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Sculpting and Modeling a Human Head for Rigging and Animating in Render Time Using ZBrush and Maya
The goal of this workflow development is to prepare a photo‑realistic model for a rigging exercise. I am using a bust, because the animation references include shoulder movements. Also, the character is going to have hair, so the surface must have clean UVW. This is what the character looks like after post-production:
These are the steps I'm taking to implement this modeling task:
Sculpting
I'm starting with a ZSphere in ZBrush, blocking out the bigger form, and afterwards deforming the surface using Dynamesh around imported eyes and teeth references.
Retopology
Once I have a clean mesh, with correct proportions and basic details, I'm decimating it, exporting as an OBJ into Maya, and retopologizing the raw mesh using Quad Draw.
Finishing one side of the mesh, reverting, deleting history and freezing transformations on the copy, sewing all seams and making a low‑poly air‑tight mesh.
The criterion behind using the low poly version for modeling – before rigging, texturing, and simulating – is that you can add infinite subdivisions with your smooth nodes, but the deformations must work on a minimal poly count mesh:
Once the basic mesh is ready, I'm unfolding, optimizing and normalizing UVW:
Sculpting micro detail
With a finished base mesh and open UVW, I'm importing the bust back into ZBrush, gradually increasing subdivisions on the tool and hand‑brushing micro details on the model's skin. Once ready, exporting relief as normal and displacement maps.
I'm reusing the normal and displacement maps as templates to create textures with Substance Painter and Hair/Grooming with XGen. Rendering with Arnold and compositing in Nuke. Click on the following card to take a look at the texturing character workflow:
Clicking on these cards will take you to pages showing modeling strategies for the 3D production pipeline:
