ZBrush painting Barbarian Conan example tutorial

Giorgio Palombi, a game artist who believes that inspiration comes from diversifying and exploring new things, says, "This is why I often test new technology when I'm creating a favorite character." For such tests, in a zbrush® anime show, Giorgio chose the Unreal hero Conan , "I found it very exciting to make one of my favorite characters, so I tried to make it look like the 1970 comic book cover, Giorgio explains," It's always been fun for me to use advanced art and technology to renovate the roles and styles of the past. " Today we are going to learn the creative work process of the artist Giorgio Palombi to create the barbarian Conan.

For the illustration section, Giorgio uses ZBrush to finish carving, hair and textures, while detailed textures and final compositing use Photoshop, "I also use 3ds max for mesh extraction, UV mapping, and base skin settings to pose for characters," he says. Rendering is done through Marmoset Toolbag 2.

ZBrush painting Barbarian Conan example tutorial

1, the use of reference

First I collected some reference images and then randomly drew some sketches until I found the confidence to start painting without any restrictions.

If you have to create a new role, you need more sketches; If you plan to make existing heroes, such as Conan, it will be a lot quicker, I usually start with existing artwork as my own 2D concept guide, and in the process I begin to think about the final synthesis and possible poses.

2. Plan pose

It is important to focus on the simplified module and plan the next step by drawing a rough sketch in the ZBrush and jumping into the 3D world while grasping the overall proportions and contours.

3. Add skin, scratches and other important details

When I was making Conan, I used some custom brushes to make skin effects, using some of the custom channels in ZBrush to make skin and pores and muscle texture. Slash brushes and trim dynamic brushes are especially useful for adding scratches and volumes to the entire model.

4, set the topology

Next, using the ZBrush topology tool to build a good topology, I often sketch the new edge stream using the Polypaint (polygon coloring) in ZBrush, and then place the vertices along the topology tool.

5. Create Hair

Use the hair system (Fiber Mesh) in the ZBrush to make the model. I found this faster than 3ds Max, first selecting a template from light box, then making small hair groups along the head shape, each group being set as a child tool so that I could move, swap, and modify each line, and I found groom Hair toss useful.

6. Create Textures

After making the new low model, I used the xnormal baking texture, normal, model coloring, cavity, and ao textures to use Photoshop to adjust.

7. Textures and Lighting

When the texture process is finished in Photoshop, I use the viewport to get feedback, and when I am satisfied with the diffuse map, I create mirrors, gloss, other normal maps, and fine hair maps, create scenes in the Marmoset Toolkit, add lighting and environment maps, and then adjust the shader.

8, set up rendering

When I need to render all angles and choose the lighting settings, I choose the one that best displays the iconic details and roles, and then use Photoshop to add a background, make some changes, and create the final image.

9. Design Cover

I'm exporting an image with an alpha channel from Marmoset, then using Photoshop to add a background, a mix of images on the web, in the final step, I add books and dirt, and then use a photo filter to flush out a small portion of the image to make it look like the cover of an old comic book.

About Giorgio

Giorgio is an Italian freelance artist who creates game assets and sculptures for 3D printing, and also creates many models for industrial anime.