Project 1

Creature Bust

Creature Bust

Jared Krichevsky

3 Weeks | 100 pts

Project Brief:

Taken straight from the pages of my new book, coming out in September 2025, this assignment dawns from the instruction of Jared Krichevsky (Godzilla, TMNT, Ready Player 1, Megan, Guardians of the Galaxy). Together we will work through his process for concept, creation, iteration, and rendering.

Critique Date:

    • 2/12/2025

Required Learning:

    • Dynamesh/Sculptris Pro, ZRemodeler, Redshift3D, Redshift Materials

Required Slides:

    • Hero Shot - Redshift3D Render: 20 pts

    • Orthographics: 10 pts

    • Craftsmanship: 10 pts

    • Turntable: 10 pts

    • Brushes: 10 pts

    • In Pose: 10 pts

    • Polypainting: 20 pts

    • References: 10 pts

 

Sculpting an Alien Head 

By Jared Krichevsky 

 

Greetings species X-4118-3742 of the outer galactic rim. We are hailing you from great distances to inform you that one of our ambassadors is set to arrive in two days of your earth time. To make way for his presence we need you to design his look and character, so the humans will be able to identify and relate to our species, while at the same time inspire awe of his unique alien appeal.  

Workflow Overview 

For the designer you want to create a captivating creature that will have a connection to the audience. Using the tools at hand zbrush, Keyshot, Marmoset 5, Photoshop, and Krita we will explore these tools and ideas. In the name of brevity I'll be going over the most important stages of the process. The pillars if you will. While each avenue could be explored in exhaustive depth, I’ll just focus on the big picture stuff. This is more of a glimpse into my world and how I approach things which I hope you will find helpful when attempting your own creatures.  

IDEATION 

Start with Sketching 

Before sitting down and getting serious inside of zbrush, I'll usually work out a few sketches to help me set the tone. This phase is very important because we can eliminate a lot of ideas very quickly. When the world is full of possibilities, you want to narrow down the scope a little bit. The sketches were done in krita which is a free art tool, I really prefer their brushes and the feel of it.  

Collaborative Feedback 

After getting a few opinions from friends and other artists we settle on the main idea going forward. 

Figure 1. Sketching is the fastest way to eliminate ideas and evaluate solutions. 

SCULPTING 

Preparation 

Before I begin any project, I lay down a cube on a ground plane, this reminds me that gravity exists in the digital world and that I need to plant my character firmly on the ground. Even though this is just a head bust I do this with most projects. I also import a model, I often use the Julie model inside the light box > Z tools > Julie.ztl  placing her next to the cube. Having some kind of human-like model for scale is important because it helps keep human-like scale and interaction in mind.  

Figure 2 with human scale for reference. You can see that my UI setup is very extensive, but essential for speeding up my  workflow. 

Block Out 

I then begin blocking out the basic forms in ZBrush using low poly dynamesh spheres and cylinders from the IMM primitives brush. When the basic forms are assembled I then dynamesh or subdivide at a higher poly count and begin sketching in the anatomy. The anatomy portion of any sculpt takes the longest, but is the most important, because you are laying down the structure of the entire sculpt. It's important to have as many references as possible, so I look at various anatomy models and so on while sculpting. Since it's an alien I also have to think about how we can use human anatomy as a foundation and push it just enough. I try my best to use restraint and not over design it as well with too many shapes outside of the simple silhouette.  

Figure 3. Blocking in the basic anatomy forms of the arm alongside visual references using PurRef. 

Exploration 

Even though I have an idea of what I want for the head I keep it separate from the body, that way I can sculpt multiple versions and not worry about what I'm doing with the body. Exploring these multiple options by taking the basic head, duplicating it, and sculpting on top allows me to come up with different variations. Doing this keeps the process exciting and in a stage of consistent discovery. Even though we have the sketch that we started from, it doesn’t mean we have to stick to it, design is all about exploration.  

Figure xx. Sculpting different options allows for discovery and finding character in the creature. 

