Top Tips for Improving your ZBrush Sculpts

In this ZBrush sculpting tutorial, we cover how to improve your sculpt based on proven and tested principles. The way we're sculpting here is the exact same way we're sculpting characters for feature films.
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[@workflowinmind]

I love the dynamic of your voiceover _discussions_ , great insights thanks.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! It's really hard to have proper discussions while actually sculpting, but I feel this somehow came together. /H

[@badkitty3559]

This is amazing! Love watching just because of that :-)

[@DLuds10]

I agree, most of the time when there are two people it's Q&A format and often sounds forced/unnatural but you guys sound like you collaborate all the time!

[@3d_pablo]

so basically, to sum up this video, learn anatomy.

[@FlippedNormals]

Indeed! But not just the technical anatomical names, but rather the function of the muscles.

[@Ben-rz9cf]

Honestly, the original sculptor wasn't that bad with basic anatomy, he just wasn't thinking about how it functions and connects. Unfortunately there aren't a great deal of resources that teach you anatomy in a sculptural context, and most anatomical drawings are made by people who probably had a lesser understanding of anatomy as a dynamic form then a talented sculptor should have. You hit a wall where you have to look harder and harder for reference that helps you improve

[@Zeriel00]

Wan't that bad?? You can't simply forget Scapulas exist! I don't think any of his muscles where correct except maybe the deltoids So yea 1/10 in Anatomy, wasn't that bad...x_x

[@drothstomp]

It wasn't that bad.. He tried, and it looked like he did his best. You can only keep so many things in your head at a time. That's what learning is all about, cementing data into your brain so you can use it without thinking. Definitely better than a 1/10, and rating someone else's art with a number is pretty petty, honestly. We all learn different things at different times and at different rates. This black and white, brutally unforgiving way of looking at art is a huge part of the reason the art industry is so messed up.

[@irocklalot]

FlippedNormals where do you recommend learning anatomy? Been trying to learn it for some time

[@thatfunkadeus]

Something this video illustrates really well that a lot of artists tend not to consider is that you need to know the rules in order to break them effectively. If you want your art to be stylized and surreal, you still need to be capable of the default, if you don't know what you're abstracting it's just not going to read the way you want it to.

[@0x_tino]

Okay, that was the best anatomy lesson I've ever seen

[@itam_5106]

for sure!

[@robinsquares]

Probably the most helpful Zbrush video I've seen

[@FlippedNormals]

Wow, thank you so much!

[@Theicemonkeyjr]

Really brilliant videos love your guys work, I was always fond of the old flipped normals videos, im glad theirs loads of new ones here!

[@matiasalonso7023]

Dudes i just find your channel and fall in love with it....keep the good work

[@t.pakulski1774]

Your content has an unbelievable value due to actual, professional and tested tips on how to get into the industry. I appreciate that you share your knowledge and valuable experience with the rest of us, on every single level. Thank you

[@officiallymaize6926]

Amazing, Love the fact that the discussions continue to reinforce your concepts as you progress you naturally come back explain again and remind use why these body parts are the way they are, the basic function explanations are superb, honestly I love that its laid out this way, I have no intention of being a physio or a doctor, but the way you guys use the names of the groups is really great for artists that do not have medical or human structural knowledge. this is one of the best sculpting videos on YT, the best feature is the way you guys show and display how to sculpt with anatomical model on top of a stylized character. simply sensational.

[@pethol2767]

Guys, your tutorials are super helpful and imo by far the best on youtube. A ton of thanks, keep up this amazing work please!

[@bc-ti4bq]

You guys are amazing. You are now my goto source for 3D tutorials. I don't know how long you've been doing this but I am truly impressed.

[@gibbonmist]

Just getting into 3D sculpting and found this very helpful. I was stumbling towards bony markers and muscle origin and insertion points as a method by accident so putting a name to it and seeing it's the right way to go has given me some direction for learning.

[@MustafaBerkeGureltol]

Been using the software for 8 years, but you guyst still manage to teach me at least 2 or 3 things with every single video. Good channel.

[@yggrassildigital8483]

thank you! i love your tutorials also your conversation in the video.

