How to sculpt a stylized head in Zbrush - Tutorial Part 1

Bonus Content: Parts 1-5 Bundle only available now at 25% discount: gum.co/eBEas
Thank you for your support! :) (to skip straight to tutorial: 0:25)
Now practice the hell out of just the section until you can do it blindfolded, by which point I should have the next part uploaded :)
Instagram: / danny_mac3d
Tumblr: / danny-mac
Twitch: / danny__mac
Artstation: www.artstation.com/artist/mcc...
Facebook: / danny.mac.design
Twitter: / mccabe86
Music by:
Outro Music: THBD - Goodfor you ( / thbd-good-for-you )

[@RodasBee]

0:25 "In my experience it's better to start with a sphere than a star" haha legend

[@seinarukitsune7472]

I've felt lost and out of my depth, unable to bridge my knowledge of anatomy to 3d sculpting. Until I found these videos you created. They tied together everything I've learned about anatomy and creating things in zbrush, bridging the gap that I was missing. You sir are a legend and these videos are worth their weight in gold. Thank you for putting the time in to create all your tutorials :) I'm now binge watching your speed sculpts!

[@friendlyart2666]

i've been struggling with zbrush for character modeling and your tutorials are by far the best out there. Thanks a lot

[@MTR199]

Danny you are a LEGEND! Currently learning head base meshes and this is perfect. You're gonna save me so much in my learning process ❤️❤️❤️

[@sridharansivacoumar9549]

Plz specify "for intermediates", im a beginner and it took me hrs to figure out some steps due to shortcuts

[@ashleechan22]

I dont have wax sphere..OH its called PolySphere. Great video! Really excited to get into modeling again

[@braelofguletta8889]

Ooof i was looking for it too, thanks !

[@chellirey3040]

Thank you!! Been watching your speed sculpts over and over just to see how you sculpt the head, and was ready to do just that today when i saw you uploaded this 8 hrs ago :)

[@DannyMac3d]

:D more to come!

[@moseslalruatpuia1735]

Hey Danny, Cool stuff as always,i hope to see you make it big out there . Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your ways and work !

[@Ruyanisme]

Fantastic efficient workflow Sir Danny! Thank you for this tutorial, I cannot wait for the next one!

[@fastfeet31]

Always Enjoy watching and following all your ZBrush Tutorials Dan. Thank You for uploading these Wonderful Tutorials Lou

[@fragglerocks2335]

I just found your channel after looking for some tips on head sculpting - Really loving the tutorials, nicely explained and a nice pace, subbed and liked, cheers!

[@fastfeet31]

Very Well Made ZBrush Tutorial,and easy to follow along-new fan here just Subscribed!

[@HanSolocambo]

I've always been impressed by the beauty and purity of your sculpts and I'm so glad to see that you began publishing something else than just speed sculpts ;) Thanks a lot for sharing. I jump to your gumroad account right away to buy the bonuses. Post more ! You sure have a lot of talent to share. Cheers.

[@DannyMac3d]

Thank you very much!!

[@chasetrue5635]

thank you for the video i really appreciate how it doesn't take 10 years for you to explain this its quick and precise very professional

[@superiorphi5778]

could you please get the shortcuts to be displayed onscreen, it'll really help, instead of us having to reverse engineer the buttons you pushed if we dont know the shortcuts. But still one of the best tutorials i have seen, thank you

[@minirlz]

his is a "How to sculpt a stylized head" tutorial not a zbrush basics tutorial. I'm guessing you haven't gotten anywhere with this stuff in the 2 years since you posted this since you couldn't even take basic initiative.

[@nidaabidi8327]

@@minirlz That is an incredibly inconsiderate comment to make, everyone learns differently. I find the reminders extremely helpful myself. You could be typing this out to someone who has 10+ years of experience in a different tool who has to learn a new workflow. 'Basic Initiative' is exactly what this person is doing by asking for something that'll help them accomplish learning something easier.

[@DerrickTheFork]

Best head sculpting lesson I've ever seen!

[@luiscastle8838]

Thank you so much for this man.I am a modeling student and this helps so much :)

[@thomaseulogy7206]

Thank you for your time for makin´ these tuts. Amazed that you had answered in the comm section to some Qs that are pretty much "how to use a pencil". Got the base going on part2 but first some Gnomon Zbrush stuff so I can get along. Anyways, thx!

[@AdhiHargo]

Man I was confused how you show the Draw menu right under your cursor, then I saw fleetingly in your custom menus video: Menu shortcut! Beginners often lost on something so basic. Great tutorial series, thank you!

[@Salvadorrius]

you cant imagine how much this video helped me with stylized heads. :) thanks mate

[@uber1015]

alright, this took me slightly longer than 13 min, but I def connected with the tutorial (once i was able to decode the accent) and have already learned a few new tricks from you, danny mac. now on to the eyes!

