zBrush?

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Kon

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hey, i just saw a program called zBrush..
what are your thoughts on it..
would this be a possible option to use towards modeling for half-life 2?..
 
ZBrush is a great little app, but the mesh is gonna need heavy heavy optimisation and cleanup work before you could even hope to use it in realtime. It's only real use would be to create the high poly/detail versions of models to bake the required maps and put them onto low poly models built elsewhere. ZBrush really isn't geared toward low poly work, its a sculpting tool. And even if you got its results down to realtime managable poly counts, you'd still have to work hard to get those polygons in the right places so the animation works correctly. In the end its easier to simply build a low poly version and use ZBrush for the high detail baking models
 
zbrush 2 was just released and now natively supports displacement and normal baking

here's some examples

Dave%27s-rhino.jpg




normalmaps.jpg
pixolator5.gif
 
Shinobie's piccies basically confirm what I just said, and look purdy too :)
 
Zbrush looks like fun, can't hurt to try the demo and mess about with it.
 
Another tool: "orb" does normal mapping of finished models, and is free. Again, you've got to provide the models for it, it's not a creation tool.
 
Fenric said:
Shinobie's piccies basically confirm what I just said, and look purdy too :)
Click to expand...


hehehe those models are drop dead gourgeous, I must have waste like 3 hours on the zbrush sites gallery :D
 
memories...I used this baby yonks ago, because of the ease of use. Trouble is I couldnt seem to export my piece into other formats ;(, maybe it was the demo version bein ghey I dunno.

Does zbrush 2 export to...lets say, .3ds ?
 
simmo said:
memories...I used this baby yonks ago, because of the ease of use. Trouble is I couldnt seem to export my piece into other formats ;(, maybe it was the demo version bein ghey I dunno.

Does zbrush 2 export to...lets say, .3ds ?
Click to expand...
ZBrush exports nicely, but the demo doesn't, so you need to buy it. Worth buying though if you plan on doing your Source models the proper way (high detail models baked onto low poly versions)
 
Wow, zspheres are really impressive, I'm sure you could use them to create mid poly models for games, I'm not sure how hard it would be to rig the meshes for animation though.
 
mrchimp said:
Wow, zspheres are really impressive, I'm sure you could use them to create mid poly models for games, I'm not sure how hard it would be to rig the meshes for animation though.
Click to expand...
Well the meshes would need optimising. And by the end of it, it would be easier to just model a low poly cage around the high poly model created in ZBrush.
 
Shinobi said:
anyone know if it has stylus support?
Click to expand...
yeah it does, but its a bit strange for me, stroke is fine for a bit then goes to full opacity/zdepth. But you can edit that in v2 and set things up to work better for you.
 
its a great tool if u master it, but hard to control the amount of polys u make, almost any model can get incredile proportions on polys, if u want to get into details
 
well the way I'd visualize making it is to make the model (say a character), bring it into zbrush,, sex it up :D and then just bake information onto the low poly model,, is that feasible?
 
Shinobi said:
well the way I'd visualize making it is to make the model (say a character), bring it into zbrush,, sex it up :D and then just bake information onto the low poly model,, is that feasible?
Click to expand...

Fenric said:
In the end its easier to simply build a low poly version and use ZBrush for the high detail baking models
Click to expand...

Fenric knows all :O
 
qckbeam said:
Fenric knows all :O
Click to expand...

yep.

btw, one of modellers in 1 of the mod teams I'm at works with zBrush, he just got 2.0 and it seems like he's having fun with it, his models are the l33t in the team.

So I guess it's a pretty good tool.
 
crap,, there's no demo yet...

I'll have to harass the admins at my school to get maybe one copy..


it's buying time and we just got new styluses :D
 
Shinobi said:
crap,, there's no demo yet...

