the DVD
    4. Troubleshooting
    5. Customer Care
  19. Index

Product information

  • Title: ZBrush® Studio Projects: Realistic Game Characters
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: March 2011
  • Publisher(s): Sybex
  • ISBN: 9780470872567