Create a Stunning Fantasy Character Tutorial 01

NSA ! 

! 

! 

NEXT SCHOOL OF ARTS 

CREATE A STUNNING FANTASY CHARACTER 

TUTORIAL 

PABLO MUÑOZ GÓMEZ 

www.nsaonline.com

Create a stunning 

fantasy character 

Learn to illustrate a 3D character model, stylise hair and fur, use Smart 

Materials in Substance and create custom brushes for detailing skin 

03 

02 

T 

bhroughout 

the course of the 

next few pages, we are 

going to dissect the process 

of creating and setting up the 3D 

sculpture of our Jarl character in 

order to create a detailed illustration. 

We’ll begin with the creation of a 3D sketch 

that has been based on 2D concepts, as well as doing some 

paintovers to further explore the design options. The character is not going to 

have an extreme or dynamic pose and the overall facial expression will be rather neutral. But 

we still need to make the illustration interesting, so we’ll pay close attention to the eyes as our means to 

create a captivating image for the fi nal render. Although we are going to work with ZBrush for large parts of the 

tutorial, textures are going to be created with Substance Painter 2. We’ll also use KeyShot for rendering and Photoshop for 

compositing and refi nements. Additionally, we’ll also take a look at some tips which will help us to suggest context or a story 

behind the character, particularly when working with a closed composition where the main focus is the face of the subject. 

PABLO MUÑOZ 

GÓMEZ 

The Jarl of Winter, 

2016 

Software 

ZBrush, Substance Painter, 

KeyShot, Photoshop 

Learn how to 

alphas and custom brushes 

using ZBrush 

rendering 

Concept 

had a bigger role to play, but 

on a more direct interaction 

emphasise the essence of the 

character through her eyes. 

Set up and 3D sketching Let’s assume that you have 

Sculpt the face and explore in 2D With the basic 

01 02 

collected all of your references and have a clear idea of 

shapes in place, we can do a BPR render and open it in 

how your image should look. For this character, we already had Photoshop. Using a hard brush with pressure, sketch out some 

concept art to help ignite the creative process. Starting from a shapes over the render. This process will help us determine (very 

generic female base mesh we can start appending various quickly) whether or not an idea is worth pursuing and will save us 

DynaMeshed spheres. To fl esh out the volumes for the jacket and some time when it comes to the sculpting stage. Once the design 

fur coat, we’ll use the Move tool while keeping the DynaMesh has been refi ned, we can begin to sculpt the face using the 

resolution very low. You can handle a great amount of details by Standard Brush with a low Z intensity, the Move brush and the 

having a SubTool for each key element. At this stage, the Dam_- hPolish brush. 

Standard brush is a great tool for defi ning cuts and intersections. 

03 

01 

Increase resolution, details and alphas To sculpt skin 

details, let’s increase the resolution in the DynaMesh 

SubTools and the subdivision level in the base mesh. Ensure the 

details are added gradually – only increase resolution or 

subdivide when more geometry is needed to describe smaller 

details. Using a plane in a separate tool, carve a few pores and 

generate an alpha (GrabDoc) to project high-frequency details 

into our model. we can create multiple alphas for areas of the 

skin with deeper pores or subtle bumps. Some areas need more 

attention and are important for adding asymmetry. The Dam_- 

Standard brush is ideal for carving in wrinkles around the eye and 

use the Infl ate brush for the lips.


NSA TUTORIAL 01 / MODELLING 

04 

Create a brush for eyelashes We want to exagger 

at the eyelashes for this character to accentuate 

the eyes a bit more. We need two things to build the eyelashes: 

the structural planes and the eyelashes brush. The 

structural planes are single-sided pieces of geometry (an 

extruded edge or a tweaked plane) that follows the contour of 

the eye and serves as a guide to lay down and edit the individual 

eyelashes. The eyelashes brush is a modifi ed version of 

the Insert CurveTubes brush. From the Stroke palette under 

the Curve subpalette, turn on Snap as well as Lock Start. Also 

switch on Size under Curve modifiers. 

06 

Replace placeholders and clean up Take each 

DynaMesh placeholder and refi ne the shapes. Make 

use of the ZRemesher feature to retopologise the shapes and 

optimise the polygon count. You can also utilise the ZRemesher 

guides to help you control the fl ow of the topology. In this case, 

and for most SubTools, we only need to keep the part of the mesh 

that will be visible in our illustration. So after getting a new 

topology, you can use the ZModeler to select and delete any 

polygons that you won’t be needing. With elements like the 

jacket, create a single polygroup for the resulting open mesh and 

use the ZModeler to extrude the polygroup outwards to create 

some thickness. 

