Author: Rhiana Thomas

Narrative/character building

Character profile: Harik Kodo R1-T3
Story: 

His face and body were partially shorn by a lightsaber in a brutal altercation. As such, he is distrustful of anyone who wields a lightsaber or uses the force, Sith or Jedi alike. He is an anti-hero-not a villain as he does not seek power or tyranny or to inflict needless cruelty. However, he seeks revenge on a personal level as his goal is to find the people responsible for his attack and kill them. He is solitary and undertakes his journey alone, guarding himself from the sting of making meaningful connections only to lose them as he moves from one place to the next, driven incessantly by his need to exact revenge. His motivator above all else.

Job: 

Harik assumes the role of both a mercenary and a bounty hunter, ready to earn his credits through dubious means, taking on hits that he hopes will offer connections to trace his attackers. While most bounty hunters have become synonymous with Mandalorians, Harik has no such affiliation and has no ties to any groups preferring to work alone above all else.

With his bionic parts, he has also stolen some droid parts to provide some armour. This allows him to pass more discreetly through Empire sectors to navigate the galaxy more freely, as well as occasionally complete hits on officials.

Appearance:

To heal his wounds, Harik was taken to Coruscant to receive state of the art bionic fusion technology similarly to Darth Vader. However, unlike a suit he had his affected arm and shoulder and part of his torso and face fused with mechanical parts. Despite the traumatic loss of body parts, Harik utilised this to add enhancements to his tech such as built in weaponry. He will appear scruffy and grimy, with unkempt hair and scaring.

Environment: 

As he is constantly pursuing his attackers throughout the galaxy, his environment changes constantly. He is versatile and will find ways to adapt to any survive any terrain or temperature. At the part of the story at which we encounter him, he is on an outer rim desert planet named Kesyk. As such his mechanical parts will be scratched and flecked with sand and feature other environmental wear like scrapes and chips. The clothing he wears will be made to suit the heat and sand- he likely abandoned his previous clothes and purchased new, better suited clothes on the planet.

Project Proposal

In this project I will achieve the following objectives. To research and create moodboards to aid my project- as well as self reflect on my project through writing. A 2D concept art turnaround of my character. A final 3D render that follows the process of modeling a character in ZBrush, retopologizing in Blender, UV unwrapping, texturing in Substance Painter, rigging and animating in Blender, and then rendering 4 still images and a final animation.

My chosen theme is Jedi Survivor. 

I will produce a game ready character in the style of this game. I have created a narrative for him in the following slides. I will use my chosen software (Corel Painter) to produce 2D concept art turnaround of my character.

When thinking about the project specific deliverables and milestones, my final outcome will be to create a final 20-30 second rendered 3D animation sequence that showcases the production and outcome of my character. My artistic direction began with creating moodboards for my character and the style of the game. My character is a man who is escaping the Empire. He is on a desert planet and his clothing and body is covered in sand. The art style of Jedi Survivor aims for as close to realism as possible with its characters. To keep my ambitions reasonable, according to my skill level and being a one person team, I have gone for a more stylised adaption. 

My planned animation is to create a run cycle as he is constantly escaping from the Empire. I will achieve this largely through helpful online resources to learn to animate. I will also look at the movement of my own body as a helpful reference when I am animating.

One of the project risks that is already happening is IT issues. I am currently experiencing major problems with my PC which has made me lose time and requires repair (I have booked a technician to repair it). I have filled out an Extenuating Circumstances form. 

Other general challenges that I planned for were instances of not understanding a problem and then learning how to resolve it through online research, or advice from friends and tutors. These are natural parts of the process which are beneficial as they help build software skills and general problem solving skills.

My measure for success will be to meet the brief, of course, but learning and building on my previous skills is the greatest success. 

For my post-project evaluation plan, I will compare my milestones and outcomes (such as animating and texturing etc) against this proposal to see if I have achieved my initial objectives. 

ZBrush Bibliography

ZBrush navigation and learning:

FlippedNormals (2018) Learn to Sculpt Like a Pro in ZBrush [online video], YouTube, published c. 2018. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PaYUUvgwYM (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

FlippedNormals (2017) Getting Started with Sculpting – ZBrush for Beginners Tutorial [online video], YouTube, published c. 2017 (approx. 7.3 years ago). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yKGfcp2z3k (Accessed: 18 June 2025). reddit.com+14youtube.com+14classcentral.com+14

Leal, A. (2025) ZBrush Secrets: 5 Hidden Tools That Make Sculpting Way Easier [online video], YouTube, published 1 month ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpsVNlelMgk (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

hart (2022) Saving in ZBrush – ZProject, ZTool, ZDocument Explained [online video], YouTube, published 2.7 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmOvsVtnFfc (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

hart (2021) MASKING in ZBrush – All settings EXPLAINED! [online video], YouTube, published 3.6 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8zyC6JNd5M (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

hart (2021) ZBrush Curve Brush Bonus Tips [online video], YouTube, published 3.3 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on1SnEyVX_0 (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

hart (2021) The Beginners Guide To ZBRUSH – Episode 3: Masking, Selection, ZRemesher, Dynamesh & Polypaint! [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpfde7fch-s (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Block out to low poly model:

