Posing the Interdimensional Traveler - ZBrush Creature Design: Creating Dynamic Concept Imagery for Film and Games - page 184

Before you pose the figure, you need a general idea of the angle of view you want for the final image.
At this stage, we are ready to position the figure and prepare to render final images. I prefer to show the
character in a three-quarter view. I find it best to avoid a straight on, front or side view, as these tend to be
less dynamic and do not show the form of the figure particularly well.
In the following steps we will use the Transpose tools to pose the figure. For more in-depth looks at these
tools see ZBrush Character Creation and ZBrush Digital Sculpting Human Anatomy or the video on the
DVD or download files that come with this topic.
1. I know I want to offset the limbs so that each pair is performing a clear action. I will begin by posing
the upper right arm. I step down a couple subdivision levels so there is less geometry to work with. Posing
at the higher subdivision levels makes it more difficult to control the Transpose tools.
2. I want to isolate the right arm by masking the rest of the body. The easiest way to do this is to use a
Transpose mask. Press the W key to enter Transpose Move. The Move icon will now be lit at the top of
the screen ( Figure 4-5 ) .
Figure 4-5: The Transpose Move icon
3. Hold the Ctrl key and then click drag down the arm. The mesh will mask the arm based on the underly-
ing topology. You may need to further clean up the mask using the mask brushes.
Brush Selection for Precision Masking
For precision masking you can use the Mask Pen or Lasso brushes. These brushes are selected from the
Brush menu but are only accessible when pressing the Ctrl key. For example, you can select the Mask