I'm late to the zSphere Party, but it's better late than never, eh?
So, whilst figuring out how to manipulate zSpheres and sketch with them, I created this monstrosity:
Kind of gross.
So I ended up with this after a few hours:
This...was better but I wasn't happy with it at all. In my ignorance using zSpheres, I screwed up the symmetry on the model and I needed to retopologize it anyway, so off to TopoGun I went.
I ended up only retopoing the head, since the neck just wasn't working. After some work with Maya, I ended up with this low poly version, complete with teeth, gums, skin flaps, and tongue.
I am much, much happier with this. After I bring it back into Zbrush for a few hours, this is what I've ended up with:
So, all in all it was a fun exercise. I have to admit, he's pretty generic, but it was something good to learn with. I did learn a lot!
I am still more comfortable with bringing in low poly base meshes from Maya, as that was the first way I learned how to do things, but I definitely see the value of using zSpheres and sketching with them. It is very organic and natural and I find it to be a very powerful tool. I am sure I will be using them again in the future.
One thing I do notice, though, (and this is easily fixable through reposing with the Transpose tool), was that my final product was much stiffer than the original sketch. I should go back and repose it, because it has lost it's original essence.
Programs used:
ZBrush 3.5 R3
Maya 2010
TopoGun
This exercise took me about 13 hours, give or take. It was done over the span of four days during my free time.
