Introducing ZBrush®

Create Hyper–Realistic Digital Models

If you want to take advantage of one of the hottest CGI tools available, Introducing ZBrush is the perfect place to start. Professional Hollywood animator and ZBrush artist Eric Keller dispels any anxieties beginners might have by offering the careful, step–by–step instruction you need to soon feel right at home with this revolutionary software.

Each chapter explains core concepts, then reinforces them with fun, hands–on tutorials that will amaze you with your growing ability to create hyper–detailed, realistic, organic sculptures on your computer. From creating illustrations in 2.5 dimensions to sculpting with digital clay, you'll master ZBrush's powerful tools for creating fantastic images and 3D models for use in animation programs, such as 3ds Max and Maya.

• Understand ZBrush's unique painting and sculpting technology

• Take a tour of the innovative ZBrush interface and tools

• Master 2.5D painting, digital sculpting, and texture painting

• Learn how to set lighting, create materials, and render in ZBrush

• Go through a production pipeline, from modeling to rendering to exporting models, textures, and displacement maps

• Transfer your ZBrush creations into Maya and other 3D applications for use in film, games, and illustration

VALUABLE COMPANION DVD
The DVD includes example files and models to help guide you through each lesson as well as ZBrush Macro scripts and movies to show you the sculpting process used in each chapter. It also includes a trial version of ZBrush 3.1 for the Microsoft Windows operating system.

• Learn ZBrush's Material Capture technology to create surfaces from photographs

• Work with subtools to create creature sculptures from multiple objects

• Use lighting and rendering in ZBrush to create 2.5D compositions

Introduction.

Chapter 1: Pixels, Pixols, Polygons, and the Basics of Creating Digital Art.

Chapter 2: Facing the ZBrush Interface.

Chapter 3: Painting with Pixols, Part 1.

Chapter 4: Painting with Pixols, Part 2.

Chapter 5: Digital Sculpting.

Chapter 6: Advanced Sculpting Techniques.

Chapter 7: Color, Texture, and Alpha.

Chapter 8: Rendering, Lighting, and Materials.

Chapter 9: ZBrush with Other 3D Applications.

Chapter 10: Plug–ins and ZScripts.

Appendix: About the Companion DVD.

Index.

Eric Keller has been working professionally as a digital artist and 3D animator since 1998. He is a high–end animator for film, television, and scientific visualization with clients including Disney, ESPN, Warner Brothers, Hewlett–Packard, Sony Imageworks, and ABC, and has created animations for scientific research and visualization at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Harvard Medical School. Eric is the author of Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator's Guide, a contributing author to Mastering Maya 8.5 and Mastering Maya 7 (all from Sybex), and has written articles and tutorials for industry magazines.