Chapter 4: How to Make a Base Mesh for a 3D Sculpture

The sculpting workflow has two distinct parts. In the first part, we create the major forms of the sculpture, such as the torso, legs, arms, fingers, head, nose, ears, and mouth. In the second part, we create the minor forms and details of the sculpture, such as the tight creases of the sculpture's lips, fingernails, wrinkles, skin pores, scars, and more.

The mesh that we create in the first phase is known as a base mesh. A base mesh is a model with simple geometry that supports all of the major forms that we want to have in our final sculpture. Once we have a base mesh, we can enter the second phase with the powerful multiresolution workflow and begin adding details to the model. We will learn all about this second phase in Chapter 5, Learning the Power of Subdivision and the Multiresolution Workflow.

Creating major forms of the model can be done in numerous ways. One way is to begin with a basic sphere and sculpt in...