[@vardan1015]

I really love the video and I spent entire 42 minutes 12 seconds watching it. And loved every bit of it. The laughs and jokes lets out great humour and creates a friendly environment. Also loved the sculpting and anatomical references and the bone muscle mass connectivity. I am currently learning zbrush and this will definitely help me remember and save me from future pitfalls. The video was so educational and amazing I also now know to use the smooth brush the least and build form and structure rather than smoothing it out and losing detail and form. So helpful so educational and professional. Loved your video I hope you do create a video on basic anatomy practice for beginners like me and also refer us the short keys while sculpting. Thank you so much.

[@johnny_belmont]

As always spot on. Thanks for the great video guys.

[@Yukianevlum]

I find you guys both extremely helpful, and entertaining.

[@thatfunkadeus]

Im so happy I found this channel, I feel inspired and encouraged and I'm legitimately seeing results!

[@SizSarayut]

Thanks for all the tips! I just started working in ZBrush sculpts. Love your tutorials!

[@ilustradsn]

I loved the video🤩 because it’s not about throwing random clay but knowing the functionality, volumes of each muscle and bones

[@FannyMMOs]

Your channel guys is one of the best things that ever happened to my pursuit of art. And this video is extremely eye opening, like you have no idea. I know where to start now. Thank you so much!

[@FlippedNormals]

Wow, you have no idea how much this comment means to both of us! This is really the reason we're doing FlippedNormals, to try to help and inspire people. Thank you!

[@cotosgaminggamingcontent49]

Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge! Awesome!

[@freakmean16]

Just the thing I need to make my pecs, biceps, triceps and muscles in general pop up the way they should!!! Thanks a ton guys!!!

[@nanfredman1991]

Being an artists' model (I've done that!), Bunneh Death with Scythe, and nifty tips for reference materials. Genius! :D Oh yes, and pounding in the "Know Your Anatomy" stuff. So necessary.

[@rafaelmoreirasousa]

Thank you so much for this treasure! Keep going very, very good work. Sucess!

[@katja523]

GUYS! I'm so glad I found your channel! you guys are awesome. Especially this kind of video helps a lot. Correcting other artists work...would be nice to see more like this! Thank you

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot! We'll definitely do more of these in the future. Id love to do one on a head too. /HJ

[@PieroStuff]

This is one of the best instructive videos about character sculpting I have ever seen. Nicely done guys!! Keep up the good work!

[@FlippedNormals]

Amazing, thank you so much! This really means a lot to both of us. -Henning

[@ajlbeer]

Really well articulated. I'm totally impressed with how concise you guys are for something that seems very "real-time".

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot! Let me tell you, it took a long time to learn to sculpt and talk at the same time. In the beginning this was almost impossible. /Henning

[@IGarrettI]

Love this channel. The input from two artists is so good. Never enough tips on anatomy

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot! We really feel that having both of us in the videos helps a lot.

[@losiloso8178]

i am so god damn happy that i found this channel, thank you

[@tarassos]

really the most helpfull video on sculpting i have seen been using blender 2 years sculpting 1 year i think now i learn actual sculpting i always thought the muscle was all :) so bones then muscles then fat and learn muscle functions this is gold for animating too

[@chur8260]

I genuinely never thought a physical education degree would help with my art, but everything about knowing anatomy to knowing which muscles to use for a particular movement is in here. It's weird that stuff ingrained from one discipline has helped me so much in another.

[@SR-iz8zw]

This course is amazing and helpful

[@justVontadeh]

I... had never seen muscles as parts connecting between specific points, and it's a very very helpful thing to do. Thank you for this, really. Some likeness sculpting tips and tricks would be awesome as an idea for a future video. Cheers!

[@FlippedNormals]

It's pretty interesting once you start thinking about anatomy as purely a mechanical thing and not Hokey religions and ancient weapons. Thinking about it like this really helped me personally, and it's maybe what improved by sculpts the most to date. Glad it helped! /Henning

[@ijehook820]

Amazing video! Would love to see more like this :)

[@ryannikbin3560]

Dude you are the best. It is safe and 100% works

[@tanvinawale2134]

First of all I really want to thank u guys from bottom of my heart,for working so hard on this tutorial and bringing up new content for our cg community.. especially who are new.. btw great tutorial 😄

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you so much! This means so much to us

[@twistedwell9568]

Excellent video! Thanks for the laughs

[@jaimeorozco7019]

Pure quality knowledge! awesome channel... keep going on please.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you, Jaime! Much appreciated. More to come!

