Creating Hulk Using Maya and ZBrush: Part 1

1. Modeling Torso
Step 1
Start Maya and load the reference images of our character in the front and left views. To do that, first click on the View menu in the panel view menu and then click on Image Plane and then click on the Import Image option.
Go to the reference file location and load the appropriate Hulk reference images for both the left and right profiles, which have been provided with the tutorial.



Step 2
After importing the images in both the views, front and right, it should look like the image shown below.



Step 3
In the perspective view, create a cylinder poly primitive with Subdivision Axis as 8.



Step 4
In the front view, go to Shading menu in the panel menu bar and turn on X Ray option to make the polygon object see-through.



Step 5
With the cube object selected, do a secondary-click on it and choose the Vertex command—alternatively you can press the F9 key.
This action will bring you into the vertex component mode. Then, with the Move tool selected or by pressing the W key on the keyboard to activate the Move tool, adjust the vertices of the cylinder according to the image reference and as shown in the following image.



Step 6
Being in the perspective view, press F11 key for face selection mode and then select half part of the cylinder. Go to Edit > Delete command to delete the selected faces.



Step 7
Following the same way, delete the top and bottom faces also.



Step 8
I'll create the mirrored torso part on the other side. So, with the existing torso selected, go to the Edit menu and click on Duplicate Special option box.



Step 9
In the Duplicate Special Option window, turn on Instance radio button. Keep the Scale X value as -1.00. Click on Duplicate Special button to duplicate the selected half polygon mesh.



Step 10
Go to Edit Mesh > Insert Edge Loop Tool.



Step 11
Insert three edge loops and edit the mesh according to the reference images.



Step 12
With the help of Insert Edge Loop Tool, insert two more edge loops vertically as shown in the following image.



Step 13
You can see the mesh in smooth display mode by pressing 3 on the keyboard.



Step 14
For better deformation, insert two edge loops and edit it according to the reference images.



Step 15
In this way, the basic torso modeling is completed.



Step 16
Insert two more vertical edge loops in the front and back sides as shown in the following image.



Step 17
Go to Edit Mesh > Append to Polygon Tool.



Step 18
With Append to Polygon Tool selected, first click on one edge and then click on its opposite edge and then press Enter key to apply the command. It creates a bridge polygon adjoining the two edges.



Step 19
Go to Edit Mesh > Insert Edge Loop Tool and insert an edge on the appended face.



Step 20
Being in the vertex selection mode, arrange the bottom vertices in round shape as shown in the following image.



Step 21
Arrange the vertices according to the reference images in front and side views. In this way, the basic body torso is completed.



2. Modeling Leg
Step 1
To start with leg modeling, create a cylinder polygon primitive with Subdivision Axis as 8 and place it under thigh area as shown in the following image.



Step 2
Arrange the vertices of the cylinder polygon according to the reference images in both front and right views.



Step 3
Insert an edge loop around the knee area.



Step 4
Select and delete the cap faces of the cylinder.



Step 5
To add more details, insert several edge loops and arrange them according to the reference images.



3. Adjoining Torso and Leg
Step 1
With the torso and leg polygon meshes selected, go to Mesh > Combine tool to attach them together.



Step 2
After attaching torso and leg polygon meshes, you will see the symmetry gets vanished. You need to apply symmetry again. So, with the poly mesh selected, go to Edit > Duplicate Special command.



Step 3
Now, you need to merge the open and corresponding vertices together. With two adjacent and correspondence vertices selected together, go to Edit Mesh > Merge command.



Step 4
Following the same way, merge all open vertices together as shown in the following image.



4. Modeling Arm
Step 1
Create a cylinder polygon mesh in the side view with Subdivision Axis as 8.



Step 2
Being in the face selection mode, select and delete the cap faces of the cylinder from both ends.



Step 3
Being in the vertex selection mode, arrange the vertices of the cylinder according to the reference images.



Step 4
Select six indicated faces around the arm joint area as shown in the following image. With the faces selected, go to Edit Mesh > Extrude command to extrude the selected faces.



Step 5
Extrude the faces and move them up as shown in the following image.



Step 6
Arrange the vertices of the extruded faces according to the reference image in front view.



Step 7
To connect the arm with the hand mesh, we need equal vertices. But the arm mesh has only six vertices while the hand mesh has eight vertices.



Step 8
Therefore, insert one edge loop to get eight vertices on arm area as shown in the following image.



Step 9
Insert two edge loops on the hand mesh to add more details.



Step 10
Merge hand and arm meshes together just like leg and torso had been merged previously.



Step 11
After connecting the meshes together, adjust the vertices to match it according to the hulk reference image. Press 3 key on the keyboard for smooth shaded preview in the viewport.



Conclusion
In this part of the tutorial, I showed you how to create the basic structure of the body. In the next part of the tutorial, I will show you how to make the complete hand and foot of the character.
