We were given the option to either block the character out in Blender or Zbrush when we started modeling the bear, so I kind of challenged myself and chose Zbrush. Zbrush’s shortcuts and navigation differ from Blender’s, so it took me more time to get used to the controls. I had a lot of trouble with it because it’s new software that I’ve only been using this year. Henry demonstrated several methods for blocking our characters in Zbrush. I decided to use the Zsphere tool, which simply required an extruded sphere to block the bear’s body characteristics. This was my first time working on a major project with Zbrush, and I did find it easier by using Zsphere. Activating symmetry on the x-axis, where each side was operating equally at the same time, was another tool that let me make this progress much more quickly and easily. According to Henry, both sides of the body must be asymmetrical at the blocking stage.
After extruding the Zsphere to block the character, I had to apply adaptive skin, which automatically converted the Zsphere into polygon faces. This was possibly my first issue, where the adaptive skin didn’t perform as effectively as it should have, turning the block out into a refined, chubby poly bear. Even though I attempted to solve the issue by making the adaptive skin denser, it still appeared a little strange.
I approached Henry for help, and we spent quite a bit of time figuring out that the arms and legs were too close to the torso, which was one of the reasons the adaptive skin wasn’t functioning properly. It slightly resolved the issue, but not completely, so Henry recommended that I apply adaptive skin at a higher density after subdividing and smoothing down sharp edges. Filling in the gaps with the clay brush until the bear looks the way I want it to. Furthermore, I made little sculptures of the ear, nose, nail, ass shape, eye holes, etc.
After I thought I had finished the block bear, I was a little concerned about how to open its mouth because, according to my design, I wanted the bear’s mouth to be open. Henry said was block it out in the beginning, but he still helped me by using brush tools to sculpt a mouth. He also showed how to use an extract tool and mask to make a basic gum and tong in the mouth. He shows me a quicker method for making the teeth, which saves me a lot of time by creating the mesh I want the teeth to be in and turning it into a new brush. I looked for a reference photograph to continue working because I had no idea what the structure of a bear’s mouth looked like.
I had to construct the tooth brush a few times because there was a problem with it; it kept disappearing every time I left and opened Zbrush. Looking at the block out of the nails I didn’t like them as much, so I decided to smooth them down and apply them using the teeth brush as well.