[@AnotherGirl2]

You guys are so damn respectful and nice to each other - I suspect hearing your voices is the primary reason I'm watching so many of your videos and as a by-product I'm also learning a lot :) Great video

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you Meirav, good to hear you're enjoying the content

[@runawaybrute633]

U gotta make it look so easy, thx bro!

[@danielevans3165]

What an amazing well explained video. I usually get pretty intimidated by the subject of anatomy but you guys made me understand it so much more in this video. Most videos on z brush just show you the software and what to use and when to use it. But your videos help justify that so much more making the process more transparent. Thank you

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you so much! Anatomy is really a big and scary subject on the surface, but we really tried to simplify it in this video. Glad it helped! :) /H

[@naoremedisonsingh6035]

you guys are awesome . I love it!!!!

[@ctfan]

This is the first time I actually had a chuckle from watching an anatomy video. You guys are great!

[@FlippedNormals]

Haha, happy to help! :D

[@oxidosis]

This helped me, not in a i learned to improve my sculpting way but in a "i'm a new teacher and i've said so many of the same things as this vid so it's good to know i was helping". Like a confidence thing that these guys agree with me so I was teaching my guys right.

[@FlippedNormals]

That's awesome! Really glad to hear that it helps.

[@navidezio1091]

Thank you so much for these helpful tips !

[@FlippedNormals]

No problem! Glad it helped.

[@deqa]

bony landmarks, rib cage, scapula, hip bone, skull, ankle, and then overlay volume/mass, then refine that into muscle / digging in / accentuating those landmarks was the way i learned it from gesture drawing. there are just certain things that 'stick' to you about the human form; the curvature of it, how the hip bone has that indented area for the acetabulum, etc, how the pecs connect up to the clavicle, that stick with you forever and help you obtain that realism vs a sculpt that is 'the pecs are carved in here, literally, as a triangle, the delt is carved in here', there is no sense of weight or fat or anything. i don't really understand the in depth function of a lot of the tiny muscles in the body, but the giant landmarks i do, and you guys really hit on this. whenever i fail a sculpt, i always try to go back to what i know gives the human form its humanness

[@amanbhar1247]

Your lesson helped a lot, after that i wrote my first lody. Thank you very much.

[@3dvfxanimator729]

Started Zbrush before 10 days and my faculty give me assignment for creature modeling. I took lots of reference to do human type modeling but every time i cant show my best for muscles and volumes and all. Now i learned a lots from you guyz i cant say how much but seriously i learned precious thing from you plz more videos on anatomy or creature volumes and their fundamentals please. Thank you so much

[@Glabbak]

You guys are the best!

[@Radicalshikami]

this is the best tutorial i have seen yet in this channel.

[@FlippedNormals]

Wow, thanks a lot!

[@skarlok1]

That was refreshing. It was a quite some time since i was diving into the anatomy. Hope to see more like those. Have a good day .

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! :D /H

[@actimations]

Great video. I would like to see more anatomy stuff.

[@MrRiaanjvr]

you guys are good thanks for the tips i have just started sculpting and man time goes by was struggling with the mouse and finally got my pad today wat a difference busy doing my firs Hulk character and the is a lot that i need to fix thanks for the cool Tutorials

[@Woodythehobo]

I started off at the beginning thinking “it looks fine, what are they complaining about?!” Then when you did the comparison around 19:33 Now I understand, lmao. Really impressive work

[@naughtyadventuresofmcbrouh5410]

Absolutely great

[@ImNewbeh]

Subscribed, you two have great knowledge about what you do , the second guy always comes up with some good tips as well. Love it, just started sculpting for the first time, getting some good results and this will really help a lot, most of the things I see I have in my model, never really thought too much about it but I think it's subconscious from painting a lot :P

[@Denns300]

Great Video as usual ! and your voices are an appeasement for the soul lol. Thanks you guyz.

[@FlippedNormals]

Haha thanks a lot! :D

[@karthickeyan.m8035]

Man! you guys are always awesome....

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you!

[@jrgensrensen3019]

Kjempebra video, så resultater med en gang, keep it up 👍

[@DomingoDiscala]

I just want to say a huge THANK YOU, i've been in to drawing and now getting in zbrush and i always search for reference but i never find good ones, and u helped me here in a lot of points, literally every minute of this video teached me more than dozens of hours of searching and other videos. Even the reference software, i didnt know it and is great that u say it. The silhouette tip, 3dscanstore, everything. THANKS, this video goes in to my list so i rewatch it later.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thats amazing! Thank you so much - we really appreciate it :D We have a lot more videos like this too, which you might like.

