There are tons of free alphas for Zbrush out there, but what if you just can’t find what you are looking for? Here I will show you how to edit and combine two existing alphas in photoshop to create a custom layered alpha. The custom alpha I create here is an iris for an eye.
I was working on a personal project and when I got to the eye I figured that the iris should have an alpha. I couldn’t find a good one, so I decided to create my own. Instead of creating one from scratch, I’d like to show you how you can get free alphas and use them to create custom ones.
First, you should find a good reference image to work from. When creating an iris, it’s a good idea to find a macro image of an eye.
Then you can go to the Pixologic Download Center and find some alphas that resemble what you are trying to make. Try to find a couple different ones to layer together. I chose a plasma clot and some wrinkles.
In photoshop you can fill in areas with black that aren’t wanted, and use the dodge and burn tool to bring out the parts you want to accentuate. Don’t worry about the middle, it will be black later. Here are the results I got for each layer.
Modified Alphas
In another layer, use the marquee select to create a circle where you would like the pupil to be and fill in black. Create a larger circle to line the outside of the iris, invert the selection and fill the outside with black. I like to keep it crisp around the edges to separate each part of the eye better. For other alphas, you may want to blur the outer edge
Play around with the layer blending modes until they both show up well. I set the plasma layer to difference and 72% opacity and the wrinkle layer to exclusion. And there you go, you have an alpha!
I used this alpha for the eyes of the Maynard model I am in the process of sculpting but you could make a custom layered alpha in this way for just about any project.
Maynard Render, Naomi Farber, Original ZBrush Sculpt
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