Sculpting a Realistic Eye in ZBrush

Have you ever tried creating a 3D character in ZBrush? Well, even if you are a newbie in graphic design or not very familiar with the advanced features of ZBrush, you can easily learn the step-by-step process from tutorial videos like this tutorial about sculpting a realistic eye as presented by Jay Hill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj5uK6RSdUo

An eye is very basic if you want to create realistic characters that have emotions and personalities. Your character could either be human or a fantastic creature. It could be alien or monster. At any rate, incorporating a realistic eye into your character would make it more believable. The eye is the most recognizable feature of a face. When properly placed in a character’s face, it helps provide the means of expressing complex emotions like fear, anger, love, embarrassment and pity.

The eye is proverbially called as the window of the soul. It is called as such not only because it is the organ used for perceiving light and images but also because it also provides a peek into a person’s inner thoughts in some ways. For instance, a study has demonstrated that pupil dilation is related to the feeling of being in love or romantically attracted. This is one of the subtle reactions of the eye that can be incorporated in digital characters that you create.

Creating a realistic eye capable of subtle expressions or reactions is very useful in close-up renditions of the face. If you are creating a game character or an animated movie character, you could establish an emotional connection with the audience if you correctly render the eye.

As what Jay Hill demonstrated in the video tutorial, sculpting a realistic eye in ZBrush is achieved by combining the eyeball and the lens. The demo used Keyshot for rendering the eye but other image rendering applications such as Mental Ray and RenderMan could be used. Keyshot was used because it is very straightforward and works well with ZBrush bridge.

The lens is crucial in creating a realistic eye as it is essential for light refraction effect. You can use ZBrush glass material to create the lens. One of the memorable 3D animated characters in the movies is Davy Jones of the Pirates of the Caribbean. This character has eyes that are correctly rendered for the refraction effects of the lens. It might be subtle but it contributes to the overall believability of the character in terms of visual appeal. The same thing can be said for the Gollum character in The Hobbit movie. The combination of lens refractions, shadows and iris highlights made the character realistic.

Sculpting an eyeball in ZBrush begins with a polymesh sphere. The iris and pupil can be developed by first changing the topology to create a dent then a hole curving inside. The goal is not to create an anatomically detailed eye but creating something that renders well at a certain distant. The iris is sculpted in a radial manner. You may experiment with various values like colors, blurs and textures. Once you have created the basic form, you can then import it in Keyshot and render the details.