3D Environment Modeling: Master Dragon Skull Sculpting

3D Environment Modeling: Adding Details and Preparing the Model in Maya 

• • Topology and Details:
    • When more topology is needed, switch to using Divisions instead of DynaMesh.
    • Holes are easy to make in ZBrush using Booleans.
      • Activate Booleans from the top left corner of the UI.
      • Use any basic shapes to subtract parts of the sculpture from the layers.
    • For higher-quality details, add more Divisions to the model.
  • Duplicating and Remeshing:
    • Duplicate, ZRemesh, and project details on the duplicate from the original model.
    • This ensures a low and high poly model in one mesh instead of retopologizing the model later.

• Adding Texture:
  • In the Subsurface tab, use Noise modifiers to add texture to the model.
  • Use the noise curve to change the noise.
  • Layers in ZBrush provide better control over the noise texture.
• Exporting to Maya:
  • After finishing the model, export it in the lowest subdivision to open UVs for it inside Autodesk Maya.
  • Import the low poly model in Maya by dragging and dropping the FBX file in the scene.
• UV Mapping:
  • Open a Planar UV for the skull since there won’t be any UVs shown in the UV Editor.
  • Once the UV Shells are shown, start cutting the UVs for the skull using the Cut and Sew tools from the UV tools.
• Shader Application:
  • Depending on the model’s complexity, it can have one or multiple shaders.
  • For this skull, add 2 shaders: one for the skull and one for the horns.

After the UVs and shaders have been made, re-export the low poly mesh.

Low and High Poly

• • Certain props will first be created in Autodesk Maya. 
  • These will serve as our low-poly models – objects with relatively few polygons that also include UVs. 
  • Each prop crafted within Maya will then be exported individually as FBX files. 
  • Our team will use ZBrush to open these files and continue working on them: now making high-poly versions. 
  • The process involves adding more topology (additional vertices) to the model, providing extra geometry needed for details. 
  • Without sufficient topology, brushes in ZBrush cannot produce strokes of good quality.

Sculpting Cloth

• To sculpt cloth in ZBrush, harness its gravity simulation. 
• Position a plane over the object you wish to clothe; after adding divisions, employ Dynamic subdivisions so that the resulting garments possess heft—i. e., they are not merely a surface. 
• This step also permits the creation of fine points via custom cloth brushes once simulations have been run. 
• Head to the Dynamics palette, dial in some Gravity (and other settings if you like), then press “Simulate.” 
• If at any point during this process, things start looking good and you want them to stop changing, just hit Escape. 
• Don’t worry if after running simulations there isn’t time left for detailing with special brushes: an ordinary one will do the job.

Tree It

• Maya and ZBrush are both good for making trees, but there’s another option if you want to create 3D trees. 
• It’s software called Tree It. 
• Tree It lets you make trees and decide things about how they look such as their color, shape, and size.
• The controls are simple to use – most of them are just sliders that you move one way or another until you get the effect you’re after. 
• Don’t forget: if all the trees in a computer-generated scene are identical it looks fake. So have a go at creating lots of different types of trees – at least four or five. 

• It’s not only the overall style of the tree that you can alter. 
• Tree It also enables you to choose different kinds of leaves for your tree or trees. 
• You can further manipulate these by changing their color (s) and deciding how big or small they should be. 
• Each time you finish working on a tree, export textures (surface qualities) as well as the model itself because.