I usually stick with lower/medium poly models and haven't made details models (Like in picture) how would I get to that level? did they use bump maps or something else I don't know of or is it just an insanely high poly count? if so would I use the sculpting tool in blender to achieve that level of detail?
yes, that level of detail is sculpted
heavy use of textured brushes when sculpting.
You'd want to retopologize your model, bump up subdivisions then project the sculpt onto new clean mesh. After that you create morph target and all the micro details you put can be easily tweaked or erased using morph brush. Majority of high detail work is done using stencils or textured brushes or various noises.
Thank you, > 652701 . Is it ok if you explain retopologizing is? its a new term for me
Retopologizing is the creation of low poly model mesh using high poly base. Many programs already have functionality built into them so it can be done. ZBrush let's you do it manually using ZSphere or using ZRemesher, the automatic algorithm isn't going to give you perfect clean results however, so it's best to do it manually especially when model is complex. I suggest watching few videos on youtube to get better grasp at how it works.
>>No.652712 Thank you for your time :)
Sorry for getting the tagging system thing working, I'm not very used to these forums
>>652701Not OP but learning zbrush too. Can you explain why create a morph target? What is it for exactly?
>>652652I don't think Blender or any other programs except Zbrush is capable of sculpting the levels of detail in your pic. High poly sculpts are used to bake normal maps, then retopologized to be "usable".
>>652884>he doesn't know about 3DCoat
>>652885He also doesn't know about Mudbox, but to be fair, no one knows about Mudbox.
>>652859Most of this applies to ZBrush. Once you've done the sculpt to the point where you want to add small details, think like skin pores or wrinkles you essentially create a morph target layer and then you add small details onto your mesh, morph brush allows you to tweak these small details. Morph target is generally very useful for all things, not just detailing. You can create various layers and have unique facial expressions or variations of the same mesh.
>>652885>3DCoatDifferent tool, different strengths. Zbrush is by far the best sculpting software.
>>652935Also, the surface tools (this too is zbrush) . You can basically apply a procedural or bitmap heightmap to a whole area, which is probably what was used for some parts of the dragon's scales.Not all of us have enough autism to do tedious work that you most likely won't even see the result of when you bake it into a shitty normal map. Work smarter, not harder.
