In this tutorial you will follow Mehdi Pourshayegan through the process of sculpting the Lion of Belfort (as seen in his portfolio). You will go through the step by step process of creating the base mesh in 3ds Max (although any poly modeling application will work), exporting it to ZBrush, and then sculpting the final detailed result.
This tutorial is designed to be an introduction to 3d sculpting in ZBrush, and will only be focusing the most basic and essential sculpting tools and functions. It is not recommended for intermediate to advanced users.
Final Effect Preview
Step 1
First of all, any time you will be sculpting, it is always a good idea to have a detailed reference image available (you can usually find everything you need off the internet).
Step 2
Open up 3ds Max, and select “Customize > Viewport Configuration”.
Step 3
Click on the “Layout” tab, select the “Top/ Front” layout, and click OK.
Step 4
Change the viewport by right clicking on its name. Change the upper one to “Left”, and the other one to “Perspective”.
Step 5
Click on the “Views” menu, and select “Viewport Background”.
Step 6
Click “Files” and then select your reference image. Change the settings to match the image below.
Step 7
Zoom in, and create a plane in left viewport. Convert it to an editable poly, and move the vertexes.
Step 8
Go to “Edge” sublevel. Start expanding the mesh for lion’s head, by selecting an edge and hold ’shift’ while left click and dragging in the viewport.
Step 9
Continue moving vertexes and edges in the “Perspective” viewport.
Step 10
Create more polygons by extending edges and moving vertexes.
Step 11
Try to create one side of the base mesh by continuing the process.
Step 12
Finish the back part and move polygons..
Step 13
Continue modeling the back, and the opposite side of the base mesh.
Step 14
Cap the bottom part by extending edges and bridging them using “Bridge” tool.
Step 15
Make a hole in the mesh by moving some vertexes.
Step 16
Create the tail using the “Bevel” and “Rotate” tools. Cap it when you’re done.
Step 17
Move some vertexes so that the head will be turned slightly.
Step 18
Create a box, convert to an editable poly, and then use the ‘Bevel’ and ‘Move’ tools to make the box look like the one in the image below.
Step 19
Make a cylinder, and a pyramid for the arrow part.
Step 20
Select all the meshes but arrow, and go to “File > Export selected”. Save your file as an .OBJ, and select “Quads” for geometry faces.
Step 21
Open ZBursh, and import your OBJ file.
Step 22
Subdivide your model to level 3 by pressing “Divide” in the “Geometry” menu.
Step 23
Start forming the hands and legs by using the “Standard” brush, with “Z intensity” and “Draw Size” both set to ‘20′.
Step 24
Subdivide again, press and hold the “ALT” key on keyboard, and set the draw size to ‘10′. Sculpt the legs from the top.
Step 25
Do the same for the arms.
Step 26
Subdivide to add more polygons, and add more details to the sides.
Step 27
Press the “Shift” Key and “D” to go down to level 3. Select the “Move” tool, and try to form the lion’s head.
Step 28
Press the “D” key, to go back up to level 4, and add more details to the head using the “Standard” brush.
Step 29
Subdivide to get a 5th level of subdivision. Use the standard brush with a small draw size, and sculpt the small details for the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Step 30
Sculpt more details for the stomach and legs.
Step 31
Subdivide one more time. Add more details to the head and begin to sculpt the mane from the front.
Step 32
Now add more details to the back of the mane.
Step 33
Use standard brush with and without the “ALT” key to complete the mane.
Step 34
Sculpt the claws with a small standard brush.
Step 35
Refine the claws and mane details using the move, standard, and clay brushes.
Step 36
Add more volume to the legs and the claws.
Step 37
Add more volume to stomach and arms.
Step 38
Start the detailing for the very small areas, and add the arrow by importing it, and appending it as a subtool.
Step 39
Subdivide one last time for a very smooth result. Add more small details, and use the clay brush to make the mane edges sharper.
Final Effect
To get that final metal look that we want, click on “MatCap Materials” and apply the “RS_BronzeAntique” material.
