Sculpting a Mermaid Character with Dynamesh - ZBrush Creature Design: Creating Dynamic Concept Imagery for Film and Games - page 383

Chapter 7
Sculpting a Mermaid Character with Dynamesh
In this chapter, we will create an ichthyoid character, a different take on the mermaid archetype. Ichthyoid
is the technical term for a fish or fishlike vertebrate animal. We will execute this design using a different
ZBrush tool for generating base meshes. Previously, we have worked with imported models, generic meshes,
or ZSketch strokes. In this chapter we will explore a new development in ZBrush 4 R2 called Dynamesh.
Dynamesh allows you to dynamically build up a character using what essentially amounts to a ball of dy-
namically updating clay. We will be able to push and pull a single ZBrush Polysphere and even add new
parts—seamlessly incorporating them into the original volume. This is a groundbreaking new approach to
sculpting and I am excited to share the technique with you here. It allows a seamless creative process to take
place in ZBrush in ways never before possible. Figure 7-1 shows the character we will create in this chapter.
Figure 7-1: The mermaid character