Sculpt and Paint

a Head with
Basic Brushes

Move Brush Inflate Brush

Used for pulling and pushing Used to add volume and create holes

Standard Brush HPolish Brush

Used for sculpting soft forms Used to create flat surfaces

DamStandard Brush Mask Brush

Used for carving and creating edges Used to protect areas of your model

Smooth Brush Transpose Tool

used to soften and simplify your model Performs Move, Rotate and Scale Func-
tions.
Base
Start with a DynaMeshed sphere file make
sure that mirror symmetry is turned on use
X to toggle mirror on and off. Use the move
brush to shape the sphere into a skull shape.
Use S on the keyboard to change the size a
large brushes makes it easier to control the
shape. Pull down the front bottom of the
sphere to make the chin. The Face will be
flatter in the front. Since we will be making a
female the jaw will narrow towards the bot-
tom.
Eye Sockets
To make the eye sockets select
the inflate brush. Hold down
alt while sculpting to push in
a hole. Smooth out the side
and bottom with the smooth brush. Holding
down shift will turn on the smoothing brush.
If the sockets need to be a little deeper use
the move brush to move the socket back
from the side. After you do this smooth the
mesh and DynaMesh the model. Feel free to
DynaMesh the model while you are work-
ing. You can do this by using the DynaMesh
button or hold down CTRL and pull a small
square to the side of the model. This will
keep your model clean while you work.
Mouth
We will use masking to help make the mouth
cavity. Masking protects
areas we don’t want to
change. It also aids in cre-
ating shapes while sculpt-
ing. Holding down CTRL
will activate the mask-
ing brush. Draw a mask
where the mouth will go. You can see the
mask is a darker grey color on the model. To
invert the mask hold down control and tap
outside the model on to the canvas. Now
we are only able to sculpt on the area where
the mouth will be. Select the inflate brush
and hold down ALT. Push in a hole for the
mouth. You can see the edge of the mesh
is a little rough. Clear the mask by holding
down CTRL and drag outside of the mod-
el. Now the model will no longer be the
dark grey color. Now DynaMesh the model
by holding down CTRL and making a small
square on the canvas. See how using Dy-
naMesh cleaned up the mouth. Use smooth
(SHIFT) to soften the mouth shape and Dy-
naMesh again.
To make the cavity a little deeper use the in-
flate brush while pushing ALT.
To make this hole look more like a mouth we
will close the lips slightly. Don’t get them
too close together or DynaMesh will close
the hole. Use the move topological brush to
move the top and bottom lip a little closer to
make more of an oval shape.
Neck
Next we will pull a neck out
from the bottom of the head.
Use the masking brush by
holding down shift and draw
a mask where the neck will
come out from. Invert the
mask by holding down CTRL and tap on the
canvas. Select the Move Brush and push S
to increase the size of the brush. Pull out a
neck from the middle of the unmasked area.
Shape the neck with the move brush. You
will need to change the size of the brush as
you work. Using the S key is a fast way to
change the size and the slider will pop up
right where you are working. Changing sizes
often will help you get the shapes you want.
Knowing what is the best size will come with
practice. Notice again how the neck is not
very smooth. DynaMesh (CTRL drag off the
model) the model and use smooth (SHIFT) to
clean up the neck.
Body
We will use the same mask and pull tech-
nique to form the body. Mask out the bot-
tom of the neck by holding down CTRL. In-
vert the mask by CTRL tapping on the canvas
and use the Move Bush to pull a body shape
from the bottom of the neck. Pull down and
then pull again to the side to widen the body.
As you shape the body think of making the
shape of a ribcage. Clear the mask and Dy-
naMesh the model. Now smooth out the
model. If needed add some volume with the
inflate brush. Continue to shape the model
using the move brush. As you make major
changes DynaMesh the model.
Ear
I will use the rotate transpose tool to pull
out an ear from the model. Use masking
(CTRL) to draw out an ear shape on the side
of the head. Soften the mask by holding
down CTRL and tap inside the masked area
and then invert the mask( CTRL tap off the
model). Select the Rotate transpose tool
by pressing R on the keyboard. Draw out a
transpose line from the starting edge of the
ear. Rotate the view of the model to the top.
Pull the transpose line down with the or-
ange circle at the end of the Transpose line.