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By Mehdi Pourshayegan
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ok…
Looks nice.
I’m interested to see a tutorial that is done totally in ZBrush beginning with ZSpheres.
Nice, but i also would like to now how to get it back into 3dsmax.
Thats kewl… like it a lot
cheers bruv…looks interesting
Cool! Seems very realistic! Thanks!
what was step 19 (the arrow) for???
pregnant lion.. like you keep sexism in mind.
nice tutorial, i think that the base mesh needs more edge loops for to get better results in zbrush, but the tutorial is well done!!!
I followed the steps and mine looks like a pile of poo!
Hello every one, let me answer you one by one cause your comments are very interesting :
Joe : Submit a request and I’ll wright that
John : Do the same, both can be in a single tutorial .
hobofan : If you take a deep look at the reference photo, you’ll find out the arrow is in lions’s and
John doe : My friend, in fact this tutorial is for those beginners who knows how to use brushes and have enough skill to sculpt basic objects, keep practicing on simple objects and follow the tutorial again, sculpting needs a lot of practice and a sharp eye too, and you can do it, trust me .
Regards
Mehdi Pourshayegan
great tut and good reply
thanks
WHAT A TERRIBLE TUTORIAL!
How are you supposed to learn anything when the instructions are just
“add more detail here with this brush”
“then make the claws with a 10 brush”
Thats like saying “Face sculpting tutorial” then just going “use a brush to draw the nose”……… “then draw the eyes with a 40 brush” doesn’t help anyone learn anything. 2/10
“and add the arrow by importing it, and appending it as a subtool.” HOW?????? BADLY WRITTEN USELESS TUTORIAL NOT WORTH THE BYTES IT TAKES UP ON THE SERVER
he took the effort. don’t be an asshole about it. id like to see you do a better job
and he got paid for it, so if people may judge the tutorial..
The final result looks really good !
Not the best tut. I bet if you left the screen captures and steps the way they are, but included more detail in the copy this would be spot-on.
For example. What the heck is up with Aarow? I don’t know how to include an import as a subtool, nor do I have a clue what to do from that point.
Also.. the Aarow seems to have been left out.
ok…..
Hello
i come from Belfort. It’s very cool to see your tutorial on this website.
Thank you
Visit the Pixologic website and check the intro tuts if u don’t know how to import as subtool…
And edge u r just too stubborn and hotheaded for ur own good, what he means when saying that u should add more detail it actually means add more detail… no deep going explanation is needed, modeling (and animation too for that matter) is about experimenting.
10/10
this was a well done tut, thnx and keep up the good work…
The arrow is in the head…
Wait!!
Just checked the refpic again… it’s under his right paw…
That’s what u get for being in a hurry
I went into this tutorial, but also found it lacking……
I do agree that more information in the copy could bring it to the top though! Simple things explained, as this was labeled as an intro. Maybe what you mean by “levels” and the like. Baby steps!
IT is good also.
Pretty good tutorial. I don’t know how much time was spent but I’m assuming this was knocked out in a few hours, so for the time – excellent job.
Honestly though – I think that Starting the sculpt in ZBrush might have had better results and then pulling the mesh back into Max with the displacement map provided by ZBrush would have been more useful to Max users. Something that is lacking in just about every Zbrush/Max tutorial is that final process. What good is it if I can’t use it in my animation or scene? Or what good is it if it has a million polys and Max crashes every time I try to import the mesh? I.E. You should have mentioned that a good way to bring it back in would be to export the low poly mesh and the displacement map for rendering…
Covering little details like that go a long way with users and would garner repeat visitors over time.
Hello
Thanks for your comments.
This statue needs retopology , and UVtile in zbrush, then you will have a lower poly but detailed mesh with the help of displacment or normal map, to use in 3ds max or other softwares.
Feel free to visit and contact me about your questions/suggestions : http://www.3dshaystudio.com
If you need any tutorial, please contact CGtuts+ .
Kind Regards
M.Shay