[@NickLewisArt]

This is ace, Danny :) I have two weeks spare to get into Z Brush properly and this is SOOO helpful!

[@DannyMac3d]

Glad to hear it Nick! Hope you're well :)

[@LogdOff]

Danny, you are my fav human right now

[@DannyMac3d]

such a motivating comment :D

[@Xutrefy]

I'm a Game Artist student, and you are just so amazing ! I love your work so much. I hope I can have your skills one day !

[@luisfelipecobo2377]

thanks danny for your tutorials, I'm new on zbrush, I would like to know, what is the purpose of the polygroups in the face when you are sculpting in other videos, please let us know thanks

[@juangabrielmonserratromero5024]

Hello! Thank you for your amazing tutorials, I'm new en zbrush sculpting and I have a doubt, is it better to sculpt in perspective or in ortographic? I have looked in google and opinions differ a lot from one another, as a professional what do you recommend? Thanks a lot!

[@douka3993]

nice work man, what tablet are you using?

[@richterbelmont3932]

Hello and thank you for this video! I was wondering, did you use Dynamesh or Zremesh at some point for the head geometry? I just couldn't find where you did it and how but the head seems to have less subdivisions at some point after the neck is made. Thanks!

[@mae2309]

whoop, whoopp. great video.. something a bit different from how I make heads but I'll give this a try

[@DannyMac3d]

let me know how you get on! :)

[@manisalguero]

The Best, the best, the beeeest!!! thank you so much!

[@pav3d1]

Great stuff Danny!

[@sybka3225]

Hi, Can you please tell me what key you pressed to have that point of view ? at 1:19 thank you ( btw nice tutorial, very helpful )

[@thoragevain23]

how did you insert the cylinder on top of your head and make it transparent so you could edit it around to make the ear?

[@mazenhassan2011]

If u go to transform, you will find a solo button click on it and make sure the head is selected

[@jayjayjaythebrand]

So strange your way of doing this, but I love it! What made you start doing it this way? It seems so much better than the way I've been doing it, which was guessing where all of these proportions and things go. Also, thanks a ton for doing this in real time

[@DannyMac3d]

Its a combination of lots of techniques I've picked up along the way, but the part I think you're talking about (for initial proportion) I believe came from Ryan Kingslien :)

[@kamw8860]

Wow, your workflow is superb! Thank you :)

[@mani9135]

Hi! thanks for the tutorial, how do you bring up the green line that is used to bring up the head at @1:52 ? thanks!!

[@MasterTattooing]

Great tutorials! Thank you! But maybe a little too fast for beginners. So that’s why I have a question. How are you inserting the cilinder? I can only manage to do this after dynameshing my polysphere. Thanks again

[@mzprox]

I think it's the append command, probably a custom shortcut was used.

[@decorix]

Hey Danny, Just bought your tut/content. Great stuff. I've been following you for awhile. I'm a Jack of all trades my self in zbrush 4-a5 years). Done alot of things, but looking into character stuff recently. I get motivated by seeing people like you and trying new stuff. Would like to see more hair techniques or clothing like a polo-shirt/ with collar. (like lacoste shirt). Regards, from Rotterdam. (Grolsh kanon (beer) on you mate)

[@dimitripapadopoulos5180]

You may enjoy trying programs like Marvelous designer for clothing. Though I recommend finding a very basic tutorial to get familiar with the tools.

[@vazak11]

Incredibly useful, thank you!

[@mokandofioan]

Are cylinders, spheres picked from the Quick Pick menu appended as sub tool or anything else?

[@Revolusious]

You're using a short-cut button. make sure to put the button in the video for those who don't know the SC button.

[@lawrencelawine9082]

damn that is so true :x

[@The_human_Frank]

@@TheJovialBrit then you are terrible teacher and selfish person

[@mufasa2079]

why dont you start with a beginner UI and shortcuts tutorial? I just DID

[@ZigealFaust]

@@mufasa2079 Some people want diamonds before they even hit coal, yah?

[@minirlz]

This is a "How to sculpt a stylized head" tutorial not a zbrush basics tutorial. I'm guessing you haven't gotten anywhere with this stuff in the 3 years since you posted this since you couldn't even take basic initiative.

[@MurphyGameproduction]

Great tutorial man :)

[@yoericktv9610]

I learned how to use the traditional transpose tool thanks to this (I always used the gimbal). I couldn't figure out how to redraw my transpose line until I tapped on the alt/option key.

[@yoericktv9610]

And then I found out that wasn't it. You just have to draw from the object. Zbrush is quite a lot of fun after the initial road blocks.

