5 Ignored ZBrush tools

These often-forgotten ZBrush tools will improve your 3D creations.

With the large number of ZBrush tools available, it is easy to forget some of the most useful tools. We found ourselves almost manually creating certain shapes from scratch because we completely forgot that there was a shortcut that would allow us to complete it immediately.Imagine our frustration when the lightbulb finally comes on and we realise how much time we’ve wasted on something that only required us to press a couple of buttons.

It turns out that refreshing your memory from time to time is very useful. Just give yourself a few minutes to browse the menu and see which great ZBrush tools have been hidden in front of you, or which tools you have forgotten.

Twist and SBend

How often do you cover a grid to bend it in half? We bet the answer to drinking coffee in the morning is “more often than I want to admit.” We all did it, there is nothing to be ashamed of. This is your friendly reminder that Bend and SBend ZBrush tools exist to help you. When you access the anamorphic menu, the distortion slider is also smiling at you. Give it a chance occasionally, and it will help you create some complex shapes.

 Initialise

This ZBrush tool is our cone of shame. We know it exists, it is always right there at the bottom of Zbrush’s Tool menu, and yet we will go out of our way to ZRemesh the living soul out of that high-poly sphere to create some low-poly spherical shapes. We always seem to reach enlightenment after having suffered through to the final stage of our elaborate ‘creative’ process. It elevates our heart rates just thinking about it. Remember to Initialise!

Dots display

Found in the Transform menu, the Dots button causes the 3D tools to display as a (dotted) wireframe whenever a transformation or edit action is performed. Sounds cool, does it not? Now press BPR and simply watch the magic happen right before your eyes. You can achieve some pretty interesting renders when you have Dots enabled.

MatchMaker

You may not need this ZBrush tool often, but it is worth remembering that the MatchMaker brush is available. You can use it to ‘stick’ one shape onto another, or carve it into an object. We recommend turning the BackfaceMask ON for the latter to avoid projecting the pattern onto both sides of the tool.

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FiberMesh

FiberMesh is another interesting feature in Zbrush that can be overlooked, especially if you’re new to the program. Simply put it’s hair/grooming tool! Adding some texture to your fears can take them to the next level! Depending on the style you want, you can change the texture to match. In the above example, I used Noise to add some depth. By adjusting the settings, you can scale the noise on a specific axis to create a texture more like hair.

Note: There are many ways to add texture, you can use brushes, fiber mesh, alphas, etc. This is just one case of finding the right technology for your role!

Do you know any useful Zbrush tools? Welcome to share it~BTW,Wingfox is engaged in activities, you can enjoy a 10% discount on courses or tutorials. Just enter the promo code blog10 during checkout.ALL courses works!!

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