Just occurred to me as I was browsing the Spectacular competition entries, one guys alien is looking really good: organic with loads of detail and it looks exactly like his concept sketch. All these things were difficult to achieve, fraught with complications and obsticals thrown in by 3dsmax. I spent 3 years at University and many late nights , as did everyone else on my course, fighting with it. A year ago, I watched a Zbrush demo where they created an alien creature very simply, but effectively, adn it seems alot of people have taken a kinda âshort-cutâ into the 3d world. A bit annoying, but thigns change donât they! I remember seeing a Tomorrowâs World type program where they were using a glove with sensors all over it to manipulate a lump of clay on a computer screen. I remember thinking thatâs the way art should be created.
I might as well forget 3dsmax for all its complicated faculties and actually enjoy creating art and use Zbrush.
Learnt 3dsmax and then Zbrush comes along..
Its not actually âcheating,â remember programs today dont focus on what i think you believe is the âtrue-to-faith art.â Keep in mind that most programs today focus more on speed and production more than anything else(whatever that may be.)
I donât see how ZBrush is cheating, itâs just better suited for organic modelling than traditional 3d apps. Itâs nothing but a tool, and a great tool at that.
ZBrush and MAX are completely different programs designed to do different things (though there is a bit of overlap simply because they both deal in 3D). If you pay attention to most ZBrush work you will find that the images beginnings were usually in some other 3D app and then imported into ZBrush for detailing and painting. ZBrush, while great at making details, is not very good at basic modeling. And, while a great application, it has other drawbacks as well. It was good that you learned MAX. Even if you get ZBrush and learn the application you will need MAX (or some other 3D app).
i would like to add something here, you might have spent a lot of time learning, perhaps so did i and also other good artists too did that, the thing i know is that these are all tools. Perhaps some time when the drill wasnt invented, a carpenter might have taken lot of time making a whole in the wall or wood, but when the drill came in, it just made his work fasterâŚso these are just tools âŚthe faster the better i guessâŚ
but the time u spent remember it never was wasted.
As someone who is still in the process of learning Zbrush after switching from Maya, I can testify that itâs not âeasyâ it has a challenging learning curve like most any other software. To me and many others Zbrush is closer to real-life sculpting so itâs far more enjoyable for my right-brain than working in a typical 3D program. It still takes me hours to produce something but the technical ânoiseâ has been reduced so that more of my own creativity can flow into the process - not at all cheating.
I think the mark of good programs used for creating artistic product, is providing tools that close the gap between the technical and creative aspects of working.
Smaller gap = more time and energy freed up for the artistic process.
well lets put it this way sure zbrush is a great tool âŚawesome for organic modellingâŚbut max is bettr for anything that aint organicâŚz brush u can use to make cool texturesâŚbut canyou properly unwrap a model and allow your self an infinite freedom of editing textures and model topologyâŚas is both programs have their advantages and flawsâŚand till we all have our lil sets of virtuglovesâŚwell just be combining the programs
Many people seem to get the idea that Zbrush is only good at details. Watch Zack Petrocâs DVD and youâll see the Zbrush is just as good or even better at blocking in the initial forms.
I saw one really great mechanical model done in zb but I donât suppose you can animate in it. zb is a great in combo with other 3d packages. I find zb steep to get a handle on too and I am a long way from forgetting my beloved Max.
I love those promo vids,⌠boing plonk, check it out!
Anyone know a site with absolute beginnerâs exercises for zbrush 2?
This thread got me curious to try it out 
Go to the Pixologic webby and look for a pdf called âpractical guideâ, that should be plenty to get you started. I think you need to register but itâs free.
http://pixologic.com/home/home.shtml
-Steve
Be very carefull,⌠z-brush is addictive. Look forward to late nights of bliss (oh and the usual cussing, but where would we be without the cussing?).
i think it would be best to use zbrush in combonation with other programs. like get the shape of armor in max and import to zbrush to paint all the scratches on.
with the introduction of normal mapping and light maps, zbrush in my oppinion is just another process to complete before working in max. in factâŚif anything is becoming redundant, its photoshop.
gasp!
I must say- I admire the âOut-of-the-boxâ thinking that it took to make Zbrush. Its a completely different 3D application program from so many others.
Im a 3dmax user myself, and i thought that id give zbrush a dabble just to broaden my horizons.
let me say: not a freaken clue.
Its a completely different type of software. its architectured to create objects in a fundamentally different way, so there really isnt much point putting them side by side, unless they are side by side in a pipeline.
just as long as the software lets you create, instead of it being simply âplug and playâ, ill be happy. i dont want my job to be classified as data entry.
(reply to the original post)
If you know Max, you are in a very, very good place. Max is like a buffet table with lots of everything.
If all you knew was Zbrush, you would be in a very, very difficult / limited situation. Zbrush is like an empty table centered by a really nice cake. Just because it can detail your Max models and make things look bumpy, doesnât mean it can replace a ârealâ 3d app by a long shot.
Try to imagine if Zbrush was the only app you knew how to use,⌠if I were you, I would still be very very grateful to know Max. Itâs something the artist in me cannot live without. I can realistically only use Zbrush for normal-mapping and polishing a character before rendering.
âŚbut if all you ever do is make Zbrush character renders (which is highly unlikely if youâre a professional) then you could live with just Zbrush, I suppose⌠and photoshop.
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