[@rydershogun8130]

Cool tutorial but please avoid using shortcuts and making a fast executions of the operations. (like mirroring the ear part, its pretty confusing and not working)

[@dimitripapadopoulos5180]

It's true, having learned these steps before I was able to follow along when I first tried. ask about the steps in the comments and I'm sure plenty of people will try to help.

[@sabrinateixeira6555]

U have to first mirror in "deformation"(under surface).. and the go to "modify topology" and click "mirror and weld"

[@sabrinateixeira6555]

Sorry about my english..

[@unskilledguy8479]

Did you use a lot of Ryan Kingsliens content when learning zBrush? Who were some of your favorite teachers when you were getting deep into this software?

[@DannyMac3d]

Hey, actually this is the most influence from Ryan Kingslien you will see from me but his stuff is great. It's hard to say really, I didn't focus too much on learning the software more on how to make a good image and that has come from so many different tutorials, many not even related to 3d. Some notable guys who influenced how I use Zbrush though are: Michael Defeo, Danny Williams, Dylan Ekren, Shane Olsen, Matt Thorup, Chris Whitaker & Steve James.

[@bobmeiners448]

Thx, helped a lot. When I rotate jaw down the back part comes also. Help someone please

[@evedesigner94]

Thank u so much u're the best :D it helps a lot

[@PauliePizza]

thanks for the video I love the way you start the sculpt rotating the jaw and such I use this all the time now it's so easy you're a good teacher I think if anyone has a problem with this video it might be that they are even more of a beginner then me if that were possible. your one of those people where your voice doesn't match your face,, thanks again great video

[@bethk1521]

This helped so much thankyou!

[@johnteribernardo8036]

what is the intensity/focal shift of your Trim Dynamic? it's satisfying

[@Matrinique]

Really appreciate your content. Thank you!

[@Eindrew9]

2:45 the clip rec brush does not work, it just makes the area that shoul be cut off dark gray (and no, is not masking)

[@yuenyuen6513]

Omg thank you sooooo much!!! You did help me a lot!!!

[@nicoleking1596]

im lost what to do from the start ;-; , too much shortcut

[@davidtran2731]

How do you achieve such a smooth model?

[@salfordnurse]

Would this be able to be done similarly in programs like blender sculpt mode or mud Box? I'm a photographer and use 3d modelling in some of my work, and really can't justify buying zbrush so looking for alternatives

[@DopeBoysProd]

i hope part 2 is coming today :P

[@fdlarts7676]

Thank you sir, this helps a lot!

[@Nukefr]

Thanks a lot Danny sir. Quick and easy......

[@PhAtlPrints]

Bought, keep'em coming

[@DannyMac3d]

thank you! :)

[@mariksen]

How do you get up the Quick Pick when you're making the cylinder (4:31 - 4:33)?

[@gamekyuc]

I just felt in love.

[@kiranakepakisan3260]

If I'm gonna try this is Blender, what alternative can i use for the transpose?

[@meteoraestudios21]

Nice tut!

[@lockergremlin]

this is super interesting, but daaamn you work fast D: but i love your work :)

[@shaswataindra2404]

Hi do u plan to do a full cartoon character tutorial anytime in future?

[@Psychoticmurdereable]

What interface/ui do you use?

[@KaasTVNL]

thx i was looking for this

[@ronaldlee5324]

Hi, in 3:20 my mirror brush are not right position of the mesh, how to fix it??

[@RealmOfHuai]

hello i know this video is 2 years old. but may i ask what short cut did you use when you are polishing the head up.

[@user-hg6pn8qy4d]

how did you make the ear move on both sides while only looking at it from 1 side. when i try to adjust the shape of the ear as shown in the video it only moves one side of the ear, making it hard to change the shape of the ear symmetricaly, please help.

[@Elbinny222]

Why after make the eyes sockets,subdivide.it's not the same with Dynamesh?

[@shawnnakoz8827]

I want to use zbrush so badly right now.. But I'm still learning Photoshop. I'm so jealous! If I could commission a 3D model of a character in my book, I totally would!!

[@twisting.nether]

Great tutorial 👍

[@Heroickittens]

at 1:55 you push the bottom right section of the sphere into itself and it's completely smooth. Every time I try to do that it just ends up making a hole. How are you doing this?

[@PaoloBrunoThyLight]

Same problem here. Tried with move, scale and nothing results in a planar surface like in the video. When i try to move it makes a extrusion inside the mesh.

[@PaoloBrunoThyLight]

The closest solution that i did find was to move it up holding the alt key. After that i released the alt key and move it down a little to align with the grid, used some smooth and the result is quite similar. But i still want to know how you do it Danny.

