Introducing ZBrush [Paperback]

Eric Keller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2008

If you want to take advantage of one of the hottest CG tools available, Introducing ZBrush is the perfect place to start.

Introducing ZBrush helps you jump into this exciting drawing and sculpting software without fear. Learn ZBrush 3.1 basics inside and out and get comfortable sculpting in a digital environment with this relaxed, friendly, and thorough guide. Master these practical techniques and soon you'll be creating realistic, cartoon, and organic models with flair.

• Introduces you to ZBrush 3.1, the sculpting software that lets you create digital art with a fine-art feel, which you can transfer into Maya or other 3D applications
• Covers painting, meshes, organic sculpting, hard surface sculpting, textures, lighting, rendering, working with other 3D applications, and scripting
• Walks you through a series of fun and engaging tutorials where you can start creating your own work, including human, cartoon, and organic models

Learn to create lush, beautiful digital art with ZBrush and this detailed guide.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Eric Keller’s Top 10 Cool Uses for ZBrush

1. Blendshape Facial Targets: Create blendshape facial targets for characters for animation in Maya using ZBrush - it's fast and easy!

2. Tiling Textures: Use ZBrush to create tiling textures for 3D objects.

3. Normal and Displacement Maps: Use ZBrush to create normal and displacement maps - it's superior to Maya's native difference map generator.

4. Texture Maps: Paint texture maps directly on characters and 3D objects.

5. Illustrations: Craft amazing illustrations with ZBrush's 2.5D painting tools.

6. Compositing: Render separate passes of an object from ZBrush with different materials applied for compositing in Photoshop.

7. Sculpting: Add ZApplink to ZBrushes' sculpting power with Photoshop and Painter brushes.

8. Material Capture: Design specialized materials based on objects in photographs with ZBrush's Material Capture tool.

9. Modeling: Build digital models for 3D printing and fabrication.

10. Character Creation: Shape the most amazing characters and creatures possible using ZBrush's revolutionary digital sculpting tools.

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From the Back Cover

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Sybex; 1 edition (May 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470262796
• ISBN-13: 978-0470262795
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Computers & Technology > Graphic Design > 3D Graphics
  • #83 in Books > Arts & Photography > Sculpture

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Intro to ZBrush, May 5, 2008

By 

Lee Lanier "Beezlbug" (Boulder City, NV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introducing ZBrush (Paperback)

As a fellow author, I have bookshelf upon bookshelf of 3D books. Most of these don't get much use. "Introducing ZBrush," however, will get a good workout. Although I've always been impressed by the work produced by ZBrush, I've never been a fan of the interface or workflow and thus have used it relatively little to date. Eric Keller's book makes it all less intimidating. His book covers all the basics, plus includes ample step-by-step guides. The illustrations and example models are a step above many 3D books. I'm also happy to see instructions for importing from and exporting to Maya (ZBrush displacement maps look fantastic in Maya). The DVD includes models, materials, textures, movies, tools, and macros, plus a trial of ZBrush 3. Admittedly, there is a wealth of ZBrush information on the web. However, if you prefer to have a book at your fingertips and would rather not slog through forums for quick answers, this book is a good investment. (If I had a wish, it would be that more of the illustrations were in color, and not black-and-white.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally... the missing link!!!, May 29, 2008

By 

Paola Scott (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introducing ZBrush (Paperback)

I've been wanting to get into Zbrush for a very long time. I even downloaded the trial version and surfed the web for tutorials. However, the lack of results were frustrating. Not only this book has helped me with the learning curve but also opened my eyes to zbrush REAL potential... it's very exciting. Now I can enjoy this wonderful piece of software.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for beginners and good reference material for experts, May 28, 2008

By 

Ara (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introducing ZBrush (Paperback)

To see the magic that ZBrush can produce, you only need to go to Zbrush Central and check out the amazing sculpture and imagery the talented ZBrush community is creating. If you have dreams of contributing to that magic, your dreams are quickly crushed by the daunting UI ZBrush hurls at you at first glance. It is an interface you will grow to learn and be comfortable in but initially, you quickly find yourself lost and frustrated in the menus and palettes. The help files are comprehensive and good if you are the type to learn from manuals, they will be of great help when you need to find out about a specific feature. The ZClassrooms and other online tutorials are also a good start, and there are excellent DVDs from Gnomon to get you going. But if you are one to learn from books, and want a good one around to turn to remember how to do something, you can't get any better than "Introducing ZBrush". Eric Keller is the perfect host to get you bootstrapped into the world of ZBrush. Whether you want to create 2.5D magic, or use ZBrush for its real power, digital sculpting, the chapters explain how to get what you need done.

Eric presents his material from the perspective of a digital artist and not as a technical babble dump of the applications capabilities. There are a lot of gems and shortcuts in this book that will help you in your pipeline, and it is a very easy and entertaining read. The book is also divided into 2.5D and 3D sections so you can jump to what you need and not have to machete yourself through a lot of unneeded info to get to what you want.

Some great examples to work on are provided both in a step by step fashion in the book and also as movies on the DVD. Overall I found this book a great read, and good reference to have on hand in my library of ZBrush reference material.