That is a great question Colin and I will try to use as many sculptural terms as possible
. Let me try to explain the basic process including the pose and we shall see if all of it makes sense.
First I have to sculpt the base mesh or mannequin. There are a few ways to do this. I can use a simple humanoid shape that is provided by the sculpting program (Zbrush) or I can start from a sphere and build it out in a general sense like a sculptor would. Similar to a drawing program I am given a variety of "brushes" to use to build forms; I have a clay tool that adds clay, a smoothing tool to smooth it down, a raking tool, needle pointed tools for valleys etc. etc. and as I sculpt I try to use the same methods I would if I was sculpting in clay, to build out the forms. Unlike traditional sculpting with epoxy or sculpy, I can use this mesh over and over again once I feel the anatomy is perfect. This is one way digital sculpting can be faster than traditional sculpting. Also I get the freedom of (CTRL-Z) allowing me to back up if I screw up, most of the time I end up just smoothing the clay and starting over again. Another benefit of sculpting this way is working in what is called (Symmetry). this allows me to sculpt on one side of the figure and the same action is repeated on the other side so I only have to get one side perfect. There is lot's of time saved here but it is also a double-edged sword as I will explain later!
So the mannequin is complete. At this point I have to really think about my next steps. The reason for this is that as soon as I pose the figure in an a-symmetrical position I can no longer work with the trick of symmetry and will have to sculpt every part of the body just like the traditional sculptor. For this figure I will definitely sculpt the likeness in the face and I am considering creating some of the armor for the Achilles figure in areas like the arms and legs that will be moved, saving me the time of positioning them later. I will have to combine the parts for posing so they all move at once. For example, I make a pair of greaves; I have to attach them to the figure for posing but luckily the program remembers they were not always part of the mesh and I can detach them later! So I think hard and create all of the other parts or forms that I think I need to have complete before posing. Now I am ready to pose.
Posing can be done in multiple ways. In Zbrush I can mask out the entire body for example, except for the arms starting at the shoulder joint. This will freeze all parts of the body but those arms and I can move them using the tools Move and Rotate. As I do this the figure will distort at the joint. There is nothing you can do about it and that is why so much thought has to be put into when to pose and how much detail to put in while the figure is symmetrical. I then use the same combination of Masking, Move and Rotate at all joints in the body that I wish to move to get the figure into position. The muscles will not react well to this method of posing most likely. I will then break out the anatomy books and focus on each movement I made to re-sculpt the muscular forms into there correct orientations and levels of stress. Again, at this point I can no longer use symmetry to only sculpt one side of the figure but I also don't want to. The problem most first time digital sculptors run into is the simplicity of sculpting with symmetry but they don't realize they are creating a dead looking creature with no life in it's bones. I will go over the entire figure, making sure that nothing is the same on either side, doing the same with the face as I add more detail and more detail. This process has to be done no matter how the figure is posed. I can also take the figure into another program and actually place a skeleton of bones and joints, attaching them to muscles and sculpted joints, which I can then move with ease but this is a tedious and technical process that also breaks the connection of my figures base form and it's fine details. So not only do I have to (Rig) bones and joints but then I still will have squishing and pushing in places I don't want and I have also lost all of my fine detail from exporting a simplified version of the figure into another program. This is not a good method for sculpture or 3D printing. I learned it in school for movies and games but the processes are very different for characters using in film and ones used for sculpture.
So that is the basic method for preparing a mannequin and posing the figure. After that I spend my time adding accessories and details until I am satisfied with the life of the character. Then I have to break apart each figure into cast and print worthy pieces, add keys and key-holes and finally make sure each piece is fully water tight (no holes) otherwise it won't print correctly. Then we get technical with printer settings and orienting the pieces in the proper way for the best print quality.
For a professional digital sculptor this entire process to this point can take a week at most. For me in evening hours who knows! But this is only the beginning of the process to make a kit worthy piece from digital prints. We all know 3D printing creates layer marks and only companies like Ownage can print a cast and kit worthy print that I have seen right from the printer. I do not farm my printing out to any company because I want to touch each piece and learn to work with each issue on my own. I have a good printer on order and I have owned 2 in the past that performed marginally. From those experiments my post production process has been altered.
First the prints are cleaned from any support systems that hold the piece off the printing table. For us, we use a water soluble plastic for those supports that we can then soak and remove. Then the pieces must be tested to fit together properly with no gaps. This testing process may involve having to print parts again but after the cost of the printer each part will cost almost nothing for me at home. Finally all the parts fit. Now we look at the quality of the prints. My hope is the new printer will not show signs of layering under a coat of primer, however I am expecting this will not be the case. Lucky for me I have a small molding and casting station at the house and I can use waste material to make molds of these printed parts and cast them in CX5 which is a hybrid wax. From here it's all traditional! I can sand and smooth what needs to be smoothed and tool any details I feel are necessary that did not print well. Again, I hope most of this process is not necessary because of the added time before proper molding but if not then it has to be done. Once each part is cleaned and detailed I test fit again and if everything works I now have a Master Sculpt! I will then personally mold and cast each figure, hopefully using stone powders with my resins to create a solid and professional figure kit. At this point we are done and I hope I have made a 1/8 scale figure that people wouldn't even know was digitally created!
Please feel free to ask me any questions as this was a really basic overview and I skipped a tremendous amount of detail!