This will rotate the ear out like the hinge of
a door. DynaMesh the model and smooth
(SHIFT) the ear. Use the Move tool to shape
the ear. This will be just a base to work on
we will add the details later so it does not
have to be perfect.
Nose
Now we will make a basic nose shape. Mask
out a square where the nose will be by hold-
ing down CTRL. Soften the mask slightly
by CTRL tapping on the mask. Invert the
mask(CTRL tap off the canvas). With the
move brush pull out the nose. Pulling from
the bottom of the nose will create a ta-
pered shape. Use the move brush to shape
the nose. Then DynaMesh the model and
smooth the mesh. DynaMesh the model
again to clean things up. You can continue
to use the Move brush to shape the model.
Zoom back and look at the entire model you
can still make major changes as you move
the major shapes around. When you finish
shaping the base Dy-
naMesh the mesh again
to clean up the mesh
spacing.
Eyes
Next we sculpt some simplified eyes into our
base mesh. To start out will create an eyeball
that will separate from our base mesh so we
will not accidently sculpt on it. The Insert
mesh brush create new shape where we draw
it out on the base. Select the insert mesh
brush, and push M to bring up the shapes
that are part of this tool. Make sure the
sphere mesh is selected. Where the eye will,
drag down until the sphere is about the size
of an eyeball. We will use the Move Tool to
put the eyeball in the correct place. Rotate
the model view to the side (Holding down
SHIFT while you rotate the view will lock the
view to side). Push W on keyboard draw out
a line from the center of the eyeball. Then
use the middle orange circle on the line to
move the model into place. From the front
view draw out a new Move Tool line out to
the side. Use the middle orange circle to po-
sition the eye. To separate the eye ball from
the base mesh. Hold down CTRL and SHIFT
and tap on the eyeball. This will hide the
base mesh. In the Tools Menu open the Sub-
Tool Palette. In the Split submenu push the
Split Hidden button. This will separate the
eyes from the base mesh. Notice how the
eyes the base are displayed on the SubTool
list. You can select them by clicking on the
tool in the SubTool list. When you select the
base mesh in the SubTool list any sculpting
we do will no longer effect the eyes. If you
would like you can use the rename button to
name your SubTools.
Eyelids
To start sculpting the lids we will create
bump where the eyes will go. Hide the eyes
with the solo button or click on the little
eye on the SubTool palette next to the eye
SubTool. Hold CTRL and draw a circle mask
about the size of the where the eyes will stick
out. CTRL tap on the mask to smooth out
the mask. Invert the mask and use the in-
flate brush to make a bulge. The mesh might
inflate into itself as you do this, so use the
smooth brush to clean it up. DynaMesh the
model. Hold CTRL and draw out a mask in
the shape of an eye. CTRL tap on the canvas
to invert the mask. Use the Move brush to
push a hole back into the head. If you hold
down ALT while you use the move brush it
will move perpendicularly to the surface of
the model. You don’t need
to push it in really deep just
to give enough room to
sculpt the lids and not pro-
trude in front of the eye.
Select the DamStandard
brush. This brush is useful
for creating harder edges on a model. We
will go around the edge of the lids to help
define where they will go. I will do this sev-
eral time to help build up the form. After
making a pass I will DynaMesh the model
to give me a good mesh to sculpt on and
smooth as needed. Also sculpt a slight crease
above the eye. Use the Move Brush to help
shape the eye. Pull the inner corner slight-
ly in. Look at the model from the side and
shape the side of the eye. It will look like a
wedge shape. From the front move the mesh
around into an eye shape. Resize your brush
as you are working to help get the right
shape. To help define the edges better open
the Geometry palette and push the Clay-
Polish button. This will emphasize and hard
edges and smooth out the model. Using this
button masks the edges so CTRL drag off the
model to clear the mask. To be able to start
holding more detail with the mesh we need
to increase the resolution of the DynaMesh.
In the Geometry palette move the resolu-
tion slider in DynaMesh submenu to about
150. Select the DamStandard brush and over
the Lids again. To help the model hold the
crisp edges you can turn on the Polish but-
ton in the DynaMesh menu. Now every time
you DynaMesh the model it will polish those
strong edges.
Move your view to look from underneath the
model. Select the move tool and move the
lids to match the shape of the eyeball. Do the
same thing looking down from the top.