Follygon (2018) ZBrush Character Block Out Tutorial [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJuzn-NkI0o (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Follygon (2019) Why Blockout? [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7frk_7P00o (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

hart (2023) 10 EASY ways to CREATE GEOMETRY in ZBRUSH [online video], YouTube, published 1.5 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ePwRCCr44 (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

ProductionCrate (2023) ZBrush Beginner Tutorial: Make CGI Characters! [online video], YouTube, published 2.1 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYchxZHsqKU (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

FlippedNormals (2019) Using Zspheres in ZBrush [online video], YouTube, published c. 5.5 years ago (as of June 2025). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEybOH5TzYU (Accessed: 18 June 2025). youtube.com+9m.youtube.com+9youtube.com+9

savannahXYZ (2022) ARCANE SCULPTING – savannahXYZ EP 01 [online video], YouTube, published 3.2 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iDGhVMJM9Y (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Gagarin, I. (2018) Shinobi | Game Character | Part 1 | Base Mesh | ZBrush [online video], YouTube, published c. November 2018. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qpbouDe4gM (Accessed: 18 June 2025). gagarin.artstation.com+9m.youtube.com+9pinterest.com+9

Low poly and high poly model process 

Stylized Station (2021) Blender, ZBrush & Substance Painter tutorial – Creating a Cozy Room [online video], YouTube, published 4.4 years ago. Available at: https://youtu.be/MffuUQr_UNQ (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

FlippedNormals (2020) ZBrush to Blender Workflow – Using GoB [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-pFspCbykk (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

rowcat studio (2021) ZBrush ☆ How to project high details on a low poly model / #10 [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL7CuI7FBxA (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

High poly details

Face and skin:

Maxon ZBrush (2021) Organic Character & Creature Sculpting: Female Face Sculpture – Luc Tschopp – ZBrush 2021.7 [online video], YouTube, published 2 September 2021 (Streamed 3.8 years ago). Available at: https://youtu.be/uoL3gC9FLTs (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Leal, A. (2023) How to Sculpt Wrinkles? ZBrush Tutorial [online video], YouTube, published 1.7 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpQTlOd9YWo (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

FlippedNormals (2023) The Ultimate Guide to Sculpting Pores in ZBrush – Advanced Sculpting Techniques [online video], YouTube, published 1.9 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpsVNlelMgk (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Chavez, J. (2023) How to Sculpt SKIN DETAILS in ZBRUSH [online video], YouTube, published 2.3 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZOyEw-Le4 (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Other body parts:

hart (2022) Sculpting Stylized HANDS and FEET in ZBRUSH! [online video], YouTube, published 2.9 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXwjUiBQqFY (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Hair:

Gomezart (2022) Creating stylized hair in Zbrush [online video], YouTube, published March (approx. 2.8 years ago). Available at: https://youtu.be/sAdsg4XtmCk (Accessed: 18 June 2025). youtube.com+1youtube.com+1

hart (2022) The Secrets to Stylized Hair – Episode 1 [online video], YouTube, published 3.1 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWg0V9V_7Pk (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Stylized Station (2020) The ULTIMATE Guide for Creating Stylized Hair in ZBrush [online video], YouTube, published 4.6 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ2nMJRtIwQ (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

3D Mutiny (2019) Sculpting Hair? BEST Workflow [online video], YouTube, published 4.7 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S5xKSoalw8 (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Clothing, fabric, and stitching:

3D Mutiny (2020) Sculpting Clothes – Tricks of the Trade [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSGrX3ww0jY (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Forsyth, S. (2019) Creating and controlling curve brushes in general and also when making straps in ZBrush [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOJq5cyuxB4 (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

hart (2021) Making STITCHES in ZBRUSH and SUBSTANCE 3D PAINTER! [online video], YouTube, published 3.6 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Wt36QwkHg (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Pavlovich, M. (2020) Quickly Create Stitching Along a Curve – ZBrush Top Tips [online video], Maxon ZBrush. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoueu7aM6c (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Parkin, D. (2018) Leather stitches in ZBrush [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKLQRlhT8ks (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Armour and hard surface:

Leal, A. (2024) How to Create Clean Hardsurface in ZBrush [online video], YouTube, published 1.3 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk909y967EI (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Leal, A. (2023) Hard Surface Basics | ZBrush Tutorial [online video], YouTube, published 1.6 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NuBEM8vBcw (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Leal, A. (2024) How to Create Ornaments and Other Details in ZBrush [online video], YouTube, published 1.5 years ago. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IYoMOTQkCw (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Jay (2024) Making an armor in ZBrush using Hard Surface techniques (also using IMM Armor Edge brushes) [online video], YouTube, published c. March 2024. Available at: https://youtu.be/O3hfYV1wupw (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Royal Skies (2022) ZBrush – Extract ARMOR (In 2 MINUTES!!) [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laalZ8wBAjk (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Lian, N. S. (2024) How to Create Shoulder Armor Tutorial [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abYfezqR6bI (Accessed: 18 June 2025).

Uebler, G. (2024) The Easiest Way To Create Sci-Fi Shapes In ZBrush [online video], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV1XDy9QZr4 (Accessed: 18 June 2025).