After looking at all the fantastic Zbrush and Mudbox models, I've come to the conclusion that I need one of those. And though I know that you can't tell me which is best for me, I would like to know which one you prefere and why, especially if you have experiences with both.

I know more zBrush users, (and only one mudbox user) but most of them couldn't tell me why it's better...... I think they just used it first and it's stuck!

ZBrush does posing.  I don't know if Mudbox does.

No, Mudbox won't do rigging but it does have translation tools (move, rotate and such)...at least not version 1.0.  There's talk of an update to it though.  Here's the thing:

If you've never had any experience with digital sculpting tools (Silo, Blender, ZBrush, Mudbox) but you have modeling experience, you'd probably be comfortable with Mudbox's interface. It's way easy to jump into Mudbox and make something because of how the interface works.

If you have had experience with digital sculpting tools, than it gets a bit tricky. ZBrush3 can offer quite the advantage, since you get a program that can be used to texture your model as well as simply be used to sculpt it.  ZBrush3 does have a psuedo rig system that relies of ZSpheres but to be honest, I don't care for it much. So ZBrush has a bit of an advantage if you have prior experience, as the learning curve in that scenario would be minimal and centered more on the texturing side of things.

Both programs allow for hyper detail well into the tens of millions of polys, with ZBrush3 claiming to allow up to a billion (though if you really need that many I pity you).

So try out both. There's no demo of ZBrush 3 (this may change during or after Siggraph) but there is one of Mudbox.  YOu can get a demo of and old ZBrush but things have changed a little in ZBrush 3, enough so that the demo of ZBrush wouldn't help.

Mudbox comes in two flavors (ie. prices) : Commercial and Non-commercial, while Zbrush comes only in Commercial.  So check them out. Go visit the forums for both and get a feel for what people complain about each and what people like about each. This may also help you to decide.

I wanted Mudbox but needed to get one of the two programs as soon as possible, so I purchased ZBrush since the commercial version was cheaper.  I think Mudbox is on sale at the moment (or maybe that was a special one week thing last week)  15$% off or some such thing.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the replys. A friend of mine works with Zbrush and I visited his computer, erm I mean him, that weekend to have a try, and I have to say the UI is somewhat annoying. Especially the navigation in that pseudo-3D-space. I think I'll try the Mudbox demo this week and then decide.

After trying Mudbox I'm still uncertain which to choose. Mudbox has the nicer UI but seems to be slower. Does anyone of you know, if there is a possibility (plugin, script...) to use my SpaceNavigator in Zbrush and/or Mudbox? That could make the difference.

Don't know. Pixologic is still working on add-on scripts for ZBrush3 (many of the ZBrush 2 scripts won't work).  I've no clue about Skymatter's plans for Mudbox and the device.   

If it makes ya feel anybetter, we recently added support for it in Poser though. :)  Not quite the same kind of app I guess, huh?   Doesn't the SPace Navigator site list what apps are currently compatible or is that not the case?

Neither Zbrush nor Mudbox are listed, but I thought there may be a unofficial script or plugin. I googled it with no results, but I still hoped... So far I like Zbrush more, but the navigation drives me crazy.

Welcome to my world. That's how I felt about ZBrush 2. ZBrush 3 has a slightly improved navigation system (slightly), which makes it more tolerable to work with.  I don't know if they have a Z3 demo or if it's Z2 you tried but if it was Z2, things did get a little better.

Here's the thing...

If you don't think you'll need to sculpt into the 10's of millions of polygons then both Mudbox and ZBrush may be a bit of overkill.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of them but I am trying to provide alternatives at the lower end of things:

Hexagon, Silo, Blender

These three apps all have displacement painting. With the exception of Blender, the interfaces in them are very easy to jump into. Silo, Hexagon and Blender will allow you to sculpt ino the millions of polys (about 2 million is the max for them I think).  They all fall in the $150 or less range (Blender's Free).  They all do more than just sculpting.

So, that's something to consider to those out there that may not need all the bells and whistles and who are also concerned with price.

Blender's sculpting is pretty cool, but the blender UI took some getting used to when I first switched, more then anything I like the price.....

Autodesk just inhaled Skymatter - makers of Mudbox.

I am betting a more direct link/compatibitlity with 3D Max and Maya with Mudbox.

ZBrush 3 is cool on its own right, however.

There is a 7 day demo of zbrush3... Pixollogic was giving away mini CD's with them at SigGraph

Cool, so the demo is ready finally?  7 Days though? that's hardly time enough to try it out.

I tell you I waffled with ZBrush and even sold it for a week, but I came back. 

Mudbox 1 is just extremely clunky and outdated compared to ZBrush 3. I sure hope the guys at Skymatter get their act together. I contacted them and they said they cannot release any information about Mudbox 2 for at least 3 months. Maybe with the Monopolistic Autodesk behind them, things will change - and get A LOT more expensive ;)

In Zbrush 3, I can spin and zoom around a 5 million poly figure without any slow down. With Mudbox 1, when I get to about 500,000 it grinds to a halt, chugging and puffing.

I have a QuadCore with 4 GB of RAM.

I also find that the stamping/stenciling tools in ZBrush 3 are far superior to what is currently in Mudbox 1.

Anyways, I wandered from the flock and am now back. ZBrush is superior (and cheaper) at this time, no question.

Just my 2 cents (from alot of painful learning).

Cheers!