A step-by-step guide for basic ZSphere modeling.
This guide offers basic guidance for building your own ZSphere armature.
Learn more about ZSphere Settings elsewhere in this guide.
The steps and examples provided below walk through a start-to-finish process in creating a ZSphere armature.
This example demonstrates steps 1 through 7 described below.
1. Tool palette > Tool library > select ZSphere.
2. Drag toward and away from the surface to draw a connecting ZSphere while adjusting its size. Release pressure from the screen to apply the ZSphere. Repeat to add another.
3. Tap Move in the bottom toolbar > drag a ZSphere to move its position based on the camera angle.
4. Tap Rotate in the bottom toolbar > drag the gray connected surface between two ZSpheres to rotate the child ZSphere around the parent.
Rotation occurs based on the child-parent relationship between connected ZSphere chains. A parent ZSphere sits higher in the connection hierarchy, with the initial ZSphere being highest in the hierarchy.
5. Tap Scale in the bottom toolbar > drag in and out on a ZSphere to scale it.
6. Tap Draw in the bottom toolbar > Hold Alt/Option > tap a ZSphere to delete it.
The initial ZSphere cannot be deleted.
1. Long press Symmetry in the right canvas toolbar > activate-tap Symmetry to activate > choose the desired x/y/z-axis for symmetry > select Draw mode in the bottom toolbar > draw on the initial ZSphere to add symmetrical ZSpheres.
This example demonstrates steps to create ZSpheres with all axes activated to create interesting shapes.
When Symmetry is active, drawing ZSpheres at the selected symmetry line displays a green icon, indicating only one ZSphere is being drawn at the perfect center.
2. Tap Symmetry > select the x axis.
3. Tap the CamView cones in the top-right of the screen to snap the camera to a front view of the scene.
4. Continue using previous steps to Draw, Scale, Rotate, and Move ZSpheres to create a desired shape.
This example video demonstrates steps 2 through 4 described above. Where connecting ZSpheres simulate a familiar skeletal structure, such as an arm or leg, use Rotate to drag the connection that is parent to lower connecting ZSpheres, to pose the selected chain.
Starting a ZSpheres anchor position in relation to connecting ZSpheres is essential to achieve desired Rotation results. For example, if the goal is to rotate a humanoid upper torso, arms, neck, and head all from a single point of rotation, then the starting ZSphere anchor should start at the hips and build ZSpheres outward from here.
The below example video demonstrates the following steps 1 through 7 to generate an Adaptive Skin from a ZSphere armature.
1. Open Tool > Adaptive Skin menu.
2. Tap Preview to view the geometry preview from the applied Adaptive Skin settings.
3. Set DynaMesh Resolution to 0 to disable DynaMesh.
4. Toggle Preview to view the new geometry preview.
5. Adjust Density to set the number of subdivisions.
6. Choose the desired Density and DynaMesh settings and press Make Adaptive Skin.
7. ZBrush generates a new mesh and adds it to the Tool library.