SCULPT A NATURAL SMILE IN ZBRUSH

Ari is a software engineer with a passion for art, both 2D and 3D. Currently he is on a quest for creating highly realistic digital humans, but he also enjoys creating landscape paintings. www.artstation.com/asuonpaa

Abig portion of the 3D characters out there look lifeless, and I think the reason is a lack of facial expression. Without it, it’s hard to make an emotional impact on the viewer. In this tutorial, you will learn how to bring your character to life by adding a convincing smile.

I must warn you: getting the smile right requires practice. I struggled with it in my previous projects, eventually requiring me to reduce the expression to avoid an unnatural look. At one point I decided to dedicate one portrait to getting the smile right, even if it took a lot of effort. And it did, but it was worth it!

So if you’re experiencing the same difficulties, follow this step-by-step guide for some handy tips and a breakdown of my process. Good luck!

DOWNLOAD YOUR RESOURCES For all the assets you need go to https://bit.ly/3D-world-kitbash

01USE AN EXISTING HEAD SCAN

3D Scan Store has a selection of HD heads that are highly detailed, plus they also ship with scanned teeth, which will help with a believable smile. All the micro details will help later when aiming for a realistic skin render. The head I used can be found here: bit.ly/32m5PlK.

02MODIFY THE 3D SCAN

Using a new sculpt layer in ZBrush, select the lowest two subdivision levels and shape the head. Be careful not to touch the higher subdivision levels to preserve all the details. If you’re aiming for a younger face, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, the jaw