Learn to Sculpt an Underground Catacomb with ZBrush

Name: Learn to Sculpt an Underground Catacomb with ZBrush
Rating: 4.5 (6 reviews)

Jump into ZBrush and learn to sculpt this scene, bake the normal maps, and then present the scene in Marmoset!

Created by3dmotive LLC

Last updated 8/2015

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Learn to sculpt a complex scene in ZBrush
Understand the basics of building the low poly and baking normal maps of this scene
Learn to present and setup the scene inside of Marmoset

Course content

3 sections • 17 lectures • 3h 11m total length

Download Course Files Here!0:05
Course Introduction0:50
Master a ZBrush-based workflow by starting with basic Maya models, sculpting damage and noise, using Instant Meshes and dynamites, then bake normals and finalize the scene in Marmoset.
Modeling in Maya19:00
Explore modeling a catacomb scene in Maya by building floors, domes, and stone blocks, using extrusion, edge loops, subdivision levels, and non-linear bend.
Modeling in Maya Continued19:05
Master Maya modeling workflows by building a cylinder, using booleans to form a catacomb shape, refining topology with loops and polygon cleanup, and preparing a clean, export-ready mesh.
Sculpting Bricks in ZBrush13:18
Sculpt bricks for an underground catacomb in ZBrush by importing assets, using Dynamesh and subdivisions, and clipping and smoothing stone blocks, then bake and refine for floor of varied stones.
Brick Sculpting Timelapse8:28
Learn to sculpt bricks for an underground catacomb in ZBrush through a timelapse workflow, using noise, subdivision tweaks, textures, and exporting baked mesh details.

Introduction0:47
Sculpt the remaining models in volume two, implant bricks into the brick wall, optimize the scene, and prepare the project in Maya for baking.
Sculpting the Floor and Cross19:01
Sculpt the floor and cross of an underground catacomb in ZBrush, applying surface noise, multi-layer noise, and brush adjustments to create chipped plaster and damaged stone textures.
Sculpting the Main Wall15:34
Learn to sculpt the main wall of an underground catacomb in ZBrush by building brick breaks with multi-mesh, adjusting depth, brush size, and variation.
Refining the Main Wall11:52
Refine the main wall in ZBrush by duplicating, moving, rotating, and scaling sections, grouping and merging breaks for variation, and hiding or deleting geometry to reveal precise catacomb details.
Sculpting the Bones And Skulls12:31
Learn to sculpt bones and skulls in Maya by importing bones, duplicating and rotating for variation, then arranging skulls and applying noise masking to refine the final mesh.

Introduction0:38
Learn to sculpt underground catacombs with ZBrush by reviewing basic models, applying sculpting techniques, optimizing geometry, and baking to achieve the final result.
Optimizing the Models16:37
Optimize all assets by applying decimation and preprocessing, then export to Maya. Balance polygon counts, bake normals with X normal, and prepare UV unwrap for Maya.
Baking All Textures19:42
Learn to bake textures in zbrush by converting a high-poly underground catacomb into a clean low-poly mesh, generating normals, displacement, and other maps with proper UV layouts.
Polishing the Scene13:44
Polish the scene by duplicating stones to remove seams, place skulls with height maps to disguise tiling, and refine ground textures using gravel textures and a map converter workflow.
Refining and Object Placement7:23
Refine bone placements and scale bones to align with the underground catacomb. Set up active and passive bodies, configure a collider and dynamics, and adjust bounciness before importing into marmosets.
Importing into Marmoset and Final Presentation12:42
Import your sculpted underground catacomb into Marmoset, apply materials, adjust normals and displacement, tweak lighting and sky presets, and export a polished final presentation.

Requirements

Marmoset
Pixologic's ZBrush
Autodesk's Maya or a similar 3d modeling software

Description

In this series, Emiel Sleegers is going to be covering how to sculpt and build a catacomb environment using Maya and ZBrush. For starters he will be creating and unwrapping some base meshes within Maya, and from there he will be taking said meshes into ZBrush where he will covering topics such dynamesh, additional damage sculpting, insert mesh, and more. From there, he will then export the meshes back to Maya for an optimization pass and then take everything into Marmoset Toolbag for rendering.

(Students - please look under Section 1 / Lecture 1 downloads for the source files associated with the lesson.)

More about the Instructor:

Emiel Sleegers is a self-taught 3d artist currently residing in the Netherlands. He's been teaching himself 3D art for the past 3-4 years, and has worked as a freelance artist on numerous unannounced projects. He's a lover of all things 3d and enjoys sharing the knowledge he has obtained with others eager to learn.

Who this course is for:

Intermediate to Advanced users who already have an understanding of ZBrush
Students who already have an understanding of Maya

Learn to Sculpt an Underground Catacomb with ZBrush

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Sculpting Introduction and the Basics6 lectures • 1hr 1min

Refining the Scene and Sculpting Details5 lectures • 1hr

Polishing and Presenting our Scene6 lectures • 1hr 11min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: