Mitul Mistry - Project 2 - FDM

I have several years of experience modeling with polygons, so for project 2, FDM, I decided to use ZBrush to sculpt and generate topology, and potentially complement that with forms in Maya.

ZBrush is a very powerful program, and far better for sculpting form digitally than a 3D package like Maya, which is better suited for purposes such as hard surface modeling, topological layout, animation, etc. I strongly urge anyone interested in true digital sculpting to check out either ZBrush or Mudbox.

I started out in ZBrush using ZSpheres to build an armature-like form, and then laying on form using ZSketch. I then converted it to polygonal topology by using a process called adaptive skin, which leaves far more uniform topology than its alternative, unified skin (which generates topology more accurate to your form, but leaves you with much uglier topology). Topology is, unfortunately, a significant concern for sculpting because it affects your brush strokes.

After doing some tests, I should be able to get a 250k poly model into Maya so long as I have enough memory on the computer I’m using. If I subdivide once more in Zbrush, I’ll end up with over a million polys, which is peanuts for ZBrush, but which I don’t feel Maya will handle. 250k is enough to get a reasonable articulation of form, but not nearly enough to hold intense detail, so I will obviously be focusing more on form than on texture.