several people have posted a message about this program lately, and I wanted to post another.

I have been messing with the program's ability to paint directly onto a 3d model with a texture in z or a photo, or different photos...or whatever

You can actually pick the model up, rotate it around and paint right on it. This removes the problem with a lot of the front/back matching of mapping. This is really sweet. The attached images shows textures created in Z or edited by z.

I do have a couple gripes about it that they are getting back to me on, but on the whole..if you make models, or textures...you really should get this program. or at least check it out to see if you like it.

you get free upgrades..yep, buy once..never again. now thats kewl! Ive spent over 1000 bucks on upgrades for Bryce alone...

oh, heh..since phil did this last time he posted about the program.
the above testimonial was made of my own inclination. I received no compensation nor do I work for the company.

just plain and simple, this program kicks a$$

BT

that's neat...are there tutorials out there for it? :)

absolutely tons of them zbrush central is the main site. can you get help from a maker on sunday?..the maker himself? you can with Z. very schweet... pixolator (the maker's nick) is not your normal bear either. Its very obvious that this program is a labour of love for him. He personally takes part in the forums and responds with very accurate info regarding program problems, tips and such. And as for tech support, I have not seen any program maker that compares even slightly... he is not only good with the tech part, he stomps tail with the actual art part too! how many other companies have active participants in the general user groups?...and the creator himself? anyhow, just takes a bit of looking at it to see that its a big bang for the buck...whats so funny, I bought it and left it unused for months while making characters...little did I know its the best morph program out there..and now I find this texturing ability. I COULD KICK MYSELF!!! My models would have been exponentionally launched forward if I had just used the silly thing. BT

and how much does this god send cost? :)

I think its about 300 bucks (I forget..its been too long since I bought it) but compared to its nearest neighbor, deep paint 3d...its about 1/3 the price and does morphs too. But, see..this is like new to me..even tho Ive had it for months, Im just now starting to use it. it paints in 3d..so that rocks it will allow you to morph symmetrically..ie, move the right eye down and the left will move too or you can create nifty effects for morphs because it 'slides' over the surface of a model and will deform it based upon your settings. you can mask parts of a model and still have them visible so that you only effect part of it..for instance, a blink. many models have the eyes as part of the group 'head' so to create a morph is a pain without affecting the eye itself. With this program, you can mask off those polygons and affect the others freely. I love this part. I can import a whole model in and do my morphs on the parts I want to do without messing with the other parts...and see exactly how its gonna look. I was doing them in Raydream...lol..this is way ahead of that. oh, one other thing thats different...there are things called 'scripts' that you can run and will either add a whole new interface to the program or will let you watch while an object is being created so you can see first hand how to do it. Its very novell. Just a text file..so the text file (script) is actually smaller to exchange of how it was created than the image (or model) you make. oh..DAZ uses this. Just found that out. bT

Great Textures :) Are the dog cat and rabbit up for sale yet? Aand What about a Frog???? Please :) Pretty please with sugar on it :)

Hee Hee never mind, I just got the cat and dog, didn't see the rabbit though. Can't wait to play when I get back from the Docs :) Thanks BT

I go along with this. I also bought this program. Has alot of neat things. I dont work for the either. Ron

I've had this program ever since they first came out with the MAC version. I was at the MAC Expo many years ago and saw it demonstrated and immeadiatly pulled out my wallet to get it., But it got shelved for a very long time. But now since the upgrade, I've decided to start working with it again. It is not the easiest program to learn, but not the hardest either. So I'll be hopfully working with it agian. IT really has some fantastic things that it can do. But even in the image you have shown, tou'll notice the blurry edges. This is due to vertice painting which does not translate well to render in other programs. There is a work around to this in one of their MANY tutorials. Though I'd bring that up. And I have to add. As for "how many other companies have active participants in the general user groups?...and the creator himself?" You WILL notice that DAZ and Curious Labs take a very active part in this forum. Very active, did I mention very? ;-) James