05 

Work on eyebrows We can use the eyelashes brush for the 

eyebrows as well, following the same idea of creating a structural 

plane (a simple extract from the forehead). Since we enabled Snap and 

Lock Start, when we draw a tube with a small size brush, ZBrush will prevent 

us from moving the origin point and the tubes will snap to the plane we 

created. This is a really fast way to create this sort of detail. Since the shape 

and fl ow of the hairs is determined primarily by the structural planes, we 

don’t have to spend time grooming and moving things around after. 

07 

NSA ! 

Unwrap UV Now that we have new and clean topology, we are going to create UVs before 

subdividing and adding details. We’ll make use of the polygroups in our meshes to unwrap 

the polygons in separate islands. Open the UV Master and turn on the Polygroups switch – you can 

use ZModeler to assign new polygroups to segment the mesh in more parts. For the head, we already 

have details and subdivision levels. So we can use the Work on Clone option to unwrap the model and 

then copy and paste the new UVs into our detailed head mesh. 

08 

Detail parts and clean up Use the Texture Palette to select an image and check the UV 

mapping for all your SubTools. If you are happy with the result you can start subdividing and 

detailing each part. Keep in mind that some areas will be covered by fur or hair so not all the details will be 

visible. For things like the jacket, we can sculpt the most prominent details like cuts or scratches, and add 

smaller details to the mesh using surface noise. We can also use Insert brushes to add parts like the buckles. 

At this point it is also a good idea to save as a separate fi le, clean up the tool and remove any remaining 

placeholders. 

! 

! 

“ 

Use the Flatten option in the UV Master & the transpose 

line to rearrange the parts and give more 

space to the front part of the eye 

” 

04 

05 

07 

06 

Gravity and 

useful hotkeys 

A simple trick to sculpt 

wrinkles and crevices 

is to add a bit of gravity 

to the stroke of the 

Dam_ Standard brush. 

You can also use the 

Infl ate brush with low 

intensity to tighten up 

the wrinkles area. The 

Replay Last Stroke 

hotkey is also a great 

help when detailing. If 

you make a brush 

stroke that you like, but 

perhaps you think that 

it lacks a bit of depth, 

then you can just press 

the number 1 key on 

your keyboard to 

repeat the same stroke 

over the same place.


08 

09 

“ Move and Move Topology are handy 

for readjusting the model after posing 

” 

12 

09 

Create the eyes The eyes are a 

central part of this illustration so 

we are going to work on creating a 

separate ‘eye tool’ and then we will import 

it for our character. Create a 3D sphere 

now and click on Make PolyMesh 3D from 

the Tool palette. Assign two polygroups 

for the front and back, and then generate 

some UVs. Use the Flatten option in the 

UV Master plugin, and the transpose line 

to rearrange parts and give more space to 

the front part of the eye. Then subdivide 

the eye a few times, enable radial symmetry 

to sculpt the iris and keep changing the 

RadialCount value to add some randomness 

in the details. 

10 

Work with the hair brush To 

optimise our model for KeyShot 

rendering, we’ll take a diff erent approach 

to build the hair and fur. Create a new tool 

using a polymesh plane with UVs and 

create an Insert brush. With the new brush 

selected, you should now enable Curve 

Mode under the Stroke palette, as well as 

for Size under curve modifi ers. Select the 

head of our model, duplicate it, go to the 

lowest subdivision level and delete the 

higher one. Now we have another placeholder 

and we can start drawing curves 

with the Plane Brush we created. Also, use 

Lock Start from the curve palette to avoid 

moving the origin point. 

C 

12 

cir 

ha 

be 

de 

bu 

bru 

1

NSA ! 

! 

! 


10 

Optimise UV 

space 

To create a more 

optimised UV map for 

the head, you can 

control the unwrapping 

process with Polypaint 

by switching to Enable 

Control Painting. This 

will help ZBrush to 

determine where it 

should create the cuts. 

In this case, the hair 

will cover the head of 

the character, so we 

want to have more UV 

space (more texture 

space) for the face. 

You can paint with a 

green colour using the 

Density option in the 

UV Master plugin to 

better redistribute the 

polygons. 

11 

Texture hair We already have 

UVs for the head. We also 

created the hair brush after creating 

the UVs for the plane, so simply add a 

tileable hair texture with alpha to our 

hair straps and they’ll start to look 

REATE A STUNNING more like FANTASY real hair. CHARACTER 

The benefi ts are 

that we have more control over shape 

and considerably fewer polygons to 

render. The downside is that it won’t 

look messy and random, which is 

something that makes it look more 

Groom and style hair When creating the hair straps, 

natural. To fi x this, we’ll add more 

you can select the tip of the curve and move it in a 

hair straps with a smaller brush to 

cular motion to twist the curve and add a bit more life to the 

ir. Use the Move tool 

cover 

to ‘groom’ 

up 

the 

areas 

pieces 

were 

of hair and 

the 

you’ll 

polygons are 

able create the hairstyle evident. that you This want. For will additional also create hair the eff 

tails like the braids, create ect of another a greater Insert Curve volume brush of to hair 

ild the base. A very cool and easy way to test this type of 

sh with repetitive patterns is by utilising ArrayMesh to see 

ect of the pattern. 