Refinement 

With each of the five heads I tried to go through various character archetypes and see what kind of personalities it would create for our alien ambassador. I then took the body, Zremeshed it, reprojected the details using Subtool > Project > Project History. Then applied a subtle turn in the neck. I did this without moving the head so that way I can keep sculpting on the face options symmetrically.  

Figure 4. Turning the head for test renders. Low poly geometry is essential for movement. 

TEST RENDERS 

ZBrush to KeyShot 

I then used the Zbrush Keyshot bridge and sent my model over to be rendered using clay materials. The clay materials give me a sense of how the forms and character are reading. After playing around for way too long with the camera and the lighting I finally saved a few frames. Catching the mood is always exciting as an artist when you see things coming together. 

Figure 5. Clay renders in Keyshot help gauge mood and design choices.

After getting more outside opinions of the alien head options, everyone settled on option 5 with a non humanoid mouth. Having the clarity and votes of fellow artists gave me the confidence to go ahead and weld the head back on the body and push forward with the final sculpt.  

The next few stages go very quickly as I unify the body and head and add details. For the striations on the neck and head I used the interpolate function that's in the Zbrush Stroke menu. This period of detailing goes on for quite a bit so I tend to poly paint as well as sculpt at the same time. Playing with colors gives me an idea of what it could look like and how the color helps with the character. Whenever possible it always gets great results to work in Substance Painter. So I Zremeshed the body, re applied UVs to it using Plug-In >UV Master, and then created the texture maps based off of my polypaint.  

Figure xx. I used the interpolate button under the Stroke menu to sculpt the repeating shapes in the neck and head. 

Texturing 

Preparing the Model 

I once again Zremeshed the model and re uv’d etc… but this time I decimate the model using Plug-in > Decimation Master. The important thing here is to decimate with Keep UVs function turned ON. This will keep the UVs that we've created but we can still decimate the model and bring it down to a level that won't be too taxing for Substance. I recommend decimating at 20% or lower depending on the results. Generally around the area of 1-2 million polys. I also save out the full high-res model to bring in for baking the high res maps.  

Figure xx. My initial pass in Substance Painter. Exploration is key in finding the right color and material scheme. 

Substance Painter Workflow 

The thing I find about Substance Painter is that it requires a lot of experimentation to get the look you're going for, so that means a lot of turning on and off layers and trying different layer styles or various generators. I use tileable textures to build out the base skin and look, and then paint by hand in areas that need more attention. Working general and broad to specific and small. The other thing I do is set up a scattering pass so I can get an idea of what it will look like with SSS materials later on. 

Figure XX. The initial result ended up very different from my polypaint. I’m always looking for happy accidents along the way. 

Rendering 

Exporting Maps 

Once I was satisfied enough with the textures, I exported out the baked maps and brought everything into Marmoset. The model was very small coming out of ZBrush, so I scaled it up and began to tweak all of the material parameters to match what I had done in substance paper. 

Rendering 

Exporting Maps 

Once I was satisfied enough with the textures, I exported out the baked maps and brought everything into Marmoset. The model was very small coming out of ZBrush, so I scaled it up and began to tweak all of the material parameters to match what I had done in substance paper. 

Figure XX. Rendering in Marmoset Toolbag 5. Cinematic lighting adds the final touches. 

Lighting 

After tweaking all of the various camera and lighting parameters I settle on a look that I like for the finished presentation. I kept a simple three-point lighting scenario, with volumetric fog, and all of the ray-traced rendering settings turned on. My computer rig is set up for this kind of heavy duty rendering so all in all it goes very fast. 

Figure xx. 3 Point lighting setup, a cool under light creates an eerie, otherworldly effect while the other lights describe form. 

FINAL PRESENTATION 

Because it’s fun I try out a few different looks using various presets that come with the program. As well as a few different camera angles and lighting setups. I might even take the images into Photoshop for some minor color adjustments and so on, but the renders as is are fantastic and I don't think I need to.