Work like that gives me hope that lazer scanning will never become the norm. Just can't get the same style and effect with scanning that you can with an artist's eye and its that sort of style that adds volumes of life to games and films.

Quote - But, modeling is a lot easier if you can use fifty-elevenbajility polys....

 

That's really a misconception about z-brush, and a comon beginners mistake to divide a model 300 bajillion times and then start trying to sculpt on it. You're just fighting yourself that way.

You still start out with roughly the same numer of polys on your base model as you would in any other ap. The more polys/sub-div levels you have the more difficult it becomes to really get your basic forms right, and until your basic forms are right, nothing else is going to be right no matter how much you fight with it. So the trick is to get your base model - which should be around 1k or less to start - into the proper shape before you start subdividing. Just as it is in traditional poly modeling, where you only add edge loops when you absolutely need them, the same is true in z-brush, or mudbox etc - you only add subdivisions when you need them. 

Even if you're working with a dynamesh, starting out with a lower res mesh will help you a lot in the long run. Its only when you need more detail that you increase resolution. High resolutions should be reserved for when you're sculpting fine details like skin pores and wrinkles. If you're starting out with a decent base mesh then there's no reason to have to divide a hundred times to get the shape you need. 

 

~Shane