Use the DamStandard brush to make a slight
crease above the eye. With the same Brush
define the brow ridge. Finally DynaMesh
again to finish up the eye. Inspect the eye
lids again to make sure they follow the shape
of the eyeball and use the Move brush as
needed.
Nose and Ears
Nose
I will now go over sculpting the nose and the
ear. We will start by shaping the profile of the
nose from the side. Select the move brush
and pull the nose to the correct shape. It is
helpful to find reference. To create the wings
of the nose hold down CTRL and mask out a
small circle on the side of the nose. CTRL tap
inside the middle of the mask to soften it.
CTRL click on the canvas to invert the mask.
With the inflate brush give some volume to
the sides of the nose.
With the DamStandard brush will define end
edge of the wing and define the nasolabial
fold. Sculpt a line behind the wing of the
nose. starting at the top of the wing sculpt
a line the goes down the face at an angle.
Check yourself in a mirror to see how this
line interacts with your mouth. This is the
nasolabial fold or smile line. Go over this
line a few times to define it. You have to be
really careful to really smooth this out for
young characters or they will look old.
Next we will define the nostrils. mask out
a small circle where the nostril will go and
then Invert the mask. Use the inflate brush
to make the nostril (remember to hold down
ALT to make the brush push in). DynaMesh
the model and smooth out the nostrils. Use
the Move brush to shape the nose. Look it
from the side as well as the front.
Ear
We will now start sculpting the ear. The ear is
composed of Three major parts and a couple
of details. we will need a little more detail for
this mesh so turn up the slider on the Dy-
naMesh resolution up to about 200. we will
start sculpting the helix. Hold down CTRL to
mask out where the helix will go, then CTRL
tap on the masked area to soften it. Use the
move brush to pull the helix out from the
be. Invert the mask and use the move and
base of the ear. use DynaMesh and smooth
inflate brush to create the ear lobule. Use
out the area. Use the move Brush to shape
DynaMesh and smooth the ear. use the Dam-
the ear as needed. Use the inflate brush to
Standard brush to define the edge of the
give some volume to the helix. Smooth out
helix. Mask out a small circle where the ear
the ear and DynaMesh it.
hole will go, Invert the mask and use the in-
Mask out a small area where the lobule will
flate brush to push in a hole. DynaMesh the
model and smooth it. With the DamStandard
brush define the front of the ear and also the
edge of the helix. Hold down CTRL and mask
out the area where the helix curves over.
Soften and invert the mask. With the inflate
brush hold down alt and create the edge of
the helix. This will define the part of the helix
that curls under. DynaMesh the model then
smooth out the middle of the inner part of
the ear.
Mask out the area where the antihelix will
go. Use the inflate brush to give the antihe-
lix some volume. DynaMesh the model and
smooth slightly. Use the inflate brush to
create a small notch at the top of the antihe-
lix. Use the move brush to pull out the tra-
gus and antitragus. This is the little flap that
covers part of the ear hole. DynaMesh the
model. Use the move brush to continue to
shape the ear and the Dam standard brush
to refine details. Zoom back from your model
and check the size of the ear. If it needs re-
sizing Use the Move brush to shape it.
Mouth
Teeth
To help sculpt the lips in the proper place we
will create some simple teeth to help guide
us. They will be a horse shoe shape creat-
ed with some ZBrush primitives. In the Tool
menu click on the big icon that looks like
your model. This will open the 3d meshes
menu. Click on the Cylinder3D object, This
will change our active model to this cylinder.
In the initialize palette pull up the inter radius
slider until it looks like a tube. At the top of
the Tools palette push the Make Polymesh3D
button to turn it into a mesh we can modi-
fy. We will use the Move Tool to squish the
cylinder. Push W on the keyboard to activate
the Move tool. Notice how the move icon
has turned orange at the top of the screen.
You can also access the Move, Rotate and
Scale tools with these buttons. Draw out a
transpose line from the bottom of the model.
Click and pull down on the top orange circle
to squish the cylinder. We will use a selec-
tion to isolate the back of the tube to delete
the back part. from the top view hold down
both CTRL and SHIFT and start to drag out
a selection square. If you then hold down
ALT it will change the box red and will hide
the part of the mesh in the selection. Hide
the back part of the tube so it looks like a
horseshoe. In the Geometry palette open the
modify topology subpallete and push the de-
lete hidden button. The Hidden geometry is
now gone. Using the Move tool we will now
duplicate this to make the lower teeth. Push
W and draw out a line from the teeth. Hold
down CTRL and click and drag on the middle
orange circle. As you drag down it will du-
plicate the object. From the side of the teeth
draw out another Transpose line and use the
middle circle to pull the lower teeth back just
slightly.
