How to Sculpt an Expressive and Realistic Character with ZBrush
Emanuel Molina talked about the process behind the Ash & Silence character, explaining how he sculpted the facial aspects of the character, focusing on the expression and the mood.
Introduction
My name is Emanuel Molina, and I'm a Digital Sculptor and Character Artist from Argentina. I entered the world of 3D out of curiosity, experimenting with different programs until I discovered ZBrush. That moment changed everything. I realized that character design was exactly what I wanted to do.
I'm completely self-taught. I learned through online resources, studying anatomy, observing traditional sculpture, and practicing constantly. What interests me the most is the ability to express personality, mood, and story solely through form.
I've collaborated on several independent projects, including stylized sculptures, collectible designs, and character concepts. Ash & Silence became one of the projects where I could explore my own artistic direction with the greatest freedom.
Ash & Silence
I started Ash & Silence as a personal challenge to elevate my artistic skills, especially in expression, wardrobe, and presentation. From the beginning, I knew I wanted a sober, calm, melancholic, and cinematic atmosphere. For this project, I started with a mannequin. I found a pose I liked and began working on it with Dynamesh. It's one of the best tools in ZBrush.
For references, I always create a large board with anatomy, clothing folds, medieval materials, facial features, hairstyles, and the overall mood. I also analyze actual fabrics and poses. I prefer to use many different references rather than a single dominant one, so I can extract structure, gesture, and behavior from the material without simply copying it.
Sculpting Workflow in ZBrush
I sculpted the entire character in ZBrush using a combination of basic brushes and a simple, clean workflow. I used the brushes: Move, Clay Buildup, Standard, DamStandard, Inflate, and Trim Dynamic.
For the face, I started with clean primary and secondary shapes, then added details. I used subdivision levels to refine the pores and micro-details gradually. The final skin texture is a combination of custom alphas and hand-sculpted lines. I wanted the skin to feel natural and slightly rough, in keeping with the character's environment.
The sword was sculpted directly in ZBrush using ZModeler and Dynamesh for the blockout. I used real sword references, focusing on shape, weight, grip, and proportions. Since the blade is sheathed, I intentionally avoided studying bevels or edge wear details. The visible part of the design is the scabbard and handle, not the blade itself.
Clothing Workflow
The clothing was hand-drawn in ZBrush. I start with simple blockouts and refine the folds based on real-world references:
- Areas of tension and compression
- Folds caused by gravity
- Edge and seam behavior
- Subtle wear using noise
The challenge was to keep the folds believable without overloading them with unnecessary details. I used alphas to add texture to the clothing. It's a little tip I was given once and wanted to share. Work with layers: once you define and apply the alpha, duplicate the layer two or three times to add more detail.
The most challenging part was maintaining the balance between subtle realism and a handcrafted feel. The facial expression and the softness of the folds required a great deal of refinement.
Presentation Tools
The final presentation was created using a very simple and focused pipeline:
- ZBrush → for modeling and exporting passes
- Marmoset Toolbag → for lighting, shading, and reflections
- Photoshop → for color balance, atmospheric gradation, and adding the subtle vintage photo effect (grain, vignette, and slight desaturation)
My goal was to keep the render clean, cinematic, and minimalistic. More like a portrait than a video game asset presentation.
Conclusion
Ash & Silence was a great opportunity to challenge myself to communicate emotion through simplicity. I focused on subtle details, mood, and believable textures, rather than exaggeration or heavy stylization. My goal was for the viewer to feel like they're looking at a small fragment of a much larger story.
The most enjoyable part was definitely the face. Giving the character a subtle emotional tone, calm, tired but resolute, was my favorite part. Some creators who helped me develop my skills: Daniel Bel, Jorge Villar, Pablo Muñoz Gómez. My references to traditional sculpture are Rodin, Bernini, books on anatomical photography, and Kingslie.
