Simple play icon Course
Skills Expanded

High-resolution Game Character Creation Pipeline in ZBrush and Maya

by Matthew Kean

In this series of tutorials, we will learn how to create a realistic character from scratch, covering modeling and texture creation. Software required: Maya 2014, Photoshop CS6, ZBrush 4R6, TopoGun, UVLayout, dDo, Marmoset Toolbag.

What you'll learn

In this series of tutorials, we will learn how to create a realistic character from scratch, covering modeling and texture creation. Throughout these lessons, we will go over concept selection, and blocking in of forms using ZBrush 4R6's powerful suite of tools, we will also be jumping into Maya for base mesh creation for some of more complex pieces. I'll discuss different sculpting techniques giving you a good overview on different problem areas such as leather or skin pores. We'll then discuss how to go about texturing and retopologizing the high-resolution models in TopoGun and Photoshop. We'll be using UV layout for the fast and easy UV creation. Normals and and other maps will be generated using TopoGun, XNormal, and a versatile map creation program. Over the course of the tutorial, we will cover general anatomy, as well as introducing a DynaMesh workflow and topology geared towards animation. We will go over utilizing Polypaint to hand paint our base textures, which will later be enhanced in Photoshop and dDo. The tutorial will end with a semi-low resolution character with normal maps and diffuse geared towards a realtime game workflow. Tips learned here can be applied to any realistic or stylized character. Software required: Maya 2014, Photoshop CS6, ZBrush 4R6, TopoGun, UVLayout, dDo, Marmoset Toolbag.

Table of contents

Introduction and Project Overview
1min
High-resolution Game Character Creation Pipeline in ZBrush and Maya
656mins

About the author

Matthew Kean is an inspired character artist, conceptual artist, and digital modeler in the New York City area with several years experience. His skills include 3D software development, conceptualizing and executing 3D concepts for film and games, as well as teaching. His work includes modeling on film titles such as 'The Mortal Instruments: The City of Bones' and a game work for few AAA companies. Matt has also worked on toy designs for companies overseas. His experience stems from a strong edu... more

Ready to upskill? Get started