[@DomingoDiscala]

Great, im new to the channel, so meanwhile i'll watch your other videos :)

[@morio9284]

Awesome sculpting lesson. Thx.

[@GamesandBacon]

Hey guys, just found your channel and it's great ! Keep making content like you have been the last couple of months it's super good stuff :)

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! We have a lot of videos planned :)

[@mihaelasl.8935]

i know this is not a technical tutorial, but it also really helped me as a beginner in ZBrush because you also explain everything you do while doing most basic sculpting! usually intermediate tutorials and sped-up sculpts assume you already know which brushes and hotkeys to use which can cause quite a barrier. would probably also help if you showed on the screen which buttons you are pressing, but otherwise amazing! thanks!

[@wesselpoldervaart4658]

Amazing, this is just what I needed to improve with sculpting. kept getting my muscles wrong but now I finally know why! Thank you so much guys! Now it's time to order a book to study some anatomy 😅

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks man! Really glad it helped. www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Human-Anatomy-Artist-Galaxy/dp/0195030958 This is my favorite book on artistic anatomy, if you're interested. /Henning

[@harrysanders818]

Really cool and enjoyable summary of the main points of good sculpting. Nicey McNice! Thank you both!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot! It's a hard topic to talk about, so we're glad it came across.

[@MartinJutras]

You guys are amazing.

[@ZeroCartin]

The first thing I noticed on the model was that the arms were too far apart from the head. I think even the fix needed that. The anatomy tips are SO important. Great video again!

[@Kcimor78]

LOL, original sculp looked awesome, just to show how good they are, to go at that model :P DAMN!!! When you put it side by side... yeah its clear, looks alot more beliveable, amazing skill, and so fast

[@FlippedNormals]

See, thats why we wanted to make the video :D The original model looks really cool, and if you're not experienced at figure sculpting, it's really hard to actually see the issues in it and knowing that it has to be re-worked a fair bit. Thanks for your comment!

[@riccardobancone3761]

Excellent! This is an insanely useful talk for beginners, and advanced sculptors as well. I would have stressed a lot more on the flow of the silhouette and the rhythm lines, I’d like to see more from you about this topic, because this is another point that beginners completely miss , even when they learn anatomy. Great channel guys. Keep it up!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! That's a great suggestion - talking about gesture, silhouette etc. Noting it down for a future video :) /Henning

[@rox591]

This video is great, happy to find your channel

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! :D

[@alrethianscraftsbattles]

Thank you for all your video's teaching us this. Subscribed.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot :D

[@alexc7857]

I'm 8 minutes through and already have learned such a fundamental process of creating the skeletonal structures, thank you.

[@FlippedNormals]

Fantastic! I hope the rest is as useful too.

[@alexc7857]

FlippedNormals it just keeps getting better, I'm subscribing for life 🖑

[@alexc7857]

FlippedNormals would you have any reccomendations for books on sculpting? Specifically for video games artists?

[@alexc7857]

I bought ZBrush Digital Sculpting: Human Anatomy book. But also am looking to get Zbrush Character and Creatures once I've nailed my anatomy.

[@Cuddle-Muffins]

Thank you for the amazing video! very helpful! The end result is just so cool looking.

[@FlippedNormals]

No problem at all, sir! I'm glad it's useful. Did you learn anything specific from seeing your sculpt being sculpted on and talked about?

[@Cuddle-Muffins]

Made me feel less scared to learn proper anatomy because of the way you explained it. Made me feel like i understand better how to approach characters from now on. The part where you talked about muscles as parts connecting between specific points made a lot of sense and I will try to think about it always in future sculpts! The video really helped inspire me to study proper human anatomy now so thank you!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thats awesome, thanks! Best of luck to you in your future work :)

[@Cuddle-Muffins]

Thank you :)

[@ismyalak1419]

Great Video, Have learned a lot key points.

[@emincetin951]

This was amazing Tutorial. Wish there was a tutorial that you do the whole body as well on a slow pace.

[@rubevaillard]

Very useful video, thanks a lot for the info.

