Sculpt Looks Lumpy or Mushy
Soft, noisy forms without clear planes
Also known as: Lumpy sculpt · Mushy sculpt · ZBrush sculpt looks soft · Sculpt lacks definition · Sculpt looks like clay blob · Sculpt too smooth
Quick answer
A sculpt looks lumpy or mushy when detail is added before the large forms and planes are clear. Go back to low subdivision, block the primary forms, then define the planes, the flat facets where one form turns into the next, and sharpen the edges between them before moving to smaller detail. Check the silhouette from several angles, avoid over-smoothing, and work at the resolution the form needs, not the highest one.
How to fix it
Use brushes that cut and flatten, such as hPolish, TrimDynamic and DamStandard, to define planes, and Clay Buildup to add volume, and use Smooth only to clean up. Step back and look at the whole model often, and compare it with a clean anatomy reference. Do not subdivide until the shapes are right, since high resolution makes it harder to change big forms.
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See also
Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Forms
Working from big shapes to small details
Essential ZBrush Brushes
The small set of brushes most sculptors use
DynaMesh
ZBrush dynamic re-meshing
SubTool
Separate mesh inside a ZBrush project
Clay Render
Model shown in plain matte gray
MatCap
Lit-sphere material that needs no lights