To insert this set of teeth into our base mesh
select your character from the icons in the
Tool Palette. In the SubTool palette select
the Insert button. This will bring up the 3D
Meshes menu. Select your teeth from the
icons shown. This will add the teeth to our
list of objects. When inserted the teeth will
be too large. Select the scale tool by press-
ing E. Draw out a line from the center of the
teeth. Make sure mirroring is on (X) Click
on the last orange circle on the line and pull
it inward. Do this until the teeth are the cor-
rect size. Use the Move and Rotate Tools to
put the teeth into their proper place. Acti-
vate the Rotate Tool by pushing R. Draw out
a line and use the end orange circle to rotate
the teeth. W will active the move tool, Draw
out a transpose line and use the middle circle
to move the teeth.
Lips
sculpting the lips. Use the move brush to pull
the lips out in front of the teeth. If you hold
down ALT while using the move brush it will
pull the mesh out. We will define the edges
of the top and bottom lips with the Dam-
Standard brush. Sculpt the shape of the up-
per lip, create the small dip in the middle and
decrease the lip width as you approach the
corner. For the lower lip start in the middle
and bring the edge to the mouth corner. Use
the inflate brush to give the upper and low-
er lips volume. Use the Move brush to help
shape the lips. Go to the Geometry Palette
and in the DynaMesh submenu turn Polish
on. DynaMesh the model and this will clean
up those edges. Look at the model from the
side. Use the move Bush to shape the profile.
Move the chin and lips as needed. Select need to move the mesh or smooth things
the Inflate brush and increase the brush size out. Use the DamStandard brush to go over
Then carefully give the lips more volume. re- any edges you feel need cleaning up. In my
fine the edges of the lips with the DamStan- example I needed to revisit the corners of the
dard brush, some of the crispness could have nose the and the ears needed some work to
been lost while inflating the lips. With the bring the detail back. I also refined the edge
same brush define the top of the chin and of the eye lids.
the smooth brush to soften the edge. Use To finish things up I will use the DamStan-
DynaMesh (with the polish still on) to crisp dard brush to define the jaw line where it
up those edges. Use the DamStandard brush meets the ear.
to define the corner of the mouth where the A couple other details you can add are some
top lip overlaps the bottom lip slightly. Then
use the inflate brush to give a little more vol-
ume to the corners and the cheeks as well.
Refine the Details
The major features have been defined and
we just need to revisit each part to face to
clean things up.
This is where we start detailing. We will no
longer DynaMesh the model so in the Dy-
naMesh submenu click on the button to turn
it off. At the top of the Geometry menu push
the divide button a couple of times. this will
allow the model to hold a lot of detail. You
can always lower the subdivision level if you
of the muscles in the neck and collarbone.
mask out the area and use inflate to add vol-
ume. These details will be subtle so don’t
overdo it. You will need to lower the subdi-
vision levels to smooth it easily. Zoom out
from your model and look it over. make any
tweaks as needed. For one final detail I will
add a little dip in the corner of the eye. This
completes the sculpting for the head.
Hair
For the hair we will insert a sphere as a base
to sculpt from. In the Sub tool palette push
the insert button and select the Sphere3D.
This will put the sphere in our SubTool list.
Select the new sphere and make sure mir-
roring is on by pushing X on the keyboard.
Use the move brush to define the major hair
shape. Turn on DynaMesh for the sphere in
the Geometry/DynaMesh submenu. Con-
tinue to pull the hair to shape it. Remem-
ber holding ALT and using the move brush
will push the surface in and out. This is really
helpful when defining the front of the hair.
If you need more volume in the hair use the
inflate brush. As you pull the hair around
continue to DynaMesh and smooth as need-
ed to keep things clean.
Use the DamStandard brush to define the
part. Because this is an symmetrical style
I will now turn off mirroring (X) . Using the
move brush I will pull the hair to the side
keeping in mind where I want to place the
part. Continue moving the hair around and
shape the front of the hair be sure to look
at the sides and pull the hair back if needed.