[@spargocap5133]

Guys, you are awesome! Thanks

[@m.yunusvaru9432]

This video kept coming in my recommendation and i always thought i don't need it but now that i have watched it i now where i messing up my sculpt. it was entertaining and helpful. it definitely was not boring like other video out there.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot! Really glad you liked it :)

[@DennisFrancispublishing]

Great job on the explanation of the muscular structure. It has given me the idea to sculpt a muscle figure. I've developed a base skeleton figure for my Zbrush figures already but haven't decided on doing one for musculature.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot! Glad it helped :)

[@anr3d]

Amazing video... definately one of the best....would love to see some houdini tuts as well....

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you!

[@RedEyedHolloway]

This is fantastic! Would you guys ever consider doing an entire extremely in-depth Anatomy lesson series about the skeleton and muscle systems (with proper terminology and everything) on the average man and woman from top to bottom demoed entirely on ZBrush? This is super informative and would be crazy helpful to the community for a proper 3D Anatomy academy series! 🙌

[@FlippedNormals]

We might be doing something like this, but no promises for now! It's an incredibly time consuming project to do, but it's something I would like do to --- at some point! /H

[@RedEyedHolloway]

Nice! Hey, you could have it like you guys' MODO to ZBrush Workflow, where you demo a single part of the series and have the rest behind a Paywall - hell, I'd GLADLY, SUPER GLADLY pay for that! Lol!

[@bxboris]

This video just gave me so much life!!!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thats amazing to hear! Thank you! :)

[@technoraven8537]

Great video! May I ask - with what help do you control the picture of the Reference, panning and zooming without going out and switching from Zbrush?

[@slamm600]

This is great. Please consider a series where you guys teach anatomy for sculptors. I would pay money for it. Not a lot cause broke. But you know, money.

[@Mahesh.Ranganathan]

This is something i needed atm, picked on new thing "abs are just a single sheet", i had a hard time making abdominal muscles look like the packs, but mine would end up flat and boring, Thank you for that tip.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks Mahesh! Glad it helped! :)

[@PoseidonArts]

Extremely helpful! Thanks guys! :D

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks Mr. Poseidon!

[@Kenoshino]

You know the art is amazing when Joe Mad is involved :)

[@JSG-mw4qr]

Hell yeah, he's one of my main influences.

[@Triptweeze]

I've heard it so many times before "LEARN ANATOMY!!!" but, I as simple as it is....the first thought isn't "How are these muscles connected?". Seriously, this video was a really big help! Sometimes it just takes a certain string of words to make all the difference. I'm really going to start focusing on Anatomy for a while and see what I can do. Sort of seems silly to NOT think about how the muscles are connected but, then again, everything seems simple once we hear the solution.

[@deqa]

damn, i didn't know that you could keep pureref on top of zbrush the entire time, thanks guys!

[@DannyMac3d]

Great video!

[@FlippedNormals]

Cheers Danny!

[@AnubisTheMaster]

I found this video suggested under Danny Mac's videos! :D i'm happy that i have found another cool channel!

[@FlippedNormals]

Awesome! Glad Danny is helping spread the gospel :D

[@sketchygaz]

Fancy seeing Danny in the comment section, proof that pros still learn. Also love your work Danny.

[@naughtyadventuresofmcbrouh5410]

" press hard for harder bones "

[@FlippedNormals]

Damn.. We need to watch what we're saying here.

[@manny75586]

Awesome video. Really helpful too picking a model that already looked pretty darn good and showing how you get from that to the "special layer of polish" you want to make the model really jump off the screen...though I'd be pretty scared if that dude actually jumped off a screen at me haha

[@mrexpendable1232]

I can relate, as my sculpts looked very much like that. Gotta get learned up on anatomy

[@FlippedNormals]

It's really one of the most common beginners mistakes I see, and it's one which is incredibly hard to articulate in a few pictures; you really have to see the sculpt being destroyed and rebuild. Hope it was helpful! :) /H

[@jabiraidan]

Very cool video. I'm trying to get back into sculpting so will be watching and mimicing techniques for a little bit. Anyway, 33mins in you made reference to Death of animals etc, just thought I'd point out in Pratchet's books in Discworld there is a Death of Rats, because they believed there was one so there was.

[@valentinmejean7879]

Nice and helpful video !

[@leatherslipper3017]

Very helpfull, thank you!

[@47humza]

I always love discussion

[@purewinter5650]

"He can basically fly" I'm crying LOL

[@neatpolygons8500]

why are you crying

[@Chewbacca2000]

This was great! Thanks guys!!

[@FlippedNormals]

Awesome, thanks!