Toolkit 3D - Transpose tools and masking

 Toolkit 3D - Transpose tools and Masking

This week we looked at the functionality of different tools in ZBrush. These include the transpose tools and the masking brushes/tool.

At the top of ZBrush are the transpose tools. These can be used to change how we edit our object. Edit and Draw are normally on by default, since these are our default sculpting tools. Move can be used to literally move the object around in the 3D space, scale can be used to change the size of our objects and rotate can be used to rotate our object. The other thing that is highlighted is our 3D gizmo. This is also on by default, and allows us to use the tools previously mentioned.

Next up is the masking tools. We can use several different brush types for masking. If we hold control and use left click, we will find that we have put some kind of shadow over some of our object.

This has now effectively "deselected" that part of the mesh, meaning any action we apply to the mesh now wont happen to that part of the mesh. We can also unmask something by holding control and alt and using the mouse.  For example if I wanted to create eyes for this creature, I could mask around it, ending up with this. 

Now with this left, we can now easily model some eye sockets by using a brush and holding alt.

(If we want to use rectangles to select our mask instead, we can click and drag outside our mesh, dragging onto it to create a mask that way.)

If I wanted to create some eyebrows, I could use the inverse selection tool to invert the mask, speeding up the process of masking in this case. I can do this by holding control and pressing I/ clicking on the space around our mesh.

Now if in this case if I wanted to make the transition between the mask and maskless part of the mesh smoother, I could use the blur tool. I can do this by holding control and clicking on the surface of the mesh.

(I can do the opposite of this by holding control and alt and clicking on the surface of my mesh to sharpen the mask.) These tools are especially useful when modelling people for example. After I have adjusted my mask and have finished modelling within said mask, I can deselect by holding control and dragging on the empty space.

Now moving onto mesh visibility, which is in a similar realm to masking in which we can use it to tweak and model specific areas of a mesh. With this model, if I wanted to focus on modelling the face, I could hide the entire back of the head by pressing shift and control, and dragging over the face to make that entire part the only visible part. To do the opposite of this and make the object visible again, I hold shift, control and alt and drag. If I want to reveal all, I press shift and control, and then click on empty space.

Just like masking, we can also change the brush properties such as the type of brush we want to use.

Now with the face selected, I can now Model what I want without it effecting the back of the head.

And when I'm done, I can simply make everything visible by, again, holding control shift and clicking empty space.

With these new tools, I kept on working on my mesh, using these tools as I went to select areas on work on the details individually.

After trying these tools out whilst modelling, I feel like I have a firm understanding of how all tools so far are used as well as what situation to use them in.