Know the Basics: ZBrush – part eight: rendering with ZBrush

3D art director Gregory Stoffel continues the Know the Basics: ZBrush series looking at the render menu, parameters and properties within ZBrush...

Previous tutorials

Know the Basics: ZBrush - part one: Modeling
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part two: Texturing
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part three: Posing
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part four: FiberMesh and UVs
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part five: KeyShot lighting and materials
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part six: ZBrush lighting and materials
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part seven: rendering in KeyShot

Continuing from the previous tutorial about materials and lighting, we will have a look at the render menu and some of its parameters to finish this character before moving into the final compositing in Photoshop.

Step 1: Render mode and properties

To start, let's have a look at the different render mode and an overview of the Render Properties menu. The four buttons (Best, Preview, Fast and Flat) are the render modes for how your model will be rendered in real-time in the canvas. Each of these modes render more or less effects. The Preview mode is the default one. Click and drag the cursor button on a part of your model to render this section in Best render mode. In the Render Properties menu, you will find the buttons to turn the different effects off and on that would be visible during render time (BPR) or in real-time, such as the Wax Preview.

Overview of the different render modes and the Render Properties menu

Step 2: RenderPass menu and BPR render

The BPR button will render the model on the canvas (Shift+R) with all effects (Shadows, Fibers, AO, Transparency, and so on). After rendering your scene, the different passes rendered will be available for you to export. To export these passes, just click on each of the passes you want to export.

BPR rendering and exporting the rendered passes

Step 3: Render object transparency

To render the transparency of an object in ZBrush, you will have to enable a few things. Enable the Transparent button in the Render Properties menu. In the BPR Transparency, you will find a few more advanced settings. Then select the SubTool you want and in the Display Properties, click on BPR Settings and finally enable the BPR Transparent Shading button. Move the BPR Visibility slider to modify its transparency.

Enable the Transparent button in the Render Properties and the BPR Transparent Shading button of the SubTool

Enable the Transparent button in the Render Properties and the BPR Transparent Shading button of the SubTool

Step 4: BPR Shadow and BPR AO

You can enable the Shadows and Ambient Occlusion (AO) in the Render Properties, and find their advanced settings in their respective BPR Shadow and BPR AO menu. Those settings will modify the shadows and AO for the BPR render only.

Enabling the shadows and AO for BPR rendering and their parameters

Step 5: Preview Shadow and Preview Wax

If you want to have a wax effect on your model in the canvas in real-time, even while sculpting, you will have to enable the WaxPreview button in the Render Properties menu. Then in the Material palette, under the Wax preview menu, you will find the parameters to modify this effect on the material. Additionally, you will find the settings for the Wax preview for the preview render in the Preview Wax menu in the Render palette.

Enable the Wax Preview button to have a wax effect in real-time in the canvas while sculpting

Enable the Wax Preview button to have a wax effect in real-time in the canvas while sculpting

Step 6: BPR filters overview

You can add filters to your BPR render directly in ZBrush. Do a BPR render, then enable the filter by clicking on the small circle on the top-right corner of the F- button. When this small circle is open, the filter is on and when it's full the filter is off. You can add more filters by clicking on another F button and choosing the type of filter you want to apply to your render. After choosing your filter, you will find all its parameters under the selection filter button.

Applying filters to your BPR render

Step 7: Depth Cue Overview

The Depth Cue will render a depth effect following the parameters in the Depth Cue menu in the Render palette. The Depth1 slider will be the distance where the sharp focus will be, and the Depth2 slider will be the distance where the objects will have the softest focus on the canvas. You can, either choose your distance with the slider or click and drag from the slider to the canvas where you want the focus of this slider to be. This effect will be visible only with the Best renderer and the BPR render.

Depth focus in BPR and Best render using the Depth Cue effect

Depth focus in BPR and Best render using the Depth Cue effect

Top tips: Help in ZBrush

If you ever wonder what a particular button, slider, and so on, do in ZBrush, just put your mouse over it and hold CTRL. A window will then appear explaining you what it does.

Related links

Check out Gregory's portfolio
Head over to the Voodoo Workshop for more blogs, videos and news
The Moebius Tribute tutorial
The Burai Fighter Tribute tutorial
The Rhino tutorial
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part one: Modeling
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part two: Texturing
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part three: Posing
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part four: FiberMesh and UVs
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part five: KeyShot lighting and materials
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part six: ZBrush lighting and materials
Know the Basics: ZBrush - part seven: rendering in KeyShot

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