ZOMBIE KING

In early 2024 I began working with the student version of the Pixologic ZBrush program to expand my digital sculpting skills. I tinkered with Blender sculpting in high school previously to create various fantasy characters. Although ZBrush has many similarities to Blender sculpting, I find that ZBrush has many more brushes and tools which allow for superior detailing and optimization.

For an example ZBrush project I chose to model a zombie humanoid bust.  When creating digital characters, I often like to imagine backstories to help motivate the design and features. The "Zombie King" in this creation was based off a design goal to create a difficult boss-level enemy in a video game. The story backdrop is a post apocalyptic survival setting where individuals can be infected with an extra-terrestrial microorganism that turns them into zombie hosts. This particular super-zombie is the result of extended exposure to the alien microbes which caused the formation of cranial horns.  The crown-like structure functions for telepathic control of nearby zombie hordes, hence the "Zombie King" name. After sculpting the base figure, I then applied color and texture details for the final render.