Hello everyone. When I first discovered Zbrush I was blown away by Pixolators ability to create textures that are so real looking. I have been trying to follow in his footsteps as they say and have come up with this tutorial to help you all bring more to life those amazing models you make. In this tutorial I will show you how to easily texturize your model as well as create a skin material that can also be used alone to give a great effect also. So we begin…
(At the bottom of this tutorial I have supplied the tool I used for this tutorial, as well as the texture map. Feel free to use them as you wish)
:large_orange_diamond: 1. First thing we do is have a model on stand-by that you have imported or created, then we import a texture map image that we would like to use (fig 1). This must be .bmp or .psd format or you can create your own texture in photoshop or zbrush. Now there are 2 different ways to get this texture on your model and they are both applied differently so play around with both and see what you like best.
:small_orange_diamond: A. Once your texture is loaded open the layers palette and hit the fill button under modifiers (fig 2). Once the canvas has been filled with the texture turn texture off. Now under your tool palette select or import your model and draw it on the canvas. Once your model is on the canvas select the rotate tool (fig 3) and click and hold outside of the gyro dragging down to bring your model to the front. (This is done because a portion of your model will be behind the canvas (fig 4). Now we go into edit mode by pressing this button (fig 5) or by pressing T on the keyboard. Next open the transform palette and click the 3d copy button under modifiers (fig 6.) You will need to rotate your object a few times, each time clicking the 3d copy button. Voila, you can now press Ctrl N on your keyboard which clears anything on the canvas which is not active.
[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1020234682kvr.jpg[/img]
:small_orange_diamond: B. Method 2 is to simply place you model on the canvas, enter edit mode (fig 5) and load your texture (fig 1). Its that simple, but I find that this teqnique doesn't always work because it stretches the texture. This can also be changed by using the tools inside the texture palette such as FLPH, FLPV, and ROT (fig 1), as well as changing the HREPEAT and VREPEAT which is located in the texture menu of the tool palette. Your image should now look like fig 7.
[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1020234525yqd.jpg[/img]
:large_orange_diamond: 2. Great now that our model has its texture on it, lets create a skin material that will completely change the appearance of how your model will look. While still in edit mode go into the material palette and select the basic material (fig 8) and begin to alter this materials values using the sliders under modifiers. Please refer to fig 9 for all the settings. Now you wont be able to see much of a change yet and that's because we have to add some color. So go to your color palette and select any color you wish to be the base and then click the first box right below Env. Reflection under modifiers of the material palette (fig 10). Now move the Colorize Diffuse slider to the right (fig 10) and you will now begin to see how the material and texture work together to give it the appearance your after.
:small_orange_diamond: (Tip - The more to the right you go with this slider, the more the material will overpower the texture you have applied).
:small_orange_diamond: (Tip - If you move the Specular slider to 100 you will give your guy a slimy appearance).
:small_orange_diamond: (Tip - You do not have to add a material of choice to give depth to the texture. Simply choose basic material from the start and add color bump under modifiers/material palette, and this alone will give depth to the material applied).
[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1020234465wju.jpg[/img]
:large_orange_diamond: 3. Now you may want to take this one step further and give this guy a wet look around the eyes and lips. What you do now is select the simple brush (fig 11) and save your material (fig 12)
:small_orange_diamond: (Tip - You will now leave edit mode and be unable to edit your model unless you redraw it from the tool palette, so make this one of your last steps when you have placed your model on the canvas in its final resting position).
Now we select a different material, one we will not use throughout the project like the fast shader (fig 13) and we will now load the material we just saved (fig 14). This will now give us 2 of the exact same materials in the material palette. We can now alter the second material loaded, in this case we will move the Specular slider to the right to 100. we can now brush in this new material around the lips and the eyes to give it that wet look. Make sure that Zadd is off and material (M) is on (fig 15).
[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1020234380aiv.jpg[/img]
You can see before and after I applied the second material by brush. It gives it that extra realism your pic may call for.
[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1020233476nzq.jpg[/img]
Texture and Tool 600k Zip File
http://www.sleepless-solutions.com/Photoshop.zip
I would like to thank all the members of this forum for all the help they have givin me, Mentat7, Stoncutter, picsas, Deevee, Aurick, southern and all the rest. I hope to see some images soon from this tutorial.
ENJOY!!!
Cooper
[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1020238959zpk.jpg[/img]
