Creating Game Characters with 3ds Max and ZBrush

This tutorial will show you how to use 3ds max to create a low-resolution game-type character from a very detailed model. It's easy to create appealing characters using powerful sculpting tools like Zbrush and Mudbox with 3ds Max. Our sculpting programs allow us to create models that have a high degree of detail. It can be difficult to get these characters into a lower resolution state that is suitable for animation and rigging. This tutorial will show you how to use 3ds Max or Zbrush to transform a high-resolution, painted, and sculpted character into a low resolution mesh that can be animated and rigged. Decimation Master will be used to drastically reduce the model's resolution while still retaining a lot of the visual details. We will create low-resolution geometry using Decimation Master once we have 3ds Max. This will allow us to capture the key shapes of the character. The UV layouts will be created for low-resolution parts. Finally, we will extract color and sculpted details from high-resolution parts onto the new mesh. We will be able to reduce a model with 20 million polygons to approximately 8,000 triangles. After you're done, you can use the workflow to convert and transfer your high-resolution characters to a more useful state. Software requirements: 3ds Max 2011 or higher, ZBrush