Become a Master in Bas Relief
Original model by ZBrush artist – James Cain
Create embossed surfaces in stunning detail with the new Bas Relief features in ZBrush. Pose your model as desired and create a special new alpha from that view which can be used to create raised sections of detail that more closely resemble the results of traditional relief sculpture.
How Bas Relief Works
The Bas Relief features enables you to take any model, including all its SubTools, and project a bas relief of it directly onto the selected SubTool.
On the left, the model positioned ready for creating the Bas Relief; in the center, showing how the model is angled; on the right, the Bas Relief result.
Step by Step
- Position the model exactly how you want – the view used is the screen view.
- Adjust the settings if you wish, though the defaults will produce good results for most models.
- Select the SubTool that will receive the bas relief.
- Press the Project BasRelief button.
- Turn on Solo mode to see the result. Use Stroke>Adjust Last to adjust the result if you wish.
Tool palette – Bas Relief Functions
The Project BasRelief menu in the Tool>Subtool sub-palette
The Tool>Subtool>BasRelief menu makes it easy to directly apply a bas relief from the visible SubTools onto the selected SubTool.
Relief Repeat Count
Alphas showing the effect of different values of the Relief Repeat count
The Relief Repeat Count slider controls the number of times the Bas Relief algorithm runs. The default value of 1000 should be good for most situations but experiment with this slider to find what best suits your work.
Relief Step Tolerance
Alphas showing the effect of different values of the Relief Step Tolerance
The Relief Step Tolerance slider controls how ZBrush treats the areas between features. Lower values will produce softer results.
Relief Contrast
Alphas showing the effect of different values of the Relief Contrast
The Relief Contrast slider controls how much contrast is added to the Bas Relief. This produces a similar effect to the Deformation>Contrast slider and can be useful when you want to enhance detail. Setting to the maximum value is best avoided.
Relief Blur Radius
Alphas showing the effect of different values of the Relief Blur Radius
The Relief Blur Radius slider controls the amount of smoothing at the edges of the Bas Relief, removing the artifacts that can occur.
Project BasRelief
Projects the Bas Relief onto the selected SubTool using the other visible SubTools.
Alpha palette – Bas Relief
The Bas Relief feature is also available in the Alpha palette, allowing you to create bas relief alphas that you can apply yourself using the DragRect stroke.
A model and the resulting Bas Relief alpha. ZBrush artist: Joseph Drust
Step by Step
- Make sure the Document size is large enough for your needs. The bas relief alpha will be the same size as the document.
- Position the model exactly how you want – the view used is the screen view.
- Adjust the settings if you wish, though the defaults will produce good results for most models.
- Press the Make BasRelief button. A new BasRelief alpha will be created and added to the Alpha palette.
To apply the bas relief alpha:
- Select the model you want to use.
- Select the Standard brush and the DragRect stroke.
- Make sure the Bas Relief alpha is selected.
- Click and drag on the model to draw out the Bas Relief.
- Use Stroke>Adjust Last to adjust the result if you wish.
The Bas Relief alpha applied to a sphere. A Focal Shift setting of -100 was used.
Alpha palette – Bas Relief Functions
The Project BasRelief menu in the Tool>Geometry sub-palette
Relief Repeat Count
The Relief Repeat Count slider controls the number of times the Bas Relief algorithm runs. The default value of 1000 should be good for most situations but experiment with this slider to find what best suits your work.
Relief Contrast
The Relief Contrast slider controls how much contrast is added to the Bas Relief. This produces a similar effect to the Deformation>Contrast slider and can be useful when you want to enhance detail. Setting to maximum value is best avoided.
Relief Step Tolerance
The Relief Step Tolerance slider controls how ZBrush treats the areas between features. Lower values will produce softer results.
Relief Blur Radius
The Relief Blue Radius slider controls the amount of smoothing at the edges of the Bas Relief.
Apply BasRelief
Applies the BasRelief algorithm to the selected alpha. This is useful if you have an alpha from elsewhere that you want to use as a Bas Relief inside ZBrush.
Make BasRelief
The Make BasRelief button creates a new alpha from the visible SubTools in the Alpha palette.
BTxtr
If the BTxtr switch is turned on, any color on the model is converted into a texture in the Texture palette which can then be applied at the same time as the Bas Relief alpha.
The result of a Bas Relief created with the BTxtr button on.