Pose the model By now we should have all of our 

3 SubTools with subdivision levels and details. Before 

11


12 

13 

14 

12 

Groom and style hair When creating the hair 

straps, you can select the tip of the curve and 

move it in a circular motion to twist the curve and add 

a bit more life to the hair. Use the Move tool to ‘groom’ 

the pieces of hair and you’ll be able create the hairstyle 

that you want. For additional hair details like the 

braids, create another Insert Curve brush to build the 

base. A very cool and easy way to test this type of 

brush with repetitive patterns is by utilising Array- 

Mesh to see the eff ect of the pattern. 

13 

Pose the model By now we should have all of our SubTools with 

subdivision levels and details. Before adding additional 

FiberMesh we need to create the fi nal pose for the model using 

Transpose Master from the Zplugin palette. Since we have a good 

range of polygroups in all parts of our model, we can quickly create 

selections and mask the model. Generally speaking, it is easier to 

use the transpose line to move or rotate parts of the model. You 

might fi nd that the Move and Move Topology brushes are incredibly 

12 

handy for readjusting sections of the model after it has been posed. 

14 

13 

14 

14 




circular motion to twist the curve and add a bit more life to the 

hair. Use the Move tool to ‘groom’ the pieces of hair and you’ll 

be able create the hairstyle that you want. For additional hair 

details like the braids, create another Insert Curve brush to 

place. 

build the base. A very cool and easy way to test this type of 

brush with repetitive patterns is by utilising ArrayMesh to see 



13 SubTools with subdivision levels and details. Before 

adding additional FiberMesh we need to create the final pose 

for the model using Transpose Master from the Zplugin palette. 

Since we have a good range of polygroups in all parts of our 

model, we can quickly create selections and mask the model. 

Generally speaking, it is easier to use the transpose line to 

move or rotate parts of the model. You might find that the 

Move and Move Topology brushes are incredibly handy for 

readjusting sections of the model after it has been posed. 

Retouch the hair Once the model has been posed, it 

14 is a good idea to preview the composition and test all of 

the various camera angles in KeyShot. Now add in FiberMesh 

to some key areas of the hair to create better transitions for a 

ect. Take the duplicate of the head 

that we used earlier to insert the hair straps, and segment it in 

various polygroups. Now click Preview in the FiberMesh 

subpalette and tweak the settings to your liking, but make sure 

that you leave Gravity set to 0 and at a relatively low number of 

fibres. Create the fibres and use the Groom brushes, with 

Masking By Polygroups set to 100, to shape and comb the 

fibres into place. 

13 

Retouch the hair Once the model has been posed, it is a 

good idea to preview the composition and test all 

of the various camera angles in KeyShot. Now add in 

FiberMesh to some key areas of the hair to create better 

transitions for a more realistic-looking hair eff ect. Take 

the duplicate of the head that we used earlier to insert the 

hair straps, and segment it in various polygroups. Now 

click Preview in the FiberMesh subpalette and tweak the 

settings to your liking, but make sure that you leave Gravity 

set to 0 and at a relatively low number of fi bres. Create 

the fi bres and use the Groom brushes, with Masking By 

Polygroups set to 100, to shape and comb the fibres into 

12 

13 

12 

14 

the 

to 

tha 

va 

su 

tha 

fib 

M 

fib 

CR 

12 

circ 

hai 

be 

det 

bui 

bru 

13 

add 

for 

Sin 

mo 

Ge 

mo 

Mo 

rea 

14 

the 

to s 

tha 

var 

sub 

tha 

fibr 

Ma 

fibr 

14 

23 

16


is a good idea to preview the composition and test all of 

various camera angles 

Create 

in KeyShot. 

the fur 

Now 

Let’s 

add in 

move 

FiberMesh 

on to the fur 

Fine-tune the fur We can also assign a unique 

some key areas of coat. the hair to Select create better the transitions relevant for a 

15 16 

SubTool and 

polygroup to each fi bre to use the Move tools 


mask the area where you want to grow fibres with the Mask By Polygroup option. To do that, open 

t we used earlier to insert the hair straps, and segment it in 

from. We are going to keep the polygon count the polygroup subpalette and click on Group By 

rious polygroups. Now click Preview in the FiberMesh 

bpalette 

very 

and tweak 

low 

the 

and 

settings 

mimic 

to your 

the 

liking, 

process 

but make sure 

we used for Nomals. Since our fur fi bres have very few polygons, 

t you the leave hair, Gravity so set to aim 0 and for at a a relatively single-side low number thick of piece of once in KeyShot they might not look as smooth as 

res. Create hair. the We’ll fibres and use the a Groom hair brushes, texture with with an alpha they may look in a ZBrush BPR. We need to click on 

asking again By Polygroups to create set to 100, the to shape appearance and comb the of a very dense Convert BPR to GEO for a better result in KeyShot. If 

res into fur place. coat. Make sure that you assign the texture you want an additional level of detail, you can also 

to the fi bres before making them into new create a FiberMesh pass by making use of the same 

SubTools so that they are created with UVs. texture or colour that was used in the fi bres. 

