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1. Sculpting Hands
Step 1
Start Z Brush and open the file which was saved in the last part of the tutorial. Insert a cube from Subtool > Insert, and place and scale to the palm’s position as shown in the following image.
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Step 2
Hold Shift key to smooth the edges.
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Step 3
Go to Geometry and click on DynaMesh with Resolution as 64 to fix the uneven topology.
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Step 4
Insert another cube as the index finger as shown in the following image.
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Step 5
Repeat Step 4 for middle, ring and pinky finger.
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Step 6
Back to index finger and press Ctrl-D to subdivide. Then hold Ctrl button, draw a box to mask the distal phalanx (fingertip segment) as shown in the following image.
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Step 7
Hold Ctrl and click on the canvas out of the model to reverse the mask.
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Step 8
Press E for rotate tool. Hold Alt button and move the pivot to finger’s joint position, then rotate a little downward at Z axis. This step is to help you to determine the finger’s segments more clearly.
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Step 9
Repeat Step 6-8 for middle phalanx.
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Step 10
Delete lower subdivision from Geometry > Del Lower. Go to Geometry and click on DynaMesh at Resolution as 128.
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Step 11
Use Move brush (B-M-V) and Pinch brush (B-P-i) to shape the finger.
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Step 12
Duplicate the index finger, then place and scale to middle, ring and pinky finger.
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Step 13
Insert a cube, place and scale to thumb’s position.
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Step 14
Go to Geometry and click on DynaMesh at Resolution as 128, then hold Shift button to smooth the edges.
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Step 15
Use Move brush (B-M-V) and Pinch brush (B-P-i) to shape the thumb.
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Step 16
Merge all hand meshes into one.
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Step 17
Go to Geometry and click on DynaMesh at Resolution as 176.
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Step 18
Go to PolyGroups > Auto Groups.
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Step 19
Hold Shift button to smooth the surface.
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Step 20
Continue shaping the hand with Move brush (B-M-V) and ClayBuildUp brush (B-C-B).
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Step 21
Use DamStandard brush (B-D-S) to sculpt out the joint line, ClayBuildUp brush (B-C-B) to sculpt the structure of palm.
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Step 22
Duplicate and mirror the hand to the opposite side then merge them together. That completes the sculpting.
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2. Setting Up in Maya
Step 1
Before moving to Maya, you need to export the meshes for re-topology. You should have four meshes which are body, ears, eyeballs and hands. You may rename the meshes by clicking Rename.
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Step 2
Check all the meshes, if they have subdivision level, reduce to the lowest subdivision by pressing Shift-D. This is to prevent laggy when you import the meshes to Maya.
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Step 3
From the right hand side, export your model one by one in Obj
file format by clicking the Export.
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Step 4
Before getting start, you'll need to set a project. Open Maya > File > Project Window.
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Step 5
Create a New_Project file as shown in the following image.
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Step 6
Go to Windows menu and click on Outliner to open it. Alternatively, you can click on its icon as shown in the following image.
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Step 7
Go to Display > Heads Up Display > Poly Count. This is to show the poly count of your objects, by default, it will appear on left in your scene.
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Step 8
Go to File > Import to import all the obj files which you exported from Z Brush just now. (You can only import one by one in Maya).
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Step 9
If you found the model is not one object, select the body parts and go to Mesh > Combine. Repeat this step for the head as well.
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Step 10
Double-click the object in Outliner to rename it.
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Step 11
With all meshes selected, go to Edit > Group to group them together. Alternatively, press Ctrl-G.
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Step 12
When you move closer, you'll see that the model is not smooth but jagged.
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Step 13
With the model selected, go to Mesh Display > Soften Edge. Do the same for other meshes too.
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Step 14
For more convenient, create a shortcut by clicking the small icon from Shelf Tabs > New Shelf.
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Step 15
Enter the shelf’s name, then press OK.
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Step 16
Now you'll have an empty shelf tab.
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Step 17
By holding Shift-Ctrl, click on the tool that you want to add as shortcut. (E.g.: soften edge, combine, smooth…)
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Step 18
Turn on anti-aliasing for smoother view.
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Step 19
Since the model is not on top of the grid, press W for move tool, select the group and move upward at Y-axis. Ensure the feet are on the grid.
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Step 20
Select the perspective camera from Outliner (named persp), set the focal length to 88, this number is the closest focal length to human eyes.
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Step 21
What you imported from Z Brush are very small. You need to scale the model to 1:1 ratio compare to the real life ratio. Let say, this character is 165cm, create a cube as a guide from Create > Polygon Primitives > Cube.
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Step 22
Expand polyCube1, change the Height number to 165. (In Maya, 1 = 1cm by default)
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Step 23
Select the cube, hold D (for changing pivot) and V (for snapping to vertex), move the pivot to the bottom of the cube.
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Step 24
Move the cube upward and snap it to the grid by holding X.
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Step 25
Select the model’s group, move the pivot to the centre of the grid, press R (for scale tool) then scale bigger as the cube’s height.
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Step 26
Delete the cube. With the group selected, go to Modify > Freeze Transformations.
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Conclusion
In this tutorial you have completed the setting up in Maya. In the next tutorial, I'll be working on the head re-topology.
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