[@DannyMac3d]

hey :) look at where I drag the transpose line from. I try to drag it from the point at which I want to crush the mesh to (if that makes sense?). I think this should help :)

[@AmeerQ99]

i need help while sculpting in edit mode i accidently pressed draw button and now i cant sculpt i tried to unpressed it then pressed the edit button but no luck also i can see a clone of my model is stuck on my screen while my actual model is movable at the back.How to fix this?

[@dandiesel3353]

My Transpose tool is a circle with axis on it and no matter where I place it I cannot achieve the flat surface.

[@lukavekichannel]

Will u do full body tutorial

[@jayjayjaythebrand]

thank you!!!!!!! hopefully this'll turn into a series maybe? ya know, with the rest on the face done and polypaint?? *wink wink* lol

[@DannyMac3d]

that's exactly what will happen :)

[@jayjayjaythebrand]

forgive me, I just noticed it said Part 1!

[@jamesfrancisflores7712]

Looking forward on the whole series then.. Thank you!!! :)

[@i8ET]

you're awesome and extremely helpful, thank you so much!

[@kambingbesi1011]

i'm a newbie, can you give keyboard shortcut you use on this video

[@jeffreyspinner9720]

Do you make available your custom GUI for ZBrush? I'd like to study it...

[@mualzavata553]

how do you activate transperancy?

[@lawrencelawine9082]

how do you open this quick pick to insert a zylinder?

[@daetymnawdae4631]

i just started learning zbrush and im stuck at 2:55. what brush did you use to pull the jaw down?

[@DannyMac3d]

Move brush

[@daetymnawdae4631]

WOW! i didnt expect you to respond so quickly! thanx bro. excellent video

[@dannymo4390]

Yis, this was very helpful!

[@mimdiamond7910]

i always have a lot of problem with the stylized character's face specially cheek , thank you so much

[@TheAdam6161]

How did you isolate the ear

[@fewlings]

How it is so smooth?

[@matt6707]

This is probably a silly question but how did you pull up that 'Quick Pick' menu at around 4:32?

[@DannyMac3d]

I pressed the 'i' button, though I can't remember if its a custom shortcut or not :)

[@myxsys]

Pressing i pops up rgb intensity. Am currently stuck here. Going through the zbrush manual but I don't know the name of the command you executed

[@myxsys]

I figured it out. Under the subtools panel click append

[@matt6707]

That is the quick pick menu but I was really trying to figure out how he got it to pull up with one button press. I guess you could make IT a custom shortcut...

[@DannyMac3d]

ohy yea, I think I Hotkeyed the "insert" button (similar to append)

[@Psychoticmurdereable]

Hi there! There is no default waxsphere in Zbrush 2018. I was wondering which sphere would be the best to use, or should I just dynamesh and zremesh a normal sphere to get rid of the points at the top and bottom?

[@Psychoticmurdereable]

Nevermind, they changed the name to polysphere~!

[@DannyMac3d]

hey, yea polysphere is essentially the same thing :) Glad you got sorted! Any more problems just let me know :)

[@stef_supertramp3226]

Where Do i find the default wax sphere? Can't find it :/

[@_Shinique]

It's called PolyShere now I think

[@danielstockbridge6233]

Dont know if its because im in a new version, or I messed something up somewhere, but my ZBrush files dont have any "Default" Spheres? I see DynaWaxSpheres, but they all seem too high res to start with. Their polygroups and edgeloops look different from the one used in the vid. Thanks for any help!

[@angelrodriguez8714]

Did you solved this?

[@DrNanite]

Every time I go into move mode and I try to go back into edit mode my edit is grayed out. The only way I can find to fix it is to reload the tool. What to do to get back into edit mode/prevent this from happening?

[@DrNanite]

nvm. I realized I can go back into edit mode if double click edit. For some reason single click will just grey it out....because that makes sense???????

[@user-sm7ej6yd8o]

thank you for your tutorial

[@JayTailor45]

Thank you thank you thank you

[@deadman-zc5ro]

why i can't find twaxsphere ?

[@roadtopro-rtp695]

can you do something similar for blencer

[@TheAnimexion]

omg thanks!!

[@wafiknaasri5224]

Thank YOU !

[@dianaslivinscaia5546]

hi Danny, I am very new to Zbrush. why when I am using ,,Cliprect,, is cutting, but use a hole inside? Thank you very much.

[@yeolunius4559]

Not sure if you’ve found an answer for ur question yet, but when you use cliprect, if you’re using cliprect for 1:40 you’re not supposed to be using cliprect to cut the sphere. The guy in the vid is using transpose, not cliprect. So what you’re supposed to do is go into “Move mode” and then click Y on your keyboard. That is transpose mode. then copy the guy in the vid.

[@yeonpark6772]

Thank you

[@fmawhiteknight]

Hello! I went to your gumroad as mentioned but it says it is not for sale?