Send the resulting fibres to KeShot and test a 

few textures to see what looks best. 

NSA ! 

! 

! 


EATE A STUNNING FANTASY CHARACTER 



ular motion to twist the curve and add a bit more life to the 

r. Use the Move tool to ‘groom’ the pieces of hair and you’ll 

15 

able create the hairstyle that you want. For additional hair 

ails like the braids, create another Insert Curve brush to 

ld the base. A very cool and easy way to test this type of 

sh with repetitive patterns is by utilising ArrayMesh to see 



SubTools with subdivision levels and details. Before 

ing additional FiberMesh we need to create the final pose 

the model using Transpose Master from the Zplugin palette. 

ce we have a good range of polygroups in all parts of our 

del, we can quickly create selections and mask the model. 

nerally speaking, it is easier to use the transpose line to 

ve or rotate parts of the model. You might find that the 

ve and Move Topology brushes are incredibly handy for 

djusting sections of the model after it has been posed. 


is a good idea to preview the composition and test all of 

various camera angles in KeyShot. Now add in FiberMesh 

ome key areas of the hair to create better transitions for a 


t we used earlier 17 to insert the hair straps, and segment it in 

ious polygroups. Now click Preview in the FiberMesh 

palette and tweak the settings to your liking, but make sure 

t you leave Gravity set to 0 and at a relatively low number of 

es. Create the fibres and use the Groom brushes, with 

sking By Polygroups set to 100, to shape and comb the 

es into place. 

23 

17 

Texture in Substance Painter To texture this 

character we’ll use Substance Painter 2. We need to 

export all SubTools (except the hair and fur) in their lowest 

subdivision level as well as the highest subdivision level. In 

Substance Painter, we just need to import the low-poly models 

and use the high-poly model to bake some maps to help us 

with the texturing process. The workfl ow is the same for all 

meshes. Start with a coloured layer as the base and then create 

new layers to progressively add more colour variations and 

details to the texture map.


18 

Set up KeyShot Materials The great advantage of texturing in 

Substance Painter 2 is the ability of paintingand exporting all 

separate channels/maps. Using KeyShot 6 Pro and the Material Graph we 

can set up our materials using the maps we created in Substance Painter. In 

ZBrush select the SubTool you want to set up a material for, and enable Solo 

mode. With only one SubTool visible, use the ZBrush-toKeyShot bridge to 

send only that SubTool to KeyShot. Assign a material and open the Material 

Graph. Import the various maps corresponding to the selected SubTool and 

connect them. You can concentrate on one material at a time and once you 

are happy with it save it to your library (including the maps you used), so 

when you send the whole model to KeyShot you can easily assign materials 

to the various parts. 

19 

Render in KeyShot Send the full high subdivision level model to 

KeyShot, choose your camera angle and tweak the lighting of the 

scene. Under the Scene tab in KeyShot, you can see all of the models that are 

(SubTools) available. Select any model and in the properties tab, you can 

assign it to a separate layer. When you get to compositing you can have that 

object on its own layer so you can tweak it individually. In the render window, 

change the format to PSD 32BIT and tick the Include Alpha box. Also tick the 

boxes to render the depth and clown passes, which are very useful when 

compositing. Now hit render! 

19 

20 

Composite and final tweaks After the render is completed we 

can move on to the final stage of the process, so open Photoshop 

and bring in the PSD file. Because we rendered it at 32-bit, we have a tone of 

colour depth information to play with. Open the Camera Raw Filter and 

adjust exposure, contrast and colours. We can then create the background 

for the illustration. Also, add new layers and we can use a variety of brushes 

to do some paintovers and refine some details in the image. To finalise our 

illustration, let’s add the snow particles and a few gradients with the blending 

mode set to Soft Light and Screen to create the atmospheric haze. 

20 

18

NSA ! 

! 

! 


23 


FINAL RENDER

www.nsaonline.com 

! 

NSA ! 


! 

THANK YOU 

FOR READ... 

Phone 

Email 

Web 

Contact Us 

: +92 31 111 111 672 (NSA) 

: support@nsaonline.com 

: www.nsaonline.com

Create a Stunning Fantasy Character Tutorial 01

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?