actually, I dont see them that much js...for ads mostly. Itd be nice to have 'em just bop in once and a while with a tip that doesnt mean 'ad'. I know they're busy..I dont mean it as a slam. Its just an observation. Im just scratching the surface of this tool. I dont have a clue how to use it, but there was so much fuss made about it elsewhere that I decided Id get it out and see what the big commotion was about. Now I feel silly for not using this the whole time..at least since version 1.23 came out (months ago). I guess I like the seam matching the best for textures. Its such a pain to get that to match in a lot of programs...with very minor edits in photoshop (after painting the model) its pretty slick looking. and they are updating it again very soon I understand...got to LOVE free upgrades :) pixolator gives away scripts that he could easily charge for. The texturemaster script he has out is a whole new way of working on models. You can tell he's been working with Daz now that Ive been working with it. Its a must for critter makers IMHO. BT

what kind of frog? cartoon frog? a frog on a model like the ones above wouldnt be that difficult...I can make one but Im working on a big project that Im trying to get done by thanksgiving...that give me only 10 days and its such a big thing that I may not make it. anyhow, the frog like the frog and the princess? or a real frog..poser has a real frog. but I will try to make one :) BT

BT A cartoon frog :) like the dog rabbit and beaver etc :) Thank you :)

shoot, I wish the trial version was not so restrictive! I really wanted to see for myself about importing and exporting .objs, and texturing poser stuff, but all of those features are disabled in the trial version. I can play around, but cannot give it much of a workout in the areas that would make or break the sale. I think I will have to buy it anyway, but I sure do wish I could try those features first!!!

If the texturing part is disabled in the demo, I don't have much use for downloading it. Questions: 1) How easy is it to mask a straight area (i.e. make straight lines on the figure) and how easy is it to make circles? 2) Can you texture fill a masked area (e.g. to make a patterned hem?) 3) Can you mirror the texture - make the left side identical to the right side, or the top identical to the bottom? Thanks for the info!

I was wondering about the blurry edges to those textures. Thought maybe that was intentional. :)

those blurry edges ARE intentional in these textures. but what he said about the way it textures is not related to the 'pixelation' its related to how you do it. there is a procedure called 'baking' in there that will make the image as crisp as any you can make in photoshop. BT

masking can be done multiple ways.. 1. you can paint a mask right on the figure with a brush. If the brush does not do to suit you then you can make a mask in a different program (black and white) and use it to drive the edit area. 2. Not only can it protect a masked area, you can alter a mold very easily using the mask. And with a click, you can invert the mask and work on the other parts. 3. symmetry (mirror) is done easily by using the symmetry feature. this creates 2 points, one on each side of the models center. You can then paint one side, and the other side automatically fills in identically. It also allows you to choose what plane you wish the symmetry to be on..x, y, z. If you are really interested in seeing what it can do, go to http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi and look around. Ask questions..its a friendly gang and you will see several faces from here there as well. I dont think r'osity has a z forum (?) commune has one and has several very talented users, so you could look there. I know just enuff to be dangerous with the program..not enuff to be useful (heh). so detailed instructions would best be offered by those who are masters of it. it lies between 2d and 3d work..its kinda difficult to get a grip on because if you are a 2d artist, the 3d aspect will freak you out..and if your a 3d artist, the 2d aspect will do the same. but the texturemaster script is the one that I think they actually perfected for DAZ. I know that they told me they were making one for them (before the latest version came out) and Im sure this was the one based on Pix's description. BT

I bought Zbrush also and really, it rocks. Run the texturemaster script along with the others, they run in the demo. Also (aurick I think) has a script that'll explain morphing for Poser specifically. Just go wander around their website and forum. I think I found aurick's script through the forum somehow.

Here's the link for Aurick's tutorial www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=001530 sorry it didn't fit in one line... there are 2 versions: one for the demo and one for the full version

Other Poser/Zbrush/Poser Tuts can be found here:http://www.awakemm.com/poserarcana/ If you go the the ZBrushCentral forum QUICKLINKS Link, there is a section called "Poser, Importing and Exporting" It can be found here: http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=000049 jaimelab :-)