Why Proportions Matter
While all humans are different when it comes to specific facial features like the mouth, eyes, ears, or the skull, you can still simplify human proportions into a few simple rules which will dramatically improve your sculpting skills and speed.
Understanding the universal proportions allows you to get to a solid baseline pretty fast, ensuring that the face feels harmonious and appealing.
Think of the head as a simple box and mark where the eyes, nose, and mouth are. For most adults, the eyes sit about halfway down the head, and the bottom of the nose lands halfway between the eyes and the chin. The width of the nose is also similar to the width of the eye as well.
Building a Solid Foundation with Clean Shapes
Smooth, well-defined shapes make a huge difference. Once the features are in place, refine those surfaces using brushes like Clay Buildup or the FlippedNormals Brush Kit with low intensity. The aim is to lose that lumpy, blob-like feel and replace it with neat, controlled forms. Also look at your model from different angles, because what looks good in the front view might still be a mess from the side.
For the model below, we've changed the proportions to be in line with a human skull, as well as having cleaned up the shapes.
Adding Realism Through Basic Anatomy
Pay attention to bony landmarks like cheekbones, the bones around the eyes, and the jawline. It's often a good idea to exaggerate these landmarks early on to create a strong foundation. Making sure the anatomy is solid is a great way to ground your character, making it feel realistic. It's also one of the best ways to prevent your sculpt from feeling 'muddy' - where all features blend into each other.
If you're completely stuck, drawing over both your reference and your model can help a lot. It allows you to observe the reference in an honest way.
Using a tool like the FlippedNormals Anatomy Bust can be incredibly handy for anatomy reference. The model below can be greatly improved by simply making the facial features conform to a human skull. As an example, the eyes are way too large. The way we fix this is simple: Carve in where the bones around the eyes are supposed to be, then ensure the eyelids fit within the bony structure.
Cool Tips You’ll Love
Smooth Stronger
Smooth Stronger is a lifesaver of a brush if your mesh is dense and you need to remove muddiness or create planes. It can be found under Lightbox - Brush - Smooth - SmoothStronger. Make sure your polycount is dense though, as it doesn't behave well with a low poly base. You can also load it directly into ZBrush at startup by finding the brush in the Explorer here:
C:\Program Files\Maxon ZBrush [version]\ZBrushes\Smooth Stronger.ZBPAnd placing it here:
C:\Program Files\Maxon ZBrush [version]\ZData\BrushPresetsSplit Screen
The Split Screen feature is incredible when using 3D models as reference, like scans. You can find it under Transform - Split Screen. Set the value to 1. It allows you to have 2 models visible at the same time. The active subtool is on the right and the inactive ones are on the left.
Wrapping Up with Confidence
Sculpting a believable face in ZBrush requires patience, observation, and deliberate practice. Strong fundamentals keep your sculpts grounded, while thoughtful anatomy and small personal touches keep them from looking muddy and bland.
When you approach each new head with these ideas in mind, you’ll begin noticing faster improvements. And as you get comfortable shaping faces, you’ll find it easier and more fun to bring lifelike characters into the digital world.
