I'm checking out the Z-Brush demo. Has anyone tried it? Any comments concerning the learning curve? I don't know if it's just me...the UI seems a bit foreign. I'm experimenting & reading the PDF D/L. Thanks for any input. ICM

Havent tried it, but was planning to do so. Already downloaded the demo. Have you seen their angler fish demo?

Not yet, but I'll make a point of it.

The angler fish demo had me bouncing off the freaking walls. THEN...I got to see the fish demo, live at Siggraph. This guy, totally bored that he has to create this fish like 10 times a day for an audience, just spewing out 3D coolness like it was nothing. (and to him it was). It is an amazing program, and I will most likely be using it in the next few months. ;o) AgentSmith

Cool, I'm half way through it. (drooling) ;)

No one can blame the guy. Just imagine to have to model the same thing over and over and over and... :) And the good thing is, that the app is not even that expensive.

True, well worth the capabilities.

Zbrush is one of those RARE apps, like Bryce, that is worth MUCH more than it's pricetag suggests. I have Zbrush 2, I got it mainly for creating displacement maps for rendering low-poly objects with HIGH detail. It's the best application for doing that, but I haven't even scratched the surface of it's possibilities yet. Some of the characters people are making with it are just MIND BLOWING, better than some stuff I see coming from Maya, that's for sure.

It's interface is like a combination of a 2D paint program like Photoshop, and a 3D app. Like Bryce, it does take some getting used to if you're used to more "traditional" interfaces.

Also, with Zbrush 2, you can model and animate figures using the Zsphere technology, which I'm finding even easier to master than traditional SubD modeling. The results can be saved for export to other 3D apps as either a low-poly "adaptive" mesh, or high poly "unified" skin mesh in .obj format. I seriously think the technology being developed in Zbrush is going to eventually change the way the entire industry creates characters and models. It's just that good and that unique.

Message edited on: 08/29/2004 09:51

I've had Zbrush 1.55b for the longest did a few things with it but just couldn't wrap my head around it so there it remains, idle on my desktop. I've seen some fantastic stuff done with it but to me it's just another learning curve. I keep telling myself that one day I'm going to bust into it. But first I need to learn this, then that and so on it goes.

Have continued using the demo for quite awhile, updating password every month.Unbelieveable program! Agree with maxxxmodelz completely. Not into the animation, yet, (PC can't handle it, for now) but the modeling, especially sculpting is extremely easy once interface is mastered. Just a poor boy trying to save enough money for it!

They should redefine some things, like the way the tools are used. As far as I tried, if you drop out of editing a model, it's done, no later additions. Although while you're there, it's incredible. And the learning curve for that part is quite shallow. (Of course, to get really cool stuff done, you need a lot of working, just like in Bryce.) Also, it would be nice if you could select just parts of a model for editing. For instance, with a Poser head, I'd like to edit just the eyelashes. (A fictitious example, of course. :-)) The layers have a few bugs. The rotation and movement is weird. They should change the way they render the pic or stress that you work like in a 2D program - you cannot work on a model and then incerase the resolution, cause you get a pixelated pic. Finally, pity you cannot export their excellent hair. Or (AFAIK) cavity render as a dirt map. BTW, Rod, I suppose you've seen the presentations on the site? Those models ... those incredible models ... whoooo.

"As far as I tried, if you drop out of editing a model, it's done, no later additions." Actually, in Zbrush 2 you CAN drop out of edit mode and go back to it again. I don't have time right now to explain how, but yes, it can be done. In fact, you can start on a low poly model, divide it multiple times to a much higher res, and add all kinds of fine details, then export that as a displacement map or normals map for use in another 3D application that supports normals mapping or sub-poly displacement mapping. THEN you can apply that to the low poly model, and it will look like a hi res model, but without all the polygons to slow down the render. Dig deeper into the tutorials and frequent the Pixelogic forum for more info on that. If you don't have Zbrush 2, then what I mentioned above is meaningless to you unfortunately. "Also, it would be nice if you could select just parts of a model for editing. For instance, with a Poser head, I'd like to edit just the eyelashes. (A fictitious example, of course. :-))" This is also possible, simply by masking out the portion of the model you want to work on exclusively, and changes to those parts won't affect the other parts. "Finally, pity you cannot export their excellent hair. Or (AFAIK) cavity render as a dirt map." The hair -no. But you can render a cavity you created as a displacement map, which is much better than a bump map but not all 3D software has displacement rendering.

Am I correct in reading that you can 'renew' the demo? Can you renew it indefinitely to learn the app?

Hmmm. Am I right that you mean placing another instance of the model as a tool and then working on it? What I meant was placing the model in the pic, working on something else and then simply reselecting the original model, just like I can do in Bryce, Cinema, Rhino, Poser, Mojoworld, Max and any other application that I tried. Yeah, Zhann, you can renew the demo indefinitely. http://pixologic.com/download/getpass_pc.html

COOL!!!!finally a time frame I can work in....:)

I hate the texture maps it makes! no way to work on it except in zbrush.And the camrea controls are bit stupid.Good for the price though.I still cant get good at using the gui, tried for months.To me its a mix of bryce simplicity,and highend modeling.Good if you have apps with displacement mapping and such, but ive seen the same stuff hand painted in photoshop and used on Max,Maya,C4D with the same results.Its worth it for the price,but if you do have cash c4d r9 looks simply amazing now,cloth dynamics,SSS,HDRI,advaced animation,n-gon modeling,ect for the slightly higher price. Modo looks to be cool too, for 100$.

Yeah, Zbrushes texture maps, although superior, do make it so you can't manipulate it on its own, say in a 2D editor, etc. But the ZBrush maps DO work on their meshes in Bryce, I have seen it. Now Bryce just needs to support normal & displacement maps! (which btw, was one of my suggestions to DAZ during Siggraph) AgentSmith

AS you told them to do normal&displacement maps! ThankYOUThankYOUThankYOUThankYOUThankYOUThankYOU! in advance,as daz must see you as a superior link to the community...lol

Oh, I told them empahtically, multiple times about normal and displacement maps! Spike (my Admin boss), also chimed in on that, saying they should support it. Especially with the excitement of ZBrush 2.0 going around. JUST from a landscape point of view, displacement mapping helps create even more realistic mountains and such. Bryce MUST have this! But, I will say this is something I can almost guarantee we wouldn't see until 6.0 But, don't worry, it is somethng I will ALWAYS be suggesting to DAZ! AgentSmith

TwistedBolt -- What is "Modo"?

Attached Link: http://www.luxology.com/

Thanks. I guess I don't understand the Modo for 100$ though. It looks like it is $695 intro price, going to $895.

Maybe TB was refering to a different Modo?

Funny thing, Modo looks terribly like ZBrush. Either they stole the colour scheme from Pixologic or there's something elese there.

opps.....sorry, I didnt mean modo,there is a similar app with a similar name for 100$ about.Shade,modo,there are just too many to keep track of.Sorry though, I try to find the real name.

I think you may be thinking of Silo.

Attached Link: Silo website

Bam! Silo was it.Thanks, bad memory on my part.