American Midshipman, c.1782

[garyjd]

I'm going to sculpt a figure using techniques from a tutorial course on figure sculpting I'm watching now. Out of all the online courses I've paid for, this one is probably the best in terms how to do it in addition to what to do. I've always loved the pen and ink studies drawn by the late George Woodbridge of soldiers from the American Revolution. It's a simple subject that will lend itself well to this process without getting too complicated dealing with loads of straps, belts, equipment, and weapons. The subject is an American Midshipman from 1782. I also want to utilze some other software to aid in posing so the pose in the drawing is not the only one I come up with.

 

[garyjd]

Here's as brief an explanation as I can come up with to explain how I'm going about creating the clothing for the Midshipman. You start with a BASE MESH is a low-resolution, foundational 3D model created in Zbrush that serves as a starting point for sculpting more detailed features. Over the BASE MESH I create a MASK. The mask in this example is a simple shirt. While I cannot sculpt on a MASKED area I can EXTRACT the masked area and create new geometry and sculpt my shirt on that. Each piece of clothing will be handled this way. It's a great way to protect the other pieces when for whatever reason I have to rework something. This method/technique is what some people may consider a "cheat" or "shortcut". My question is are there not equivalent "cheats" or "shortcuts" that can be used with traditional methods using sheets of rolled out putty over a basic nude figure?

 

[garyjd]

Clothing is not the only thing you can use the MASK brush for. It also comes in handy for making weapons like this naval cutlass.