Not *entirely* off-topic, but...eh.

So.  This Zbrush thing.  I've seen some absolutely spectacular 
creatures/characters people seem to have just whipped up like it's no big 
deal with this thing, and have in the past tried playing around with it with 
not much luck.  It's hardly intuitive, requiring actually going through its 
tutorials just to get started.  Question is:  does anybody else here use it, 
is it worth it, and so forth?  Only reason I want to use it is the modelling 
software with which I'm familiar (that'd be Moray) consistently crashes when 
trying to edit a mesh in it, and its mesh editing is very primitive.

-- 
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net

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"Tim Cook" <z99### [at] gmailcom> wrote in message
news:49d34e7c$1@news.povray.org...
> Not *entirely* off-topic, but...eh.
>
> So.  This Zbrush thing.  I've seen some absolutely spectacular
> creatures/characters people seem to have just whipped up like it's no big
> deal with this thing, and have in the past tried playing around with it
with
> not much luck.  It's hardly intuitive, requiring actually going through
its
> tutorials just to get started.  Question is:  does anybody else here use
it,
> is it worth it, and so forth?  Only reason I want to use it is the
modelling
> software with which I'm familiar (that'd be Moray) consistently crashes
when
> trying to edit a mesh in it, and its mesh editing is very primitive.

Yes, ZBrush has a rather quirky interface, for some of us anyway - there are
those who seriously prefer ZBrush/Blender/Lightwave style interfaces. If
it's mainly mesh sculpting that you need, I find that Mudbox has a much
nicer, cleaner interface.

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somebody escreveu:
> Yes, ZBrush has a rather quirky interface, for some of us anyway - there are
> those who seriously prefer ZBrush/Blender/Lightwave style interfaces. If
> it's mainly mesh sculpting that you need, I find that Mudbox has a much
> nicer, cleaner interface.

All 3D software have quirky interfaces, not just Blender.

Mudbox is a plugin for 3D Studio Max, right?

I've played a bit with Blender's integrated sculpting tool in the past, 
here is the result:

http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=143168

That's with mouse alone.  It's not really that hard and *is* far more 
intuitive than box modelling by extruding or individual vertice moving.

Basically, you should turn on symetric editing in an axis and choose one 
of the modes for the tool, like draw, pinch or some other.  While you 
move your mouse around in one of those modes (and you will alternate a 
lot between them) the software automatically applies the changes to a 
large number of vertex at the same time, proportional to velocity and 
the force you select too.  Very, very intuitive.

That said, Blender's sculpting tool is still far off zBrush, which can 
deal with truly staggering amounts of vertex in a snap.

-- 
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9

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nemesis <nam### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

> Mudbox is a plugin for 3D Studio Max, right?
>

Looks like a stand-alone app, for Windows and Mac (but the Windows 32-bit
version seems to require XP Professional, or Vista in some form.)

I've been thinking of trying out CB Model Pro; it has a Z-Brush-like feature,
and the beta is free.

http://www.cbmodelpro.com

KW

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"Tim Cook" <z99### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

> So.  This Zbrush thing.  I've seen some absolutely spectacular
> creatures/characters people seem to have just whipped up like it's no big
> deal with this thing, and have in the past tried playing around with it with
> not much luck.  It's hardly intuitive, requiring actually going through its
> tutorials just to get started.  Question is:  does anybody else here use it,
> is it worth it, and so forth?  Only reason I want to use it is the modelling
> software with which I'm familiar (that'd be Moray) consistently crashes when
> trying to edit a mesh in it, and its mesh editing is very primitive.

I've been dabbling with ZBrush for a couple of years. If you start your meshes
as ZSpheres it's really easy to get a base shape quickly (use the "A" key to
toggle a mesh preview). Then you can convert the ZSphere "armature" to a
polymesh for sculpting, posing and detail.

Most often I hack out a quick low-poly models using Wings3D or Silo and then
import the OBJ into ZBrush for detailing. I've been using a Wacom tablet for
the last couple of months and it's really nice with all the levels of pressure
sensitivity during detail sculpting.

After detailing's done I export from ZBrush to OBJ and use PoseRay to convert
into Mesh2 for rendering in POV.

Hope that helps,
Rob

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