I'll have to harass the admins at my school to get maybe one copy..


it's buying time and we just got new styluses :D
Click to expand...
There is a demo, I'm sure of it. Full version only timelimited, if it was like 1.55 anyways
 
Aye, 1.55b , downloaded it the other night and a vtm from 3dbuzz (can only download the first vid though :( ). Looks like this program could be fun :)
 
yeah I found the 1.55 demo,, downloading it now,, I was hoping for 2 since it has normal baking implemented,, but I should be thankful if it lets me save my work
 
Not to drag up old threads, but FYI one of the Valve office photos the belgians took shows zBrush being used to make the hi-poly headcrab model.
 
dscowboy said:
Not to drag up old threads, but FYI one of the Valve office photos the belgians took shows zBrush being used to make the hi-poly headcrab model.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know, I spotted it, pretty cool eh?
 
Uhg. No need to drop 500 bucks on an extra piece of software to add to your pipeline, every 3d package that I have used has the same type of sculpting tools available, either as a native feature in the program or as a free downloadable script.

People see the end result piccies and flip out and think the program is so cool, the same result can be whipped up in max with no less work or loss in quality. In the end the tool doesn't matter one bit. it is wholly insignificant. No paintbrush can make you paint like rembrandt, artistry comes from the soul not the tool.

Zbrush is a nice app, but it is not necessary and it isn't very flexible. Your better off with a capable and proven app like max.
 
SheepFactory said:
Uhg. No need to drop 500 bucks on an extra piece of software to add to your pipeline, every 3d package that I have used has the same type of sculpting tools available, either as a native feature in the program or as a free downloadable script.

People see the end result piccies and flip out and think the program is so cool, the same result can be whipped up in max with no less work or loss in quality. In the end the tool doesn't matter one bit. it is wholly insignificant. No paintbrush can make you paint like rembrandt, artistry comes from the soul not the tool.

Zbrush is a nice app, but it is not necessary and it isn't very flexible. Your better off with a capable and proven app like max.
Click to expand...
meh its got nothing to do with end result piccies or where art comes from. The original poster was asking about ZBrush before anyone even knew Valve use the same program.

I had ZBrush before, pretty much after it first came out, I've reviewed both ZBrush 1.55 and ZBrush2 and have that one now too. I use and have used Lightwave, Softimage, Maya and Houdini for years in my career. I have on occassion been forced to use Max.

While yes, Maya does have Artisan, ZBrush is geared just for sculpt modeling. It can also handle far more polygons in realtime than the other apps can. This is not info just from a pic, its from years of using these programs.

ZBrush2 is very flexible once you get used to the UI, which for newbies is confusing as hell, its not like other apps, its not even a full 3D app so comparing it to MAX is a bit unfair wouldn't you say. It's a 2.5D app which happens to be very good at organic models. I could do what your doing and complain that Max doesn't have the painting features ZBrush has, but that wouldn't be fair now, would it.

And yeah in the words of Bill Lumbergh, I'm gonna have to go and ask you to prove your claim that you can knock up the same results as a ZBrush model.

antropus1.jpg


and I'll include some WIP shots to get you started http://209.132.69.82/zbrush/zbrush2/GalleryPages/antropus1.htm
 
Brian Damage said:
That's
A
MODEL??
Click to expand...
Yep. So people shouldn't use ZBrush2 just cause Valve did, they should cause it can do organic modeling for a third of the price a top of the line app can do.
 
I wish there were more hours in the day... then I'd be able to get a bloomin' job...

Did you notice that that sheep dude was EvilEwok, by the way?
 
Brian Damage said:
I wish there were more hours in the day... then I'd be able to get a bloomin' job...

Did you notice that that sheep dude was EvilEwok, by the way?
Click to expand...
Brian, talk to Pixolator, he's a really friendly (and bloody talented) guy, he might be able to work out some deal with you. ZBrush2 really is worth it. It's weird to learn at first but its fun.
-

And yeah, recognised him. Shame he had to leave like that hehe ;)
 
Shame indeed...

Who's Pixolator? Member of these forums?

Hmmmm... is there an academic version of this program available?
 
Currently trying to get a star in 3DBuzz so I can download more zbrush vtms. I really want to learn this program, looks like it is fun once you know how to use it.
 
Oh, right. Maybe I'll get up the courage to try and have a talk with him...

Woah, that's some neat stuff in that gallery...
 
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