Use the DamStandard brush to start to de-
fine the shapes. With it default setting the
brush will cut a crease and holding ALT will
help you to define an edge. I will use the
ALT version to give an edge to front of the
hair. Next I will go around the head and de-
fine the clumps. starting from the part pull
a line down following the forms of the mesh.
Rotate your model for the best possible
view. Think about how the hair would flow
down from the head. When you have gone
around defining the major clumps DynaMesh
the model. To help add weight to the hair
select the move tool. and pull the hair into
shape. Think about how gravity effects the
hair. You can use clay polish or turn polish on
DynaMesh to help keep the edges. work your
way around the model pulling the curves.
using this method often yields better results
than trying to sculpt it. Use the DamStan-
dard brush to emphasize edges. and con-
tinue shaping the hair
with the move brush. To
help give the hair more
structure and remove
some of the blobby look
we will use the TrimDy-
namic brush. Select the
Trim Dynamic brush and
move down the length
of the hair knocking down high points. work
your way around the hair. DynaMesh the
model with polish on. Looks around the
model and use the move brush to refine the
shapes and curves. redefine the part with
the DamStandard brush until you just see the
head though the hair.
Clothing
select your character model. Use the inflate
brush to add a little volume to the chest.
Push the solo button so that just the main
mesh is showing. Hold down CTRL and use
the masking brush to draw where the cloth-
ing will go. If you hold down CTRL and ATL
at the same time it will erase the mask. Con-
tinue to refine the mask. In the SubTool pal-
ette open the extract submenu. Pushing use the Fill object button. The up and down and pick a color for the and paint the edge of the eye lids moving
the extract button will give you a preview of arrow keys will move you up and down the lips. Paint a large area outward and upward towards the edge. to
the extracted mesh. The default settings will SubTool list. over the lips this way smooth out any painting you do you need
work fine for this example. Push the Accept you won’t have to paint to turn off the sculpting properties on the
button the extract button and this will create To get a good painting result you will need in those tight spaces. smooth brush. while holding down SHIFT
a clothing SubTool. to subdivide your meshes. Push the divide Use the C button on the Click on the Add button. Now when you
button in the geometry menu. You want the keyboard to activate the smooth it won’t affect your model.
color picker. select the flesh color from the Using masking also works for painting. Hold
model. use S to resize your brush and draw down CTRL and draw an eyebrow shape
Polypaint around the lips with this flesh color. to tone above the eye. Use C to select the color of
We are going to cover adding color and ma-
the lips like the skin. reduce the RGB intensi- the hair. Invert the mask and paint the eye-
terials to your character. ZBrush uses a sys-
ty to around 20 and use the fill object button brows over the unmasked area. Use the
tem called polypaint that allows us to paint
a couple of time to get the colors to match smooth brush to soften the edge of the eye-
directly on the model. From the material
better. brow.
palette select the SkinShade4 material. since
we have not filled any objects with the ma-
Next we will paint the eyes. Select the eye
terial this will show up on all of them. This
tool in the Sub tool Palette. Hold down CTRL
material will allow is to see the colors more
and draw a circle where the iris will go. CTRL
clearly as we paint. To start adding color the
Next I will add blushing to the cheeks nose tap on the canvas to invert the mask. Select
models we fill each one with a solid color.
and ear. Use the color picker to select the lip black and paint the entire iris black. Select a
Click on the colored square below the color
color and draw over the cheeks nose and dark blue and paint the middle of the iris be-
picker, it will pop up with a larger version of
ear. The reduced color intensity will keep this ing careful to leave some black on the edge.
the color picker. We will start with the body.
objects to look smooth but don’t overdo it. subtle. also add just a little bit to the fore- Select a slightly lighter blue and paint to-
Pick a skin color and use the Fill Object but-
A couple of subdivisions is usually enough. head. Select a light purple color and paint a wards the bottom. for the Pupil select black
ton below the colors to fill the entire object
subtle coolness around the eyes. and make a circle in the center of the iris. For
with that single color. Move down the list of
Select the paint Brush in the bottom menu For the eyelashes select a very dark color a slight highlight select a lighter blue and
SubTools picking an appropriate color and
paint a little bit just towards the bottom. Us-
ing a blue color I will add just a hint of make-
up to the skin. Select the Face tool and paint
just a little blue above the eyes. Keep it sub-
tle.
To create a warmer look to your charter we
can use lighting to fake sub surface scatter-
ing. This will mimic how light travels though
translucent skin. open the light palette on
click on the light bulb below the one that is
activated. This will turn the light on select the
light. Click the button again to make it the
selected light. There will be a white border
around the one you have selected. Click on
the white square below the sphere and pick a
reddish color. notice how the addition of this
light helps with the skin
tone of the character.
Now I will show you how
you can modify your
paint bush to paint some
freckles. With the paint
brush selected click on the
stroke menu- It is the one
below the brush icon on
the left. from this menu
select the DragRectangle
option. Bellow that click
on the alpha menu and
select alpha7 it is the one
that has the soft dots. Se-
lect a dark orange color.
Then click and drag to pull out the dots. For
this we don’t want symmetry to turn that
off with X on the keyboard. Continue to add
freckles to your model change the color to
add variation. Selecting a lighter color helps
to create a nice skin texture.
To help integrate the hair and the skin paint
some of the hair color next to the ear. First
we will need to change our brush back to
normal. In the stroke menu select dots, and
in the alpha menu pick Alpha Off.
Paint some of the hair color next to the ears.
Remember to turn mirroring back on with (X)
To make the eye look shiny we will change
the eye material. Select the ToyPlastic mate-
rial from the material menu. On the top list
of icons click the M button. Make sure the
eye SubTool is selected. now use the Fill Ob-
ject to fill the eyes with this material. Select
the Face tool and fill that tool with the skin
shade 4 material.
Now will add some additional color
to the hair. Select the hair tool and
use the solo button to hide every-
thing else. Select a slightly darker color of
the hair. Paint the underside of the hair and
the roots this color. Select a lighter color and
paint a highlight that goes across the forms
of the hair. also highlight the tips of the hair.
continue to detail the hair as you like.
To finish up the painting we will add a cou-
ple of details. Select the lip color and select
a lighter shade. Use that color to paint the
top part of the lower lip. Select white, turn
off mirroring and add a little highlight to the
bottom lip. I also will add a subtle highlight
to the tip of the nose.
I will change the material of the hair to Soft-
Plastic. Select the M material button on the
top bar. and the Soft plastic material from the
material menu. Use the fill object button to
fill the hair with this material.
This material did darken my hair color so
I will select a light shade of red and fill my
model. The RGB intensity has been lowered
to about 25% also make sure you turn Rbg
back on the menu bar at the top.
 your render again by using the BPR button. set it for 32 rays. The higher the number of
It is pretty common while working in 3D to rays the longer the render will take. Push
Rendering test your render many times as you adjust the BRP button for the final render. When it
I will go over some of the set-
the settings. is finished click on the document menu and
tings to help you get nice ren-
push the Export button. This will allow is to
ders out of ZBrush Core. When
In ZBrush Core the shadow position is cal- save the rendered image.
you push the BPR button ZBrush
culated by the position of the light in the
Core will calculate the shadows
top left corner. Notice how the shadows I hope you have enjoyed going through my
and lighting to give you a final render. BPR
change as you move this light position on process of sculpting and painting a character.
stands for best preview render. To help get a
the sphere. I want to point out that MatCap Happy ZBrushing.
nice render I will dock the Render and Light-
materials will not be affected by moving the
ing palettes to the side so I will have access
lights. To get the benefits of light position
to all the settings I need when rendering.
you will need to use Standard Materials on
You can dock the palettes by clicking on the
your models.
menu item at the top of the screen then click
on the little circle with an arrow in it.
To change the color of the background Open
the Document menu at the top of the screen.
Click on the BPR button to render the image.
Click and hold on the back button and this
An orange progress bar will move across the
will bring up a pick icon. It is a good idea to
top as it renders. Notice how the shadows
pick a color with the color square before you
are dark and crisp. For this render I want to
push the back button so you will have a color
make the shadows softer and a lighter. In
to pick from on the screen.
the render menu move down the Gstrength
slider to lighten the shadow. I will move it
For our final render we will increase the num-
down to about .5. To soften the edge of the
ber of shadow rays in the render palette.
shadow I need to increase the shadow angle.
This will improve the shadow quality. I will
Move the